25th April 2024 Viana to Logrono

I opened the curtain and was face to face with a gargoyle on the church on the opposite side of our road – that was something I had missed the previous day but what a way to start the day.  From our other window (we were on a corner of the building) I could see that the church was now open so that was going to be #1 stop of the day.

The little things that amuse you while doing a Camino – the washing from yesterday had dried!  We dressed and headed downstairs for our breakfast.  They wasn’t a lot of fruit left so a slice of melon was it but the delicious bread toasted with a slice of cheese and bacon did the trick.  I just don’t know what it is about the bread here – it is so delicious. A cup of coffee and the day was ready to start so we headed back upstairs to pack.

Packing done and packs on we headed across to the church, Iglesia de San Pedro, across the road. We were surprised to go through the doorway expecting a beautiful church and finding it in ruins. Like a lot of these significant buildings it has a really interesting history being the first church to be built in the town in the 13th century, and it is believed that its name came from an old Benedictine monastery from the 11th century that had been located near Viana but had since disappeared. 

The church is in a very strategic location on the flank of the walled town, and it was maintained through to the 18th century after being used as a barracks during some of the local wars. In the 18th century some extensions to the church were made which damaged the main walls and when it looked like they would collapse, the altarpieces, paintings, ornaments and silver were distributed among the local churches and hermitages. Those main walls collapsed and all that remains is a side nave, part of its chancel, the rear choir, the tower (largely dismantled in 1979), and the baroque entrance doorway.

There was some exquisite art remaining – just a few small sections with saints and a tower. We knew we needed to get doing so we headed off towards Logrono.  It was nice to have a quiet day today and we met a lovely lady along the way – Carin (CC) from Arizona and walked with her.  She was a very interesting woman – a former airline hostess who became a pilot.

We came across Virgen de Cuevas – with a beautifully decorated wall and a delicious smell of smoke. I wandered over to take some photos while Steve and CC were chatting and moving down to the end of the wall noticed there were flames coming over the wall so I had to investigate.  I went down into the weedy garden area and around to the other side and found a man preparing his lunch.  We had a chat via Google Translate and it turned out the wood he was burning was almond wood and he was preparing beef cheeks to have for his lunch.  What an experience for me and I felt very lucky as it is these small gems that really make up the journey. I said goodbye and headed back to Steve and CC and we continued on. 

We weren’t travelling quickly and a lot of people passed us but we were happy to just enjoy the day and we entered the town of Logrono after stopping at a little donativo where I bought a small key chain and had a chat with the lovely woman running it.  We came to the River Ebro and read about the history – as you would expect from any European town – it goes back a long way.  It is believed that it was settled pre-Roman but when the Romans arrived they could see the importance of the area as this was where the limit of navigability was so they founded the city in 50AD.  It became a very important port for shipping agricultural produce down river to the Mediterranean Sea.

Once Rome collapsed there were periods when it was ruled by Goths or Muslims before control switched between Navarra and Castille.  There was a great battle here in 844 where the legend of St James the Moor Slayer became legend in the area.

CC didn’t know where she was staying tonight but followed the path with us until she went one way looking for accommodation while we found our place.  We swapped information and said we would catch up later.  Our place had the most amazing staircase; quite old and rickety in places but the floor tiles with their wooden edges were gorgeous.  Of course, we had to go to the first floor to check in and then up another flight of steps to our room.  After showering and doing the washing we received a message from Josie and Mary asking where to meet.  We had planned on meeting up in Calle del Laurel, as this is a well-known area of tapas/pinchos bars.  We said we would meet there a bit later. 

In the meantime, we got a message from CC and it turned out that she had got a bed in the same place as us and wanted to see our room!  She came up and we sat on the bed chatting for ages – and the funniest thing happened.  She said after she had left us she had spoken to 2 Australian girls when she was looking for somewhere to say and decided to have a coffee – they had been chatting and she said she had walked the day with a couple from the south of Australia…  You can guess who she spoke to – Josie and Mary!  We just laughed about it, so we asked CC to join us as we were meeting them in Calle del Laurel.  CC wanted to show us the market area, so we slightly detoured and followed her in there.  Unfortunately, most of the stalls had closed but there was one still open and the produce looked amazing.  We almost wished we had an apartment tonight so we could cook some of it.

On to Calle del Laurel we went into La Tabola where ordered some tapas and red wine and, through CC met Roland, a really interesting man from the Dolomites in the north of Italy (who looks like Heston Blumenthal in my opinion).  He had been walking with Mary and Josie. I was sitting with my back to the door messaging Josie when he said they were outside, and he was going to surprise them.  He went outside and said, “You need to come in here" and Josie protested saying she was waiting for me.  He reiterated that she needed to come in.  It was a lovely reunion and we hugged and sat around and ate delicious food, drank a few wines and caught up on life and their Camino journey so far.  It was lovely to see Josie again and to meet Mary. 

Steve really enjoyed Roland’s company and by the end of the night had decided that Roland was a “brother from another mother”, and they planned to catch up the following night too.  It was a wonderful night and, as Steve had a business call in the morning, we said we would be catching a taxi to Navarette before walking the remainder of the way to Najera.  We offered her a lift, but she declined saying she will meet us in Navarette as the timing would be good. She and Mary headed off to bed but CC, Roland, Steve and I stayed for a bit longer.

It would be CC’s birthday tomorrow, so I bought some of the delicious Spanish cheesecake and celebrated as CC wasn’t sure if she was going to walk tomorrow or just stay on to celebrate in Logrono. We will catch up with the rest of the crowd in Najera tomorrow.