Logroño to Najera

20 miles

We are finding ourselves quite polarized about the towns we stay in. Najera is at the bottom of the list. After 19 miles, we cross the River Nanerilla into the old section of town and spend the next hour walking up and down all the tiny alleys looking for an albergue which doesn't exist anymore. Then we go back to the main albergue which only has one bed left. Finally in desperation we go back across the river and pay way too much (46 euros) for a very spartan room. Mind you, many of the albergues only cost 5 euros. It had an excellent hot shower and wifi, but very uncomfortable beds. No snoring though! (There is a man from Panama who snores horrendously and people are starting to leave any albergue he sleeps in. They all had to leave the room and sleep in the living room of the full albergue that night.)

Anyhow, at this point I was hysterically exhausted and did a little frickety-frick swearing. Also I was a bit hormonal but Scott is truly the best traveling companion ever and got us tucked in without me totally bonking.

There was no kitchen in the hotel room so it was the pilgrim menu for us. Menu means a glass of wine, bread, 2 courses and dessert for 1 price. I had the sole and Scott had trout. Both were delicious! Still, my thrifty and healthy side lament not having access to a kitchen. 24 euros for the above or 4 euros for a healthier vegetable based meal. Hmm.

The New Zealand ladies seem to stay at all the places we stay and we are so enjoying their company. Robin, Joan, and Elizabeth are all around 70 and are always laughing and upbeat. They each are married to lifetime farmers and are so enjoying not having to cook or clean. They have designated Scott as cook of the camino because of the lovely healthy dishes they see him make.

Scott has especially taken a liking to these tiny green flavorful peppers you sauté whole in olive oil. A tiny bit bitter but so good and you eat them by the dozen. You can buy about 60 of them for 1 euro. They are often served as a garnish with tapas.

Because it was Sunday, all the shops were closed and we had to scrape the bottom of our food bags to have enough to eat for all those miles (we ate mainly fried corn and galletas). Scores of Spanish men in colorful spandex whizzed past us on bikes, always with a "buen camino!" We passed 2 miles of chain linked fence with rudimentary stick crosses woven in (see pic). 20 miles with a full backpack felt like more effort than a marathon and my left foot was extremely sore and swollen by day's end. Still thrilled to be on the Camino though!