Headed off around 7:45am and grabbed a few pastries nearby our Pension. It was 9km to Logrono but pretty tedious going once we got to the industrial areas on the outskirts. Getting though the city was okay and we stopped in the old section for second breakfast. They gave me some roasted red peppers as condiment for my bocata (little sandwich) and was surprised that they were spicy. We've had lots of peppers in Spain but perhaps all were sweet until these and they made a nice addition to a simple omelette sandwich. Continued on through the city and out along a bike/hike/jog/walk pathway for 5 or 6 kilometers. Then into an area of vineyards (this is Rioja!) uphill and over into the next valley and into Navarette. We stayed here last year and loved this hilltop village and the place where we stayed (El Cantaro) - it has an albergue section as well as pension style rooms with bath and we splurged on the latter. Of course, 40 euros (around $50) for a very nice room with private bath is quite inexpensive. Our favorite bar in town (Bar Deportivo) was closed this afternoon but the Hostal's owner sells really nice bottle of wine (Rioja 2011 Reserva!) for 4 euros so we enjoyed that while relaxing in the common dining area. Our favorite bar was not open for dinner either so we had the pilgrim menu at the nearby hotel. Today was the first "two bottle of wine" day of the pilgrimage and definitely nice way to relax.
Looking back at Viana in the early morning.
Heading into Logrono, capital of Rioja and ~160,000 population. Thankfully, we only pass through a handful of cities this large as the outskirts are not particularly scenic.
There was a nice community garden.
Bridge over river into the historic center of Logrono.
On the other side of the city there was several miles of a nice pathway.
It is middle of the harvest of Rioja vineyards (predominately tempranillo grapes) and vines are really loaded. It is hard to imagine how many tons are produced!
Signboard advertising our albergue.
Location:Navarette, Spain
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