Day 14 – Sept 19, 2022 – Logroño to Navarrete (12.24 km) 

During our rest day yesterday, we reassured ourselves this isn’t a race. We don’t have a set date we have to be done, so we can and should take our time. We don’t have to do 20+ kilometers a day. We are blessed with freedom. Most folks walking the Camino need to get back to their jobs, families, or school.  They have a hard date and a return ticket. Since we don’t have either., we can take it slow. So, we set the alarm and went to sleep only to be awoken by a party outside the window at 5a. 

So we got up and set out in the dark of the early morning in search of a bakery (panadería) to have our first breakfast of coffee/tea and bread, we found the city quiet after the festivities the night before. Nothing was open. Even the supermarkets opened later than usual due to the holiday. We were in trouble. Here we are setting out for our 12 km hike this morning with only the emergency energy bars in our packs and one bar I saved from breakfast the other morning. Three bars in total. We were lucky enough to pass by a supermarket on the outskirts of town, but it hadn’t opened yet. Do we wait the 45 minutes for the store to open, or do we put 3 more kilometers behind us?  We sat on a bench and ate one of the bars, then got up and kept walking. There was nothing between Logroño and Navarrete but lovely countryside views. At about halfway, we sat on a shaded bench and ate the second bar. We shook our heads knowing how stupid we were for not going to the store last night assuming something would be open this morning. Quieting the hunger monster, we set out again. Under pure determination, we rolled into Navarrete and found our Albergue, checked in, dropped our packs, kicked off our shoes and left in search of food. The bar’s pintxos had been picked over so there wasn’t much left to choose from. But we were so hungry we weren’t picky. We had a ham sandwich, which consists of half a small baguette cut in half, with a small drizzle of olive oil and one single thin slice of Serrano ham smashed between them. Amazingly simple and quite good.  Down right delicious when you are as hungry as we were!

The bar owner must love the Beatles because the speakers were filled with Beatles tunes on repeat. In the time it took to have our sandwiches and a small pastry with two beers, we must have heard “Hello, Goodbye” five times. 

With bellies full, we explored the Iglesia Nuestra Senora de la Asunción (Our Lady of the Assumption Church) right next door to the restaurant. While weathered on the outside, the inside was extremely ornate and decorated in gold behind the altar. We stopped for a bit to admire the craftsmanship that went into constructing this beautiful building. It is quite an accomplishment given the tools and construction methods of the time.