Day 8: Logrono to Najera

Numbers: 19.1 miles per Garmin GPS; 52,060 steps and 125 floors per Fitbit (Fitbit numbers include walking around in Najera in addition to actual scheduled walk)

Dave voice:

Up at 5:45 am in hopes of beating expected afternoon rain. This means missing another prepaid hotel breakfast in favor of staying dry. A dirty shame. Prepaid food is like buffet food: sinful to pass up. And us on a spiritual journey!

The terrain has shifted from wheat farmland to vineyards. We’re in Rioja, a "famous" wine growing region, as in well-known throughout Spain. Famous or not, the wine’s pretty good, either the chilled white we had in Larrasoana or the bottles of red we’re getting with the "Peregrinos Special" lunch, which we have instead of dinner, consisting of an excellent salad, a meat dish always with fries, and a Nutty Buddy. Instead of chicken or salmon, I opted for the beef today and passed on the "pork cheek." Thanks, but no. Scout had the cod, for which Basque fishermen are actually slightly famous and for which they are alleged to have gone as far as North America at some only partly recorded prior time. Hard to tell. Fishermen aren’t interested in going ashore; they just want more fish. Anyway, the cod was good and came without fries.

A long and almost completely dry day. The early highlight, after breakfasting on apples instead of hotel food (damn!) was stopping to buy bananas from Karl Marx (Scout has photo proof). Price: .20 € (about $.22) each, proof the proletariat can run a business without exploiting the masses. He also had oranges, pilgrim shells and pottery. He could have done a lot better selling coffee to caffeine-starved Peregrinos, but who cares what the public wants?

The later highlight, at about 9:00 AM, when we had despaired of ever getting coffee was a little cafeteria (I.e., a postage stamp-sized snack store) where we got the "special:" a cup of coffee, a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and a croissant for 2.5€. Yum.

That tided us over for two hours until we stopped at a "roach coach" parked on the Camino in the middle of a vineyard. This guy sold Cokes, orange juice, and Pringles. This is where we chatted with four "British" women we’d previously passed and who had passed us. Friendly sorts who seemed to enjoy throwing in a few dance steps into their hike. One lives in Pacific Palisades, one in South Africa, so, of course, it was an opportunity to talk about the Ocean to Ocean race in South Africa. Cool idea, starting at the Atlantic and ending at the Indian Ocean. Maybe a girl’s trip idea for Scout and, oh, a few runners she knows.

We went on our way into Najera, a wine region town of 8,500, large as Camino towns go. Got checked in at Hostel Hospederia, did laundry, showered and went across the river to a recommended restaurant for lunch/dinner stopping on the bridge to meet the four women who asked what we were doing for Shabbos dinner. Uh. Uh. Well it is Friday (Shabbat eve) and Scout’s celebrated Shabbat oh…never in her life so we stuttered and mumbled for a moment, then sprinted away. Who knew that these 60ish women with Britishy accents, who we (okay, only Dave) figured for a coven of lesbians on holiday were actually Jewish lesbians on holiday? :-).................(ok, hope everyone knows Dave is joking and I hate to explain his humor, but just in case............

Naturally, they’re staying in our hotel. We can already smell the gefilte fish, latkes, and charoset drifting through the ventilation system. (Okay, not really. These women seem more like the type to knock back a few shooters and go out looking for…uh… gentiles.) :-)

Oh, and the ventilation system is, again, a window. We did beat the rain, but it was only a shower. The weather for tomorrow is supposed to be the same as today, which means, maybe rain, maybe not. A few days from now, when the summer sun is on us day after day, we’ll look back on this rain with fondness. Not yet.

So here we are in our pleasant un air conditioned room listening to geese honk outside and to our neighbors – through thin walls – chatting at high speed and volume next door. Life is good. Today, at 21.0 miles, is the longest day so far in terms of distance walked. Feet are tired, but okay. Our backs are tired, too, and we’re starting to shed a few things we don’t absolutely need. A big shirt I brought in case of unseasonably cold weather, for example. Gone. Scout’s contribution was to forget an adapter (you know, to make the plug things the right size to fit the outlets) at the hotel in Logrono. When she asked the hotel clerk here in Najera where she could buy a replacement, the woman brought out a big box of such things. "People leave them behind all the time," she said. Problem solved.

Deb voice:

So, today was a long day by distance: 18.8 miles per Brierley but since we went off path a bit, I ended with 19.1. Good news was that the terrain was good, actually with a lot of bike path (paved and other good surfaces). We also lucked out with weather. Rain was due around mid-day so we left early (6:20 am) and got to our hotel just as it started to rain. Bad news: after 5 plus days of my backpack feeling ok - even through the grueling first day and second, it started bothering me a little two days ago, more yesterday, and a lot in the first 2/3 of today's walk. I think part of the problem was that I started wearing my jacket two days ago when it was raining, and the pack weight got distributed differently (maybe not as low on my back/butt?). Anyway, today, the first half of the walk was painful. I kept adjusting it. It would feel better after a brief stop/rest, but would bother me later. I daydreamed of what I could ditch (I haven't used an external charger and it weighs 8 oz, do I really need deodorant?, etc.). Finally, with 10K to go, Dave took my water, and combined with taking off my jacket, I seemed better. With 2 miles left, I saw the barn and picked up the pace. Dave was ok after his fall yesterday, but probably bruised a rib. He says it's manageable, but of course, I worry. He's says it's ok as long as he doesn't take deep breaths. He's a big boy, so I'll leave it at that.

I'm not beyond having someone carry my pack for me. We spoke with a guy from Tennessee who got injured early on, took a couple of days rest, and had his pack transported one day. It's simple. All you do is tell them at an albergue where you want it taken (Usually 15 or so mikes to the next stop), and it's 5€. I may opt for that, especially on longer days. I see pilgrims without packs and think how nice it would be to not have that to worry about.

Speaking of weight, I have no idea whether I'm gaining weight on this trip or not. Lots of calories expended, but I'm taking in a lot also. Wine and endless snacks can do that! Not knowing what I weigh is a big deal for me. I weigh myself every day. I don't record it (Dave records his and also weighs daily!), but adjust my eating if I see I'm up a few pounds. The longest I've gone in the last few decades without weighing myself has been three weeks - while on vacation. This will be seven. Ok, that's all I'll say on the subject. I'll either weigh the same when I get home, have lost weight, or gained. If the last, life will go on.

Addendum: if anyone is interested in a really interesting book about cod (yes it's possible), this is it....and, one about salt by the same author. Ok, how about some pictures......

And, a few pictures if the internet speed is kind.

Karl Marx?

Various Camino signs...when we saw this sign, we had gone 122 out of our 490 miles

Small town calle mayor

Roach coach in middle of nowhere

Even veggie option from said coach

Deb in vineyards with biker pilgrim in back

Structure outside of Najera

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