4/29 A Walk in the Park

 I'm not gonna lie...I'm tired.  My feet are justifiably sore.  The jury is still out on whether or not today's walk manufactured a couple more blisters.  I had the day's walk at 34.3 kilometers, or...21.3 miles.  Someone had told us a couple of days ago that this weekend was a Spanish holiday and reservations in Longroño would be difficult to get.  We opted to walk to Navarette.

We left Sansol at 6 am, in the dark.  A headlamp, or the flashlight on your phone, came in handy for about 20 minutes.  We weren't the only ones up at o'dark thirty...there were about a dozen pilgrims making their way along the path.

The first sizeable town we came to was Viana and I liked it very much.  It was clean, the people seemed very friendly, and there were multiple bakeries making Pilgrim Food.  I was happy to run into Jacquie when I got coffee so that I could get some contact information to send her a couple of photos.

Last night at dinner, we were served wine in these glasses that considered what kind of day you had had when determining the amount to pour.  I loved the dinner conversation.  Two of the women at our table were recovering...one from alcohol, the other from meth and a variety of drugs.  It gave me such hope.

I am loving all of the agriculture, the different trees, vegetables and crops.  Today I saw an olive tree that was still blooming but had already set fruit.  Apricot trees lined the road between Logroño and Navarette.  I passed a man who had pulled into a vineyard.  He walked out and inspected the vines and talked to the workers there.  It made me wonder about the conversation.

Logroño was a huge city.  Francine and I stopped at the Cathedral.  I love to do that...just go in and sit in one of the pews in the back for awhile.  I don't take my backpack off...just close my eyes and soak up the grace.

There was a threat of thunderstorms in the forecast, but they never materialized, at least not in Navarette.  I arrived at the Albergue La Casa del Pelegrino around 2, took a shower, did my laundry and then ate at a restaurant off the town square.  I know one of the things I ate was a stuffed mushroom and it was very good, but I'm not sure what the other dish was...something kind of "smoky".  You ordered from a very long glass case of entrees and then your food was heated.