Day 9: Logroño to Najera

Miles Day/Total: 18.7/125.7
Weather: Mix of Sun & clouds with wind.

Long walk today (longest so far on the Pilgrimage) 18.7 miles. Physically and mentally challenging....the walk in, through and out of Logroño was largely in hard tough surfaces

Day 8: Los Arcos to Logrono

Miles Day/Total: 17.8/107.0
Weather: Sunny & Warm

The walk today from Los Arcos to Logroño was filled with lots of beauty and many foot steps. It was an early morning start to beat the late afternoon sun this time of year which has been quite warm. So today's 6:40am start in the dark will most likely be a normal occurrence for a least a while. Spain us in one time zone so by the time I get ti Galacia the the sunrise will be a full 45 minutes later than here. Anyway the dozens of Pilgrims leaving Los Arcos this morning were like ants marching in single file for awhile until the various paces seperated us out. I was feeling great so pushed my pace to get as many kilometers in as possible before the sun came up. I made a full 3.8 km to the hill up into Sansol when the sun began to bring light to the day. What a sunrise it was! You only get a few moments of perfect beauty and clarity in this life; today's sunrise over Navarra Spain was one of those for me. It was a magnificent display of the divinity inherent in our natural world.  I'll never forget it.

The sun the began to make the Pilgrimage more challenging.  I covered the 17.6km to Viana by 10:30am. That was much too early a stopping point given the hour and how I was feeling,  so I stopped checked my feet out (aok), applied a fresh coat of vaseline and new socks and ate a snack of an apple, banana and a piece of chorizo and stepped out of town committed to the additional 10 km to Logroño.

Day 7: Estella to Los Arcos

Miles Day/Total: 13.6/89.2
Weather - Warm & Sunny

6:45am start out of Estella got a good start up the hill to Bodegas Irache. This is a pretty famous spot on the Camino where there are 2 free taps, one for wine and one for water. Being the wine enthusiast that I am I could not pass it by. Since it was only 7:30ish, I only sampled half a glass, it was an awesome Tempranillo. Look for Bodegas Irache from the Navarra region of Spain at your wine store I suspect you will like it.

The next portion of the walk was a moderate up hill climb rhrough the towns of Azqueta and Villamayor de Manjardin, moderate by recent standards so nothing overly challenging.  

The scenery on the walk today was stunning. Freshly cut fields mixed in with vineyards all with the backcast of Spanish Mountains and Skies. The beauty wss breathtaking.

Lots of time for contemplation and prayer today...most of my energy was directed toward my family immediate and extended. One generation ago we were all connected to the Church in some way, if only loosely. Today very few of us have any connection, a few attend Protestant churches, most are completely devoid of any religious life. Today was a day of prayer to open some of your hearts to return.

They say that what goes up must come down this was the case today with the up to Villamayor de Monjardin the downslope was another 150 meters but gradual, it was doable.

At the bottom of the slope, I stopped to tend to my feet (no problems), eat a lunch of a banana, an apple and a delicious piece of Chorizo sausage. Delicious! At this point, I realized that I lost my hat. Not good with the strong sun today. I decided to schmeer my scalp wit some sun screen and put some hustle in my step and scurried the last 10 km into Los Arcos at a very quick pace. Arrived feeling very good.

Day 6: Puente de la Reina to Estella

Miles Day/Total  13.6/75.6
Weather cool start,  hot and sunny.

It was preconceived after yesterday's 27km long day with the big hill, that today's 21.9km day with no big hill had great opportunity to be an easier trek. Perhaps it was but replacing one big hill with numerous smaller more moderate ones with hotter weather makes that a very debatable point. The sun was hot and by the time I walked into Estella I was tired and ready to stop walking.

The day started out fine before thecsun came up the terrain was moderate and it was cool, got a great start to the day.

The sun came up and the terrain became more varied simultaneously.  It was not as intense as yesterday but it was more continuous up and down and the sun and heat were dialed up a couple of notches. Nothing debilitating but challenging for sure.

I feel as if this blog has been a bit over focused on the physical challenge, this is most likely because the initial stages are the most mountainous and the untrained body is going through a bit of a shock. Rest assured the beauty of the Spanish countryside along with the staggering impact if saying a prayer or two in the staggeringly beautiful 13th & 14th century Spanish Churches are just a few of the things that make the physical suffering meaningless. The camaraderie amongst the Pilgrims and the selfless sacrifices made fir each other are an inspiration.

Among the special moments today were going off path and spending a few minutes in prayer in the ruins of a 11th century hermitage dedicated the the Archangel Michael, meeting a recently ordained French Priest who will be doing missionary work in China and having a great conversation with some fellow Catholics about what their experiences have been thusfar on the Camino.

Yes the physical aspect of the Pilgrimage is very real and always present,  but inspirational gifts are as well.

Estella is beautiful small city.