Section 2, Stages 8 and 9 - Logroño to Santa Domingo de la Calzada

April 14, 2025- Logroño to Navarrete. 7.57 miles and weather overcast with some drizzle about 60 degrees. Pleasant walk out of Logroño where I found yet another elaborate church- the Chapel of Christ- I think. It’s hard to find the names of some of the churches. Once out of town the route took me around a lake where I saw people feeding brown squirrels (almost right next to the signs that said “don’t feed the animals”). They were supposed to be common in England, but have been usurped by the grey squirrels. These were very tame- I declined the lady’s offer to feed them. After leaving the lake the trail goes over a shoulder and past a big cut out of a bull, visible for miles. Then it’s pretty much highway to Navarrete- another medieval town where there were lots of wars fought. The big thing is the church of the Asuncion which has a dazzling retablo. I had to put in a euro to turn the lights on, but was well worth it. There were some interesting things in the sacristy museum including models which looked a lot like KKK. Also some old pilgrim shells.

Big win of the day was saving 40 euro by figuring out the Spanish bus system. 1 way was 1.6 euro and will have to start from Navarrete tomorrow, so will be same savings! Thankfully, rain held off for the hiking portion of today.

There was another parade today- I’ve tried to look it up, but no joy. There were a lot of crosses and people dressed in outfits that looked like the KKK.

I found a better place for pinchos tonight- had a croquet, a brochette- chicken and veg- and broiled mushrooms with a cheese sample after at another place and some Italian ice for dessert.

April 15, 2025- Navarrete to Najera. 10.5 miles and sunny but windy and cold- in the 50s. I was able to beat the rain and thunderstorms- thank goodness. I successfully navigated the bus from Logroño to Navarrete to continue my walk from where I left off. The bus left me at a slightly different place than I was expecting and my actual route included an extra hill, I think. The good news is no one else was hiking this leg and I saw my first real bunny of the trip!

An uneventful trip, other than I had a lay-down halfway through and took my boots off with feet up. Enjoyed the last of the sun before the rain came. Thankfully the rain came just as I was arriving to the HOSTEL- at least I have my own bathroom and it’s clean. Don’t care for Najera- it has nothing to recommend it other than a beautiful and ancient (1200 year old) monastery built right into the red cliffs dinner was surprisingly good.

April 16, 2025- Najira to Santo Domingo de la Calzada (SDC). 13.6 miles, sunny, cold and windy- I wore everything I brought, including my long underwear. So happy to be out of Najira. Didn’t sleep at all in the hostel- very noisy. Breakfast so bad I didn’t eat much of it, just barely minimum. Interesting environment leaving Najera with the red rocks and cliffs. Shortly out of town views opened up and big snow accumulation on the mountains. Tried to get to see Yuso Monastery 14 km outside of Azofre, but was to much work to arrange taxi and didn’t want to pay 100 euro for the round trip from SDC. On the plus side I met a hiking family and the young son was hiking with his stuffed rabbit too- sorry I didn’t get a picture. It will have to wait for a future trip. Second half of day stopped for a snack at the top of the high hill for the day- it was so cold I only stopped for 15 minutes before continuing on to the views. These views were supposed to be the most iconic of the Camino, but this valley was second best to the one a few days ago. SDC is a delightful medieval town and am staying in a Paradore hotel, the best in town, so am looking forward to 2 nights of R&R. Upon arrival toured the tower/convent/cathedral. Although they get top billing in the guidebook, I put them as second tier to others I’ve seen already along the Camino. The convent exposition strangely had many completed map jigsaw puzzles hanging on the wall. The cathedral had live chickens in it! Had a tasty dinner in the hotel and collapsed. Only 562 km to Santiago.

April 17, 2025 Rest day in SDC. Weather -sunny and mid-60s with rain forecast for the next 5 days- figures since today is a rest day🫣. Breakfast was quite good today. Still no joy getting to the Yaso Monastery, but was able to catch up on the other local sites. These included the city walls, the Monastery of our lady of the Annunciacion, and the prison ruins. I refused to do the tourist train (see video).

I did attend the evening mass - the chickens seemed to really enjoy the bells and singing.

9pm held another Easter week procession. I was strategically positioned to see it well since my room looked out over the square.

Dinner was the same menu as last night. Ready for stage 10