Saturday 29th April 2023
Distance 9.4km (5.8 ml)
Viana – Logrono
I felt a sense of peace as I got up this morning. Gone was the anxiety of yesterday. I packed up and went outside to find somewhere quiet to pray. I found a perch at the doorway of the ruined church which was out of the way. I debated whether to go to a bar for breakfast but in any event decided to press on.
I walked down out of the town onto the valley plain past allotments then through fields, vineyards and occasional woodland. I looked back towards Viana, the sun was just rising and it was such a peaceful start to the day.
It was pleasant flat walking in the cool of the morning. When I saw the sign beside the road telling me I was leaving the province of Navarra and entering La Rioja I felt like I was making progress.
Once I negotiated the one hill on today’s walk my destination of Logrono came into sight.
Walking past the allotments as I got closer to the city made me want to get back to my own neglected garden.
As I got closer I passed by drifts of these tree seeds which looked like snow.
Then over the imposing bridge into the city.
I had managed to arrive at my destination by 9.15am! The first thing I did was check out where my preferred Albergue was, in this case the parochial hostel of Santiago el Real. I had several hours to make use of before it opened so I set off to have a look round the city and importantly to find some food. In cities I did use Google maps on my phone to find where I was and to look for essential things like supermarkets, pharmacies and cash machines.
I had a quick look inside the church which the Albergue was part of and was impressed by the best Easter Garden I had seen.
As I walked around the streets which were just beginning to come alive I noticed some men on a park bench drinking cans. Who they were I don’t know but it’s familiarity highlighted the fact that this was a normal modern city with all its different people. This was the real world outside of my pilgrim bubble.
I found an impressively big supermarket and got bread, cheese, ham and fruit and sat down on a park bench in the morning sun for a leisurely brunch. After that I found the Cathedral and had a quick look around but they were busy preparing for a wedding so I didn’t linger inside. I was sitting outside a bit later when I noticed the wedding guests arriving, dressed to the nines, it was definitely a posh wedding. The great and the good arrived including people in uniform and a few policemen. A couple of posh cars later and the groom and then the bride went into the church. It was great to see people enjoying the good things of life but I felt the contrast between my scruffy appearance and my current pilgrim life. People watching is something I love to do.
There was plenty of beautiful architecture and historical stuff. Indeed I gathered that there was some kind of cultural festival which was highlighting this and combining the old with lots of interesting art installations. Today I felt more at ease with city life.
This installation which was an interpretation of a fountain had an information board in Spanish and in English. Sadly the description didn’t seem to help with the meaning at all. Perhaps its best to just enjoy artwork without trying to understand the meaning. Eventually I decided I could go back to the Albergue and see if there was a queue which indeed there was.
One of the great things about the queue was the opportunity to meet other pilgrims. Today’s highlight was meeting Tony and his daughter Hannah from British Columbia and Paul from Manchester. I had noticed Tony and Hannah at the pilgrims Mass the previous evening in Viana. I somehow made a particular connection with Tony as our conversation moved beyond the usual sharing of pilgrim experiences to matters of faith.
After checking in and doing my laundry I went back into the city with my new friends who wanted to visit the supermarket and were interested in checking out the artworks. Paul and I decided we would get a bottle of wine since we were in this famous wine region of La Rioja. Sadly I never got to sample it as I never got the opportunity after getting back to the Albergue.
There were other kinds of artwork around the city. This one I found particularly impressive.
I took some time to work out where I was going tomorrow. The ‘normal’ stage was over 28km to Najera. That was more than I wanted to do and when looking around I found I could book a bed at The Albergue San Saturnino in Ventosa just over 18km way. That was a weight off my mind.
There was a communal meal that evening, a simple one of pasta salad and a yoghurt, the ubiquitous bread and wine with the added touch of a Ferrero Rocher chocolate. The communal meals are great, they are on a donation basis, usually very simple but somehow all the more precious for that. It was very convivial with a mixture of people from all over the world speaking different languages.
After the meal we were led downstairs, through the priests entrance to the church to the choir stalls at the back. Once we were all seated there were a few prayers then a candle was passed from person to person and those who wanted to could briefly share something of why they were on the Camino. It was a very special and spiritual moment.
We then had out pilgrim’s passport stamped and headed back to the Albergue because it was getting past our bed time.
It was however the noisiest night I had experienced; not just the snoring in the room but the party-goers passing the open window most of the night. I certainly woke at 3.30am thinking it was daytime with the noise outside. It’s all part of the joy of city life.