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A good day today…
Navarrete to Nájera, 10.4 miles, 16.7 Km
I left Navarrete this morning, hoping for a better day today, and it was!
My feet seem to be much better. I planned a short day of walking, just walking to Nájera. As usual, the morning was cool, and I was walking at a steady pace. There was nothing open in the way out of town, so no coffee, croissant or bocadillo, but thankfully I had bought a lemon cake for breakfast for that eventuality. A Coke was my source of caffeine, not what I wanted but Aquarius or juice has no caffeine.
My route took me through an easy gravel pathway next to the highway, and eventually I got to a detour off to Ventosa. I wasn’t planning on stopping there, but it looked close enough that I decided to venture and see if anything was open. To my joy, a bar was open at the entrance to town, so I had my coffee and croissant, and that put me in a good mood. I went to the bathroom (I never pass an opportunity to use one since I never know when I’ll get the chance).
As I was leaving, I heard someone call my name. It was my bunkmate from the night before, a very friendly guy from Valencia, we were the only ones in the 10 bed bunk room the night before. We said cheerfully hello, and I went on my way, since I tend to be slow I try to get a head start.
After leaving Ventosa, I did run into some rough, rocky terrain, mercifully this was brief. Along came an Australian older gentleman, we chatted for a while and he moved on.
I came upon vineyards, rows and rows of grapes, and although small, I couldn’t resist sampling some, they were absolutely delicious.
I tried to take a selfie of me walking by the fields, and along came my bunkmate, who took it for me, then he moved on.
I had deployed my trekking umprella as the sun was getting higher and the day was heating up. Then I came into this curious structure, I heard voices inside, and I found that the Aussie and the bunkmate, so I joined the party. It’s a structure for workers to take a break and for shelter from the elements. The bunkmate and I traded WhatsApp numbers so we could find each other later on.
Eventually we left, as usual I stayed behind, but I was OK with that. I came across a nice Pilgrim Rest Area, with benches and gazebos, so I took a break and snacked on some goodies. Then I came to this donativo cart where you could take whatever you needed for whatever you wanted. I took a frozen treat and left some money, enjoying that this day was so much better than yesterday. My feet feel definitely better, I only feel the normal soreness from a prolonged walk.
Finally I arrived at Nájera. At first it seemed ugly because it wasn’t a nice part of town, but after much walking and crossing the river , I came to a very nice street in the old part of town. My bunkmate found a very nice albergue, and I decided to also stay there. It’s a really nice place, with the Hospitalera being extremely helpful. I showered, took care of laundry, relaxed in a nice parlor room, then crossed the street for a nice slice of tortilla de patatas, bread, and…a 0,0, nonalcoholic beer that was heavenly and hit the spot.
After a brief nap, it was getting later so I went out to find something to eat, I heard my bunkmate call me and we wound up going to the local monastery Santa Maria La Real, just a few blocks away, a very impressive structure loaded with history.
I was famished but my bunkmate just wanted a beer, but he kept me company while I ate, I paid for his beer. I’m now inside while he’s walking and will eat later, as is the Spanish custom.
All in on, a very good day, one of the best ones I’ve had so far.
Tomorrow I plan to walk to Sanyo Domingo de La Calzada, 12.8 miles, 20.7 Km. I decided to reserve a private room to avoid disturbing other bunkmate with the noise involved packing up the cPAP machine, and arranged for the cPAP machine to be delivered, so hopefully it will be an easier walk. I know I could do this every time, but the cost would be prohibitive, so I’ll probs my do this occasionally.
I wish to have more days like this at the Camino, but I know there will be more challenges ahead, so I’ll take a good day when I have one.
Edited to add: another little highlight was a Pilgrim I walked with on the Zubiri-Pamplona stage recognized me. It was such a good moment!
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