Navarrete

I left my hotel at 9.00 am, having once again arranged to send my backpack with Jacotrans. It was a 13.5 kms day, ideal for an elderly pilgrim!

The way out of Logrono was well marked. The city has its own style of way marks set in the pavements. Through green parks, the Camino was well used by locals out for their morning constitutional- groups of retirees, keep-fit ladies, and all manner of dog breeds.  There were benches every 100 m and a few flowerbeds planted with a pink rose named Camino de Santiago. I was still on this well used track at 10.30 am, when I came upon a recreational area and possibly a camping ground.  The smell of the pine trees and the dry Spanish dust reminded me of all the camping trips we did in my 20's.

Then the Way crossed a reservoir embankment. I could see something was going on at the far end.  It turned out to be a demo by oldies demanding larger retirement pensions! There was even a police presence on motorbikes! (On Breakfast TV, I had been watching all the police violence during the Catalan Referendum and I thought it was part of that).

I soon came to a cafe overlooking the reservoir and enjoyed a second breakfast of coffee and an omelette sandwich. The sun was coming out and the day was getting warmer. Autumn colours were everywhere.

Nearer to Navarrete, the track runs nearer the highway and pilgrims have put lots of little crosses on a fence.

Street art in Logrono

Water for pilgrims 

Pensioners protest

Refreshment stop

No picking the almonds-though I picked up two off the ground 

Acorns

These bulls used to be everywhere, advertising Veterano Osborne, but now there are hardly any left 

Remains of an old pilgrims hospital San Juan de Acre - 12th century

Approaching Navarrete

"Pellets for sale". These are compressed wood pellets for wood burning stoves. They are made here from all sorts of rubbishy plywood.

Logrono

I reluctantly said goodbye to the luxurious Hospederia, a beautifully-done conversion with every mod-con imaginable.  I specially liked the floor of the shower, which had pebbles set in concrete.

The weather was like yesterday, with a shower before breakfast. As I waited for the 10.20 bus into Logrono, I read the last of the information signs, which described how Laguardia was riddled with subterranean wine cellars. It's a wonder the whole place doesn't collapse!

There is a saying "the Camino provides" and I forgot to describe yesterday's provision.  As I walked from Elciego, I kept finding bars of chocolate which seemed to have just fallen off the back of a lorry. It came to me afterwards that they were probably gifts to marathon runners, surplus to their requirements. One was added to my emergency rations, together with the remains of my roast suckling pig from last night's dinner.

Arriving at the Logrono bus station at 10.50 am, I took a taxi to Hotel Calle Major - not very far but I just didn't know the way. This is a very stylish modern hotel, an award winner, with enormous bedrooms and enormous bathrooms!

My plan for the morning was to visit the Museum of the Rioja, 5 minutes walk away, and a model of how museums should be (from one who knows!). The prehistoric and Roman sