The heat and his feet finally catch up with Dan…
Logroño to Ventosa
Today Dan and I had a particularly early start. He had noticed that today’s intended walk to Ventosa was uphill almost all of the way!!! So he wanted to complete as much of this section as he could whilst the temperature was still quite low and the sun wasn’t too strong. So 6:30am departure it was. Not as though it bothered me. I had slept maybe for 2 hours, no more! For what happened next I’d already had something of a premonition whilst staring up at the ceiling and listening to the various snorings in the dormitory. It’s well known that the Spaniards like to party well well well into the night. In the UK the sound of inconsiderate and doubtlessly well-oiled weekend revellers tends to disappear after 2am. But in Logroño apparently not. As a background to the dormitory’s snoring I could hear coming in through the dormitory’s opened windows the distinct sound of merry making going on all the time. No respite whatsoever. So very quickly after setting out from the albergue it was no surprise that we were spotted by a group of about eight of these inebriated nocturnals – teenagers – four males therefore four females! For a few minutes we became unwilling participants in a new game called ‘point the pilgrims in every direction for the Camino (i.e . north, south, east and all points in between) omitting the correct one (i.e. westwards). The girls were quite clearly only interested in Dan, pestering him with offers of kisses, lucky old him. There was a time when I’d have been a bit jealous at this, but quite frankly at 06:30 on September 29, 2019 I was more than happy to be unmolested and quietly leading the way, westwards of course. I just so much wanted to get out of this annoyingly inane scenario. Mercifully our little group of admirers did not follow us as we went on our way. This was to be my first experience of navigating through the centre of a fairly large Camino city in the early morning. Pamplona hadn’t for me been such a problem as the proper route of the Camino avoids the very busiest of its traffic in the modern city and passes instead around the Casco Antiguo. One advantage of a very early start is the lack of traffic which makes the crossing of the wide main roads more straightforward. There is much talk in the guidebooks about avoiding the parts of the Camino described as ‘characterless’ such as those more recently developed areas that spread out beyond the older but more attractive zones immediately adjoining the city centres and that we were now about to walk through. Take a bus or a taxi they say, for a few miles, to such and such a place beyond the suburbs. But no, I walked the whole thing, whether or not it was through these featureless industrial zones. In my opinion it makes you look forward even more to getting back out onto the quieter rural Camino track, that you know lies ahead somewhere. The route as always is signposted, it’s just that the signs and the markers have to compete with all the other road signs that are needed in these busy urban zones. You have to concentrate quite hard but the route markers are there! Don’t forget that in urban areas there will often be metallic Camino shell markers embedded into the pavement, that confirm you are following the correct route. At one particularly large roundabout Dan and I did lose sight of the route temporarily but across the other side of the road we heard a very helpful streetcleaner whistling at us and pointing down one of the larger calles that exit the roundabout so we waved our thanks back to him. Who needs Spanish when you can use this sort of non-verbal communication? Facial expressions and various hand waving gesticulations tend to be fairly universally understood. But I admit a knowledge of the language is a very VERY nice-to-have. So after a leg-stretching walk of about an hour you arrive at the long awaited point where the Camino finally leads leftwards away, from the main road, passing through some kind of transport depot and then becomes the classic dirt track that most of us peregrinos associate with the classic Camino experience. The Parque de la Grajera is the first place of any note after leaving the city behind.
Sunrise: Woodland track in the Parque de la Grajera
I imagine this to be a very busy place for recreational pursuits during the day as the central feature is quite a sizeable freshwater lake surrounded by hills and wooded areas and in turn there is a cafe/restaurant and picnic zones. Beyond the lake the Camino begins to climb following a series of very small roads. By now the sun had risen and the sky was cloudless. We were also now amongst several other groups of peregrinos. But Dan was already having blister problems again. I went ahead to see what life-sustaining sustenance facilities were open and available for provision of breakfast. Navarette isnt too far away and like all these settlements along the Camino the view ahead is dominated by its church. The Camino soon comes alongside the A12 autostrada and there is an intersection with the A68 autostrada that links Madrid with the north coast of Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country.
