Jan 21, 2015: Navarrete to Logroño 13 K

Navarrete about to wake up

We had a nice stay in Navarrete. We enjoyed a bit of a siesta after lunch, and then (around 7:15) we followed the tolling church bells to evening mass. At first we thought the mass might be in the main church but that is usually not the case (too few attendees to light and heat the church). Our uncertainty was resolved when we noticed an older lady making her way towards an adjacent building and slipping through an open door. We followed suit and found ourselves in a small upstairs chapel. The priest was kind enough to include a pilgrim blessing for us at the end of mass. Shortly after mass Robin and I were back in bed where I slept soundly until 5:00. Robin didn't fare so well and had a restless night. You would think that after a full day's walk that sleep would come easily. Not always the case. Once daylight crept into the plaza below our hotel I was very pleased to see dry streets and patches of clear sky. Today's walk might just be in the dry (and in fact it was).

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Walking out of Navarrete

Breakfast was at 8:00, and in true pilgrim fashion we ate everything that made it to the table. By 8:45 we were strolling down the hill to find the Camino Frances route which we would walk in reverse to Logroño. Temps were in the mid 30's and the air was calm. We set out in a gentle climb to the summit where a large sign in the shape of a bull dominates the landscape. This is a very familiar sight to this pilgrims walking the Camino Frances. From the summit it is all downhill via a series of gravel and paved paths that lead the walker to the approaches to the city. We arrived in the city center at 11:30, found our hotel and checked in.

Heading for the bull

As we were checking in we asked about transportation from the end of tomorrow's walk, Alcanadre, to the end of the following day's walk Calahora. There is one train departing Alcanadre at 2:15 for Calahora. If we miss that the next one isn't until 8:30 pm. All this shuttling around is necessary as there isn't any place to stay in Alcanadre. We will backtrack the following day to Alcanadre to complete the stage from Alcanadre to Calahora. I must admit it is all a bit confusing, and a pain, but it is what it is.

We decided to have a short day today as we had some transportation issues to resolve, laundry to do (not sink washing), an Orange SIM card issue (we can't call anywhere), and Robin needed a few things from the shops. So it just seemed to be a good time to get all these things resolved before pushing back off into the hinterlands. So far we are ticking things nicely off the list. We even found a great Japanese restaurant for lunch. Hope to go to mass again tonight, grab some pintxos and call it a night. Tomorrow should prove interesting as we try to manage all the moving parts of this part of our walk. What could possibly go wrong?? I wonder...

Navarrete adieu

Walking the Camino in reverse

More bull

First view of Logroño

 

 

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