Day 8 - Viana to Navarette - 22km

I was woken by early risers and decided rather than lie in my sleeping bag for a while I might as well get up, pack and leave, so I was on my way before 7. On the way to Logroño I met April and Estella, and we stopped for breakfast. This was offered by a lady in what appeared to be her front room, where there was a large table and benches. You could help yourself to coffee or tea, and there was toast, jam and biscuits. All this was free although you were expected to leave a donation.

It wasn´t far to Logroño after that, where we passed into the famous wine-producing La Rioja region. In the city there was a statue of modern-day pilgrims, the only one I saw on the whole Camino, and in the square by the statue was a group of Cruz Roja (Red Cross) first aiders offering succour to any pilgrim in need, a welcome sight for some.

The way so far had been fairly level, good underfoot and even tarmac in places, and since my back was nothing like as bad as I had expected I decided to carry on. Despite my pessimism the previous night I was feeling pretty good and enjoying my walk. I suppose if you expect the worst, anything better than that is a plus! My back still hurt and I still had to take breaks, but it was bearable, which was a relief. The weather as usual was sunny with blue skies and getting hotter but it was not unpleasant. The way out of Logroño led through a linear park, past a lake where I sat on a bench and ate a bag of cherries, then up through some woods. I really enjoyed the cherries, they were in season, very cheap and delicious. In Brazil they are so expensive I never buy them. Altogether I must have eaten several kilos while I was in Spain.

I reached the albergue in Navarette an hour before it opened at 2, so I put my rucksack in the queue and waited for opening time. The hospitaleiro for some reason started selecting only people who were in two´s or three´s regardless of their place in line, so I paired up quickly with the girl behind me and we got in together and I even got the last bottom bunk again. I dumped my stuff and went for a beer with my new pal where we had a nice long chat. She told me quite a bit about herself, including her problems, and I sometimes wonder how things turned out for her as I never saw her again after the next morning. This happens quite often on the Camino, you meet people, exchange stories and can become quite close in a very short space of time, then you lose each other along the way and a lot of half finished stories are left hanging in the air.

Back at the albergue it turned out the hospitaleiro was in the kitchen making free pancakes for everyone, which was very nice. He had also left a number of scallop shells on a table for people to help themselves to. The albergue was small, clean and very well looked after, a contrast to some others I stayed in.

After the usual chores I went for a wander around and was very happy to see Mick, Yvonne and Robin, the friends I had made on my first day of walking and not seen since. We had a drink and caught up on each other´s news, then went for a pilgrim dinner with Ursula, a German woman I had seen and spoken to from time to time. She was very tall and the first time I saw her, in Estella, she had the bunk over mine and I admired the ease with which she climbed into it. The meal in the restaurant was served at a long table and there must have been about a dozen pilgrims there. The wine and conversation flowed freely and a pleasant evening was had by all.