The A12. Santander signposted! I’ll be back there in 37 days time.
I couldn’t resist a picture of the big blue signs that announce this intersection as one of them had the name of the city/port of ‘Santander’ emblazened across it. Strange yeh?..a sort of nostalgic sentimentality for a place that I have only ever visited once and to which I am destined to return on November 3, with the grace of God. Then a little further ahead you can’t help but notice on your left hand side the imposing figure that represents a large black and very Spanish looking bull.
The figure is quite static so don’t worry. I’m not sure what the figure is made out of. I gather it marks the site of La Bodega de Jacobo. This section of the Camino from Logroño onwards passes through the province of La Rioja and regimented rows of vines sprouting out of a reddish-brown soil will be a constant companion of the Camino for several days ahead. Then finally I entered Navarrete.
It is a small pueblito but despite that it does provide the peregrino with:-(1) spiritual sustenance in the form of a rather elegantly proportioned church at the top of the hill, and (2) bodily sustenance for the weary and hungry ones in the form of a cafe/bar!!! So I was able to put together the essential components of a Camino breakfast…cafe con leche, zumo de naranja, tortilla of ham and cheese, and several sorts of Danish pastries. It was around 10:00
Shade and sustenance and ice-cream!:Navarrete 
The world’s most expensive coke!…but it does come with pork fillet and mixed salad!!
It was lovely…. almost idyllic, to sit there noshing away at a table located at the bottom of a quite impressive flights of steps leading back up the hill to the church bathed in the life-sustaining mid morning sunshine. My thoughts were uncorked… I don’t have to go to work anymore, I don’t have to pretend to be what I’m not anymore, (thank the Lord), I can do what I want (almost) and most importantly I can just enjoy being me. I just felt so relaxed….or should I say truly blessed? Whilst in the midst of such a buoyed up state of mind Dan messaged me and so I guided him to where I was and awaited his arrival which was some ten to fifteen minutes later. When he did turn up it was clear that he was struggling with his feet. It was also fairly obvious that it was going to be very warm for the rest of this day. Dan bought his breakfast and I had a second round of coffees and danish pastries. The subject of conversation was whether he would continue to Ventosa, if not it would have to be somewhere here in Navarrete. In the end he decided to stay. I located an albergue that must have been listed in the Brierley guide and so after the breakfast break we headed off to find it. I’m not sure if there was a specific opening time mentioned. Nonetheless when we arrived there was a lady pottering around in the little courtyard in which it was located. Being a kind and friendly soul she allowed us in and showed us around. It was a very nice place and that’s where Dan stayed.
He’s always there to make sure you don’t get lost.
After our mutual farewell I was back on the road again (as Canned Heat sang in 1968). The route was very easy to follow. It was just everything that I imagined the Camino would be. Wonderfully quiet in this first part of the walk to Ventosa. Sumptuous vines all around, so heavy with grapes that the hot buoyant air all around was infused with an almost wine-like aroma. Several times I noticed certain individuals further along the track (peregrinos or locals, I know not which) helping themselves to the grapes….the Camino provides, I suppose! Day 9 today…and so far I had enjoyed eight and a half days of the most glorious weather. Yes it was certainly very warm and in the middle of the afternoon quite hot, but surely this is only what you would expect in the Spanish interior at this time of year. Much better this weather than rain and wind. There was another unanticipated benefit of this hot and dry weather. Responding to a ‘call of nature’ whilst walking the Camino in broad daylight is one of the main concerns of the first-time peregrino. Because of the hot weather I had been drinking quite a lot of various liquids. But I must have been so generally dehydrated that only on one occasion did I need to go to ‘the toilet’ whilst walking the Camino…..40 days of it! The price I had to pay for this spot of good fortune was having to pay at least one nightly visit at around 3am to the albergue facilities on all of those 40 nights.
