Day 53 / Sansol - Nájera / 49.7 km
People wake up at 6.00. So do I. There are around 30 beds in the room and only 2 beds are occupied by men. The rest of the beds are mostly middle aged women who use a taxi to either ship their luggage or themselves. I think about why people do things for which they are clearly not prepared. I have 2 breakfast. Breakfast is 2 toasts, a butter, a marmalade, coffee and orange juice, not solid enough for running all day. I leave at 7.00, the sun is still rising, it’s chilly. Today I will pass Logrono and maybe I will stay there although it would mean I would do only a 20 k run. The other alternative is Navarette, 33 k or Nájera, which is a 49 k.
Between Navarrete and Nájera the route follows quite some kilometres a high way, the path goes up and down, a lot of pebbles, as expected it get’s warm. I continue to run, walk the hills going up.No shade. I pass the 45 k. My feet start to complain about the small pebbles. Pussies. Just before I arrive in Nájera my feet start really whining. I walk the last 2 k into town.
At a certain moment a shepherd passes by with a big herd of sheep. It takes more than 5 minutes until the complete herd has passed. The sheeps are like a metaphor for all the pilgrims walking the path to Compostela, all in line, all the same, guided by the the objective to reach Compostela.
Today I entered Rioja and the landscape looks already different to Navarra. Still hilly, but flatter, more big fields, a lot of them are vineyards. The underground has a lot of pebbles. Every so much km you find a stall where you can have a drink donativo. Donativo means you can give what you want. Originally it was a way to provide food to pilgrims and they would pay what they could. Today it’s seems more an marketing/economical model which generates a better margin then setting a fixed price. Some donativo stalls seem to try to attract customers either with paintings, music, art,....
I continue to run. The route follows runs parallel to a highway, most of the time from some distance but often just nearby.
The first village I pass is Viana. Which has a nice old centre and church. It’s not yet 9.00 the streets are still empty. During my crossing I enjoy the old buildings, unfortunate most of them are still closed.
I exit Viana. It’s getting warmer today 24 º is predicted which in reality will feel like 28 in the late afternoon. After another 10 k I reach Logrońo which has a population of around 350.000 and is the commercial capital of La Rioja. The old city center is nice, the new area’s are pleasantly busy starting up the day. I consider to stay in Logroño for the day and discover the city, but I’m not in the mood for city sightseeing. Probably a pity. I make a mental note to return to the place. I take a break, including a chocolat croisssant and continue my way. The Logrońo exit is mainly through parks and follows a road, full of bicycling Anne running people. The road leads to a small lake called “Embalsa de La Grajera” surrounded by a nice park. The area is also an important ecological area and the habitat of various mammals and birds.
I continue to Navarrete through endless vineyards. I arrive around midday at Navarrete after have run 33 km. Again a nice old centre and buildings. I have lunch and decide to continue to run to Nájera, another 16 km. The temperature is rising. During the day I encounter some pilgrims which I passed before the weekend. I regularly pass signs indicating the distance to Compostela, less then 600k to go.
Between Navarrete and Nájera the route follows quite some kilometres a high way, the path goes up and down, a lot of pebbles, as expected it get’s warm. I continue to run, walk the hills going up.No shade. I pass the 45 k. My feet start to complain about the small pebbles. Pussies. Just before I arrive in Nájera my feet start really whining. I walk the last 2 k into town.
The first albergue is complete, the second as well. I end up in a albergue managed by the friends of the Camino. 96 beds. 96 possibilities of snoring. 2 showers. 1 hour queuing. Intermittent warm and hot water. But I have a bed and power socket next to my bed !
Later I go for a drink and find a restaurant to eat. At a terrace I meet a group of people which I have met before. We decide to have dinner together. It ends up to be a nice evening. At 22.00 I’m ready for snoring hell !
Lessons learned today :
- I can run almost 50k but not yet.
- I meet a lot of people who are using their walking poles completely wrong (I will elaborate tomorrow)
- I passed THE VAN where our king had a drink !
Song of today : She’s in Parties - Bauhaus
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