Day 9: Lorgoño to Najera

Today was another 30 km day. Yesterday, as you know, I didn't have the energy to go to the next town. Good thing.....there were many people who did. So, I probably would have had a hard time finding bed. God knows what he is doing. 

I met this poor man that was told by the doctor to stay in the bed for 3 days. His feet looked terrible! He bikes the Camino last year, and he said that walking it is the hardest thing to do. It made me think of "the Way"...when Joost said something about doing on a bike instead of walking. It made me chuckle a little. 

****side note: I was finally able to go into Saint Maria cathedral. I was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! I wasn't able to take pictures, but you can google it. I don't know how any other cathedral could be more beautiful. Words just can't describe it's beauty really.***

I left Logroño pretty early to beat the heat and sun. Well....it rained almost for half the walk. The rain and wind is why there are not that any pictures. 

I thought that the city of Logroño would never end! It seemed to go forever. It wasn't easy to get out either. The signs were part of the stone sidewalks. I really had to pay attention. While leaving the business area of the city, I saw a tunnel that someone painted with a Camino theme.

There was a map of the Camino on the other side of the tunnel. It was really neat.

The sun was trying to come up over the mountains. I left Logroño around 5:30, so I was able to see the sun try to rise. 

At the edge of the city, there was a beautiful lake where people were fly fishing. 

Just before entering Narvarette, there was a long line of handmade crosses made into the fence. It was really neat. I am wondering if other pilgrims helped.

(You get a look at the famous yellow arrows that help me know they way)

There was a rand bull made out of steel on a hill....

Entering Narvarette! The first of 3 cities before Najera.

These are the ruins of an ancient pilgrim hospital. 

When hitting Narvarette, I found out how long until Santiago. 576 km to go!

The beautiful skyline before it turned "ugly" with rain.

You want to know what I saw for about 24km.....

....vineyards! I personally don't get tired of it, but I am sure that y'all are tired of seeing the pictures of the vineyards. 

People put up shrines all the time, but this one is by far my favorite that I have seen. It had some engraving of Saint James. 

The last city's church.

There were parts of the trail that were not well marked. I was grateful for seeing other pilgrims going I the same direction as me. Even when I came into Najera, I had to ask where the albergue was due to the lack of markings. After 30 kilometers, I was just glad that I ended up in the right place.

I guess I am getting used to walking many kilometers...it bill took my about 5.5 hours to walk 30km. Now, during the last 3.5 km i felt like I was just dragging my feet. 

The albergue was an interesting stay...

The first order of business after making bed and shower was to get a coffee and a tapa. After having sat for a few, I could really feel my muscles getting tight. You can tell when someone is doing the Camino.....they have a distinctive walk. It's kind of funny.

I did find this interesting snack....it was yummy!

I ended up cooking dinner. It was cheaper that way and I didn't have to worry about gluten. I cooked rice and salmon with Mexican seasoning. It was good, but too much salt.

After dinner, I went site seeing. First I went to a small church, and say there praying for a while.

Next, I saw a statue of Fernando III

Tried to go see the Saint Maria Monestary andCathedral, but I missed it by only 30 minutes! Ugh! However, I did get to look at the Real Parriquia de la Santa Cruze. It was magnificent! They had the most life like cruifix I have ever seen. It even has real hair.

I'm getting my pilgrim's passport filled up!