Ventosa ahead.
The last part of the track into Ventosa runs parallel to the main road into Ventosa.
About to enter Ventosa
It’s another of those classic Spanish villages that clings to its own local hill. I believe there is just the one albergue in Ventosa, the San Saturnino.
The albergue!
It was around 13:30 when I arrived and I was lucky again…beds were available, as they had been all the way since Cizur Menor. Certainly setting off in the dark means that I was finishing the day’s walk quite early which greatly enhances the chances of finding accommodation. Add to that my philosophy of not staying in the bigger towns that are the end of the Brierley guidebook’s ‘stages’ it seems that the combination has so far been a successful strategy for gaining accommodation. I imagine that the nearby Nájera would have been the target of most peregrinos’ ambulations today. So a good shower and washing of clothes was undertaken, after grabbing a bed in one of the three rooms into which the accommodation was divided. I make special mention of the clothes washing today because when I pegged the relatively clean and very wet objects on the line, it was the last time that I was ever to see some of them. More of that later. Amongst the steady trickle of peregrinos that arrived throughout the afternoon was Pauline, again, the very pleasant Canadian lady that I had first met back in Cizur Menor. Because she had walked as part of a group I also got to meet them as well. A new little Camino family! The Camino provides again!! It was agreed that when everyone had done their respective domestics we would all troop off in search of inner sustenance. So quite a decent number of us set off in search of somewhere to eat, which took us up the hill past the church and then diametrically across the small plaza and slightly downhill there was a restaurant/cafe…the Café Juanka according to Brierley. Bingo! Yay!! I’m not sure if there are any other ones around as it’s a rather small village. We were invited to sit outside by the young girl camarera and so we assembled in the best shaded part of their outside eating area, all gathered around the least wobbly of the several tables that were available. We were the only customers there at that moment, and I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Going round the table…Michael (Germany), Meee!!!, Pauline (Canada), Ken (USA), Suzanne (Sweden), another Pauline! (USA), Mireille (France),
Anna (USA) .
The camerara came out to give each of us a menu and to take the orders for the much needed drinks. The drinks and the olives were served up quite quickly.That was the easy bit. The choosing of the food however was anything but easy. It would have facilitated matters if everyone could have chosen the items as they were listed in the menu. But no, that would have been far too straightforward. Some wanted a bit of this and a bit of that, some wanted to know what was or wasn’t vegetarian/vegan etc, etc. So a good number of the group hadn’t really made a firm decision by the time the camerara came back out to take the food orders. To cut a long story short, the poor girl was overwhelmed with the complications arising from the fact that several of the group, for example, wanted a bit of Plato 1 mixed with a bit of Plato 4 and some of Plato 7…the whole discussion not being helped by the considerable language barrier. For once I hid my ability to speak Spanish in the metaphorical corner, as I did NOT want to get drawn into trying to resolve an issue that was not of my making. I was quite perfectly happy with my choice of Plato 3, which was the classic pork fillets and roasted peppers. Sometimes it’s just better to let things be …..
Yield and overcome; Bend and be straight; Be empty like a vase to be full; Death brings rebirth; To have little leaves room for more;….Therefore wise men embrace the one; And set an example to all; Not putting on a display they shine forth; Not justifying themselves they are distinguished; Not boasting they receive recognition; Not bragging they never falter; They do not quarrel, so no one quarrels with them; Therefore the ancients say “Yield and overcome”: Is that an empty saying?: Be really whole and all things will come to you.
Tao Te Ching:22
So the poor girl returned to the cafe, battered, bruised and extremely frustrated with this first attempt at eliciting the collective group food order. Which led to the appearance of what I presume was the owner. After another several minutes of arm waving and gesticulation a compromise was reached. Those of us who were content with the items as listed on the fixed menu were ok, the others agreed to share bits and pieces from the other platos. In addition we ordered a rather huge mixed salad, served in two bowls for all to share. And thus was World War III avoided!
