Navarette

We are in Navarette tonight, walking up from Logrono.   Just as we were leaving the albergue, we ran into Graham from Australia, part of our Orisson cohort/family.  He walked the Camino last year as well, both times in the flip-flops he's wearing here.  Like me, he also lost his hat, and is sporting the replacement, with the bright orange price tag still on top.

Logrono is a small sized city (140,000) and the capital of La Rioja district.  Saturday morning, so a nice time to see people at their leisure.  Had we waited till tomorrow, we could have joined locals here:

Just past city centre, we followed this nice path, sharing it with walkers, joggers and cyclists.  Nice to see so many people out. Many "Buen Camino"s:

The path led all the way to a good-sized lake, with picnic areas and pine trees for shade.  It felt a lot like a park back home:

The stylized scallop shell used for the Camino in La Rioja region:

This van belonged to a fellow who calls himself the Camino peasant.  There are a few people like him, who wander the Camino continuously.

Familiar and comforting yellow arrows showing us the way:

Never did see the front side of this bull to see what it was advertising:

Waiting for the municipal Alberrgue to open in Navarette:

Some albergues have a box of stuff to take or leave.  We'd left our small soap container behind a couple nights back, so we picked up one here.

Reception area for the albergue.  Again staffed by volunteers, all of whom have walked the Camino.   Two from Spain, one from France:

We cooked our first meal in the albergue kitchen.  Pretty chaotic as several people were cooking with a cooktop that no on knew how to use, not knowing where pots were, etc.  But a nice communal feeling, people sharing if they had extras.  Our Orisson buddy Heinz came in and asked help with the stove to boil a big pot full of water, into which he plunged three large tomatoes causing the boiling water to overflow.  I wondered why he was doing this, so asked if he was going to peel the tomatoes?  No, just stir them around.  Then two Danish women arrived with the rest of the salad.  The three were going to make a salad together.   They were shocked to see the tomatoes for the salad in boiling water on the stove.  Not sure Heinz is used to making salads.

We went for a stroll after dinner and watched the town come alive, as the heat of the day had past and the evening was a real nice temperature. Here's a small park across from the church, perfect place for kids to play and older townfolk to meet, watch and chat: