We stayed two nights in Viana and enjoyed some time out. Domi Leogardia was sensational. Olivier made us breakfast of bread and apple and vanilla jam followed by toast with tomato and white cheese drizzled with olive oil and another with cheese and ham…with a pot of hot coffee at the ready.
I can’t recall if it was yesterday or Friday evening when we arrived but we got some bits and pieces for Di’s knee. The early stages and some recent ones had some steep and or consistent down hill and on Friday this popped up some knee pain for Di. It’s common on long down hill runs and on the Camino in particular when you’re backing it up day after day.
With; ice, topical Voltaren, Neurofen, a knee sleeve, two days rest (yesterday and today) at least, it’s looking good. Going forward we’ll apply the world reknowned zig-zag descent method, lots of sleep and leg elevation and vigorous application of poles on downhills. If none of that works….I guess will just have to spend more time in Greece. Bugger. But let’s not count our patellas before they puff. All’s well.
A bride-to-be dressed as a fish and escorted by hens with fishing rods accosted us (well Di – i think they were after secret women’s business) for some wisdom on marriage. Why they picked such a young looking couple we’ll never know but Di suggested maintaining a sense of humour and not taking oneself to seriously. Amen to that.
At some stage during the evening Olivier hosted us and Fred, who’d just cycled in from Rotterdam, in the drawing room of Dona Leocardia. After a glass of wine and solving the world’s political problems, Di and I headed out at 9pm for dinner. At 10am it seemed like the town’s evening was just getting started but we’d eaten our fill and we’re good to go home (but not before the restauranter, Pedro wrote our names in coffee and poured us a couple of Patxarans.
Today, to provide the aforementioned rest for Di”s knee and also to get us onto a walk stage that better suits our time line, Di cabbed it to Ventosa (no buses on Sunday) and I did a bit of an extended walk.
The section to and through Logrono was fairly urban and industrial, a mix of old and new and the inevitable barbed wire fenced warehoused estates that boarder the peripherals of large cities.
Things got more interesting walking into Navarrete. A lovely little traditional village with a large church inevitably purchased atop a rather steep little hill. It’s an inescapable reality of ancient religious pilgrimages that they pass the church in every town…and that the church in every town is inevitably purchased atop a hill! I stopped here for a coffee and to consume my corn thins, cheese and ham from the Viana super market ( and to rest from climbing up to the church). Here I experienced my first really gross bathroom and I don’t really get why. The cafeterias bathroom was modern, well built, had soap, water, flushing toilet, paper, hand dryer, the works. But there was dunny paper everywhere, piled up all over the floor, some of it just wet but some obviously soiled. Bizarre. I wonder how many hail Mary’s pilgrims need for that (and the clientele was only pilgrims)
From there, the path climes gradually up through vineyards and olive plantations to Sonte (if you take my long cut) thence to Ventosa. Ventosa is small and pretty (and perched atop a steep hill with a church). I arrive just after 1pm and our quick witted english, french, spanish and Portuguese speaking host gets me sorted but not before quipping that he’s full and that I can’t come in till my wife arrives. Olivier had few guests and invited Di to stay as long as she wanted. She had a relaxed morning and arrived sometime after me…but not before discovering the vagaries of the Spanish bus system – hence the cab.
The alburgue here is excellent. Very clean, kitchen, good laundry, clothline and racks (gets important with lots of people as everyone washes something every day), backyard with plenty of outdoor seats and couple of large umbrellas and a ‘supply room’ with vending machines and a fridge with consumables and wine for sale.
We dined on chicken and seafood paella (heated from frozen by our host but still nice), and call it quits.