Gives a vague idea to what we had… 
…what happened to the wine???
It was as fascinating as ever to sit there, to eat, to drink, but more than anything pass the time with people that you’d never met and just quietly absorb the experience. My favourite memory of it was Ken’s recounting of his experience of attending something known as the ‘Burning Man’ weekend that had become an annual fixture in the Nevada desert, I think. You can look it up on the internet and you’ll get the idea. What came shining forth was how enthusiastic he was to share the experience with everyone, with literally almost a hundred shots on his ‘phone of the sort of thing that goes on at this great get-together. Ken was 77 and an ex Lt-Colonel in the US Army who had served for some considerable time in Vietnam!
Such diverse people, such diverse nationalities, such diverse accents and languages. Yet we were all united by our common humanity. At some time in each of our lives we had ‘heard’ that gentle and silent voice that the Camino has been sending out to humanity for millenia….a voice that beckons us forth …… to come …. and see……. Just over 4 hours later we finally moved off, not as though anyone was keeping track of the time. No one would have known what day it was anyway, at this stage of each of our Caminos.
All good things must come to an end … at least the trek ‘home‘ was downhill.
When we arrived back at the albergue it was obvious that many more peregrinos had arrived in the time that we’d been out. There were a good number of such souls out enjoying the evening air in the lawned area at the back of the albergue. Amongst them was a young man playing air-guitar in accompaniment to a track by Oasis on his phone….he was really giving it his all!!! So having admired this I couldn’t help but engage in conversation …. all about music. Nico was his name … from that loveliest of Italian cities known as Venice. He told me about how he and his friends are really into rock music, guitars!, guitars!!, guitars!!! and almost nothing else!!!! But he’d never heard of Rory Gallagher! or Taste!!… the band Rory was formerly a part of. So Rory is now on the playlist next time Nico gets together with his friends. Before heading back inside I decided to retrieve the washing that had been on the line since about 15:00. But shock horror!! One sock and a pair of whatsits (you can guess what) were no longer there. No matter where I looked. I suppose it had to happen at some stage. What fun can be had whilst on the Camino! It brings out the philosopher within you. So off to bed, reluctantly and still slightly peeved about the missing clothing….even though I knew I shouldn’t be….as a lot worse things happen at sea. Anyway, it’ll be less weight to carry, tee-hee!.
Thought for the day
- Today illustrated perfectly the ever changing nature of the personal and human experience that comes of walking the Camino. The sadness in the first part of the day of having to leave behind a good walking companion, compensated for later in the day by becoming a part of another group of people, fellow travellers along the Way, fellow companions. I love this quote by Mark Twain about walking …
The true charm of pedestrianism does not lie in the walking, or in the scenery, but in the talking. The walking is good to time the movement of the tongue by, and to keep the blood and the brain stirred up and active. The scenery and the smells are good to bear in upon a man an unconscious and unobtrusive charm and solace to the eye and soul and sense. But the supreme pleasure comes from the talk. It is no matter whether one talks wisdom or nonsense, the case is the same, the bulk of the enjoyment lies in the wagging of the gladsome jaw and the flapping of the sympathetic ear.
Twain M. A Tramp Abroad.
On the Camino all peregrinos are you companions. Some you waIk with, some you will share your rest time with. I recently discovered that the word ‘companion’ derives from the Latin words ‘com’ meaning “together” and ‘panis’ meaning “bread”. When we walk the Camino together we come together as though in a form of communion, to share our respective experiences. An opportunity to be open with one another, to be authentic, to reveal our true selves. If we lack openness we may not be trusted. I just knew from the previous experience on the UK’s Pennine Way 44 years ago that this would be the case….and I was now enjoying every second, minute, hour and day of it.
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