Leaving Logroño in the early morning sunshine, I walk past Parroquia de Santiago El Real. This is the oldest church in the area, completed in 1527. It has a single central nave and a Renaissance doorway by Juan Raón. 

I also pass a tall chimney, the only thing left of the town’s old tobacco factory, which was in use from 1890 to 1978 in a building that used to be the 17th-century convent of La Merced.

It takes me the best part of 45 minutes to finally leave the city behind me, on and alongside busy main roads. The next section is better, as I enter a the shady parkland of Parque de San Miguel, and walk along a reservoir.

Here I meet the pilgrim Marcelino Lobato Castillo in his wooden shed, and he stamps my Camino passport. I stop and talk to him for a while, and he tells me that he’s been on a pilgrimage to India for three years! He was also the first pilgrim to make the Portuguese coastal road with ancient vestments, sandals, a donkey and a bag. Since he only speaks Spanish, this is my interpretation of what he said. That the meaning of life is to dream, to love; here he bows his head and kisses the top of his hand, and to celebrate life by being happy. Such a simple and appealing philosophy of life, so why is it so elusive and hard to achieve for most of us? In any case, I enjoyed our brief meeting.

“We are speeding up our lives and working harder, in a futile attempt to slow down and enjoy it.”

Quote by Paul Hawken

We are now in the wine district of La Rioja and the landscape is beautiful.

The path goes steadily upwards, and I pass the town of Navarrete before ending this slightly shorter walking day of 18 km. I’m staying at the Albergue San Saturino, and I arrive at noon before it opens, so I spend an hour having lunch in a shady garden of the only restaurant in this village, and I share a table with another pilgrim who has made the detour just to have his lunch here.

This albergue is a haven of peace and has a wonderful garden at the back, where most of us wash our clothes in the purpose built little house and hang them to dry in the sunshine in the garden. It also has a peaceful water feature.

I share a room for five with only two other women, Rachel, a very nice woman from the US, now living in Dubai, and a woman from France. Kristine and her children are also staying here. Rachel and I spend the evening talking over a simple dinner served at the albergue, before tucking in for an early night. Never before or since have I shared a room with such silent sleepers.

Tomorrow will be a similar walking day as it is 17 km to Azofra. I am thankful that I am applying what I learned from last year, so that I have now shortened my walking days to suit me better.

Check out my earlier posts to get the full context of this pilgrimage and the one I did the year before, and sign up to be notified when the next post is released. If you enjoyed this post, please give it some love by sharing and liking it!

All photos copyright Anita Martinez Beijer © All rights reserved