2012-09-15 Saturday

2012-09-15 Saturday

Logroño / Nájera

Camino day 8. Last night we inquired at the hotel and we were told that there's no place to eat breakfast earlier than 0900 around here, so we decided to eat some fruit and leave at 0645 and walk until we find a place to have breakfast, Logroño is a big city, we were hoping to find a place open before we leave the city limits. 

I ate a banana before heading out at 0650, it was still dark and we walked along empty city streets, gaming across with a few other pilgrims here and there. 

Leaving Logroño, still in the dark, Erico at a Pilgrim's monument

We reached the city limits and no bars were open, we inquired a few passer byes and they all told us that since it's a Saturday, most bars are closed until noon. That's too bad for us, the next city is 12.7Km away. 

We arrived in Navarette at exactly 1000 and stopped at the first bar to eat our breakfast. I had a "Ham omelette sandwich," "cafe con leche.", and a yogurt. I was very hungry. 

At around 1230 or so, we arrived in Ventosa, 11 Km from our destination, and the second and last city along today's segment. I bought a Serrano ham and cheese sandwich, ate half of it and kept the other half to eat later. The bred was freshly baked and delicious. After a half-hour break, we hit the trail again. Today was very hot. 

Church's altar - Ventosa

Terry and Nancy on the Camino

Nancy and Erico resting their sore knees

It's interesting that we are seeing fewer pilgrims than before, we are guessing that many took a day off in Logroño, today is a Fiesta day there, with bull fights, parades, music on the squares , carnival, street vendors, etc. 

We came accross a few of our acquaintances, but not any of the Brazilians. 

After a long slog we arrived at our hotel (Hostal Ciudad de Hagera) in Nájera at 1530, having walked 31 miles. We were all limping and aching. We found out that it's a Fiesta day in here too, and the hotel provided us with year plugs… Good thing we had called Yesterday to reserve our rooms, the city is flu of people

We asked the innkeeper to recommend a place to eat, and he told us we better hurry up, if we wanted a full meal, the restaurants here close at 1600 and would only open again at around 2100. We just dropped our packs in our double rooms with a shared bath, and went to the recommended restaurant, just around the corner. The place was jam packed and we had to wait for 10-15 minutes for a table to open. Nancy and Terry had the Pilgrim's menu, while and Paulo and I had their regular menu, we wanted a steak and frites that we saw other people eating. The lunch came with a bottle of the house wine, a good local wine, but after we finished it, I asked for a bottle of a local Crianza Rioja, it was a delicious 2008 wine, the price at the restaurant? 14 euros. Unbelievable, it would have cost at least three times that much in a restaurant in the USA. The lunch was fantastic.

After this fantastic lunch we sat outside at one of their tables, to enjoy the round of "chupitos," a courtesy of the house. Chupitos are after meal drinks served in shot glasses, most places give you one, on the house, after a big lunch or dinner. 

Afterwards we walked around a bit, there were groups parading, bands of music, everybody on the streets.

Najera - Riverfront

Najera - on the other side of the river

We came back to the hotel to shower and to wash our clothes, we have to do it in the sink, because it's a Saturday and a Fiesta day, the laundromat is closed.

Nancy and I decided to carry our packs tomorrow, it's "just" a 22K and will serve as a test to see how our knees behave. The only thing bothering me is the knee. The muscles get tired but they recover quite well overnight. 

Terry and Nancy did not want to go out to eat in the evening, the big lunch was enough for them, but Paulo and I wanted to go out and see some of the celebrations, the whole city was a large party. The innkeeper told us to go to a bar a few blocks away, at a corner, he told us that the place has no name, that they will open at 2200 and it would get full quickly, for us to go there as soon as they open, the food is great and not expensive. We went to this bar soon after it opened and sat at the last open table, the innkeeper was there with his family, having a drink, and he told us to order a plate of grilled meats, we ordered one, to share, it was excellent; and wine, off course, a good Rioja Crianza. The place was soon completely packed, overflowing into the sidewalk; there were families with small children (even babies), groups of teenagers, elderly people; this is a bar that would be called a "dive" in the USA.

Another interesting thing, groups of teenagers or young adults wore multicolored jumpers, each pattern of colors unique to each group, so they can easily identify each other among the throngs of people. 

At around mid-night we went back to the hotel to try to sleep with all the commotion going around us.