We stayed in the Hostal La Numantina, on a busy street very close to the old town and the restaurants. The room was somewhat bijou but serviceable.
The view from the balcony overlooking the street and the Ramen Bar. Last night we paid a quick visit to Logroño Cathedral after dinner where we celebrated the end of day 7 and 100 miles walked.
While having a pre-dinner drink we chatted to a group of lads on a stag trip – the groom was the owner of this natty jacket, it seemed only right that Mike should model it for us.
We spent the first hour or so walking through Logroño, having to only make one course adjustment as a bridge into a park was closed, but other than that it was a pleasant enough walk
There is a lovely long pathway (and cycle lane) from the outskirts of the city right out to the La Grajera Reservoir when the local carp are conditioned to pilgrims (and probably locals) feeding them from a small bridge. After this was a fairly steep climb up above a vineyard where the vines are just coming to life with a good view back to the reservoir and the city. At this stage the sun was making a rare appearance and warming us up as we climbed the hill.
Nearing the halfway point of Navarette we could see some dark clouds in the distance but we’re hopeful they weren’t headed our way. We passed the ruins of a Camino hospital San Juan de Acre (from 1185) before heading up to the top of the town and a drink / cake as this would be the last opportunity on today’s walk.
As we left the town, looking back we could see some blue skies and looking forward heavy black skies. Not too long after it was time to put on waterproofs as the heavens opened and a thunderstorm pelted us with sleet and heavy rain. This continued for the best part of an hour, wherein it just turned to normal rain for a while longer. Thankfully this eventually abated leaving us to walk the last few kilometres in sunshine which helped dry some parts of us out. A lot of the paths were extremely muddy as a result of the rain and all the walkers stirring it up. A bit of a random meander through the town found us at our hotel for the night and the welcoming prospect of a nice hot shower. Tomorrow is a shorter day but the weather prospects mirror today.
