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Torres del Rio → Navarrete 31.1 km (19.3 mi) |
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¡Hola-buenas!
That’s a common mash-up of greetings around these parts. I think it might be like “E-mail” or “Whatevs” in English. In any case, a few more portmanteau-filled days lie ahead as I leave Navarra and Basque Country behind and enter La Rioja! La Rioja is famous for mashing grapes into wines, but did you know its name is also several words smashed together? In 1980, this autonomous community changed its name from Logroño to La Rioja after the Oja River: El Rio Oja. Here’s the neat part, though. In the Spanish language, most masculine words end in “o” and start with “el,” while most feminine words end in “a” and start with “la.” When “Rio” and “Oja” combined, the last letter of the portmanteau determined its gender, making La Rioja into a lady without a single scalpel!
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Now that my original plans have been scrapped, I could tell I wasn’t going to stay in Logroño tonight, so I set off to see where the Camino would take me. First stop: Viana, which was actually alive! There was an open-air market with actual people buying and selling, old folks out for a stroll, and real children! This contrasted sharply with Viana’s primary attraction: the tomb of Cesare Borgia, who was the son of a pope, a ruthless conqueror, murderer of his brother, lover of his sister, and a patron of the arts! It gave me a spooky vibe, so, market or no, I decided to keep moving.
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I had met up with Jean and Andrew in Viana for a snack break and continued into La Rioja with Andrew, as Jean had shot off like a dog who’s heard crinkling plastic. Andrew works in a restaurant on Cape Cod, which is intensely busy for four months of the year, then shuts down for the other six. During the off season, he travels the world! He’s spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia (his Thai is better than his Spanish!), but he’s also been to South America and Africa! After the Camino, he’s flying to Budapest! What a neat way to live!
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The first city of La Rioja also happened to be the capital: Logroño! Logroño’s history has a lot in common with Estella’s. Its rise to city status can be attributed to its place on the Camino de Santiago, and it was founded by the royal charter of Alphonso VI, who, as you’ll remember, was the rival of Estella’s founder, Sancho Ramírez! For this reason, Logroño often found itself in the crossfire between the provinces of Castilla and Navarra! I sure am glad it survived!
By the time Logroño came into sight, the path became paved, and if you’ve ever walked more than a few kilometers on pavement, you’ll recall that it can be murder on the feet! This is where I learned to love grass! After a long descent, the park at the entrance of the city was a patch of Heaven! Not only was it a great break from pounding the pavement, but it also provided a lovely view of the Rio Oja and the spires of the Concatedral de Santa María la Redonda in the background!
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Did you know that churches can get promoted? Santa María la Redonda started as an average, round (redonda), 12th-century Romanesque temple until 1453 when it was refurbished into a “collegiate church.” That means it picked up a regular staff (or college) of clergy! It was expanded in the 16th century, given new towers and doors in the 18th century, and finally, in 1959, it received a new title: Cathedral! That means the pope had decided to move the seat of the bishop to the bigger and stronger Santa María. Eat your heart out, Steve Austin!
However, this six million peso church didn’t get to have all the fun. Santa María is a co-cathedral, which means the bishop of the diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño can either sit here or go the next 49.5K to the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada! It’s probably a tough, daily decision, but I’m sure a big, fancy chair waits for him on both ends!
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We were supposed to meet Jean for lunch again, but neither Andrew nor I could find him by the cathedral. Andrew decided to move on to Navarrete right away, but I had to stop for some tortilla first. That put me on my own again for the last 13K on what had suddenly become a hot day! At least the way out of Logroño passed through a really lovely park with a duck pond and lots of people walking their dogs. To pass the time, I started applauding every runner I met along the way. When you’re running in the heat, every bit of encouragement helps!
As I walked, I met two French pèlerins on their way back from Santiago, who were amused by my attempts to speak French. They reminded me of Serge and Didier, who had disappeared around Puente la Reina, and I wondered what it must be like to start from the big destination and to go in reverse. There is no huge cathedral, compostela, or dinner discount waiting at the end, only home and whatever lessons were learned along the way. I guess it worked for Dorothy…
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One park led to another: a huge one called La Grajera that took 45 minutes to traverse! The park surrounds a reservoir called Rio Somero, though it looked nothing like a rio, which was installed in 1883 to store water for the vineyards and almond orchards surrounding Logroño. Now, it is full of fish, and fishing is just one of many activities going on in this park. I saw bikers, picnickers, and joggers aplenty! In fact, I decided it was time for a break. It was hot out, and a beaver can only go so long before he feels the need to get wet!
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After a good fifteen minutes of frolicking in the water and socializing with the local patos, I resumed the walk to Navarrete, passing clouds of almond blossoms and walking along a chain-link fence to which years’ worth of peregrinos had attached crosses made of sticks! The collage of crosses stretched all the way out of sight! Well, being a skilled manipulator of sticks, I had to join. If you walk the Camino, why not add one of your own?
There was a lot of pavement between La Grajera and Navarrete. All the water I had collected in my fur dried up in the reflected heat. I can’t imagine how it must be to walk the Camino in the dead of summer! In any case, Navarrete soon came into view, and the thought of the albergue kept me going!
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At the entrance of town, I stumbled upon the ruins of another peregrino hospital like the one on Alto del Perdón. This one was named after San Juan de Acre, another hospital in Israel that was built by the Knights of Malta! It was built by Doña María Ramírez in 1185 (the 12th century was big for religious architecture!) to help peregrinos on their way to Santiago, and her son built a church to accompany it! Judging by the look of it, the hospital fell into some minor disrepair over the years. I believe it’s still being excavated, though all uncovered artifacts and human remains had already been transferred to a nearby cemetery.
I wandered around Navarrete for a while, not entirely sure which albergue to pick. Ultimately, I picked the municipal one, and, of all places, it happened to be where Jean and Andrew were staying! We dumped our backpacks and headed out into the Plaza Mayor next to the 16th century Iglesia de la Asunción for some nice relaxation time. I have to say, compared to the last few days, I feel pretty strong at the end of today. Maybe I really just needed that swim. Water can be very healing, and not just for beavers! I wonder if there will be more reservoirs like this further down the Camino.
The albergue had some great cooking facilities, and since the topic of macaroni and cheese came up during grocery shopping, I suddenly had a craving! And you know what? Jean had never tried macaroni and cheese before! Well, that settled it. I whipped up some mac and cheese (with lots of garlic!) and shared it with Jean and Juan, another traveling mendicant like Antonio in Torres del Rio!
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Today was a good day, all in all. This is a whole new part of Spain, which seems to be coming to life after the many quiet villages of Navarra. I’m feeling stronger, and I think I may be catching on to the rhythm of the Camino. The plan for tomorrow is to go 31K to Cirueña! Let’s do it!
Buen Camino!
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Total Distance Walked: 181.0 km (106.2 mi) |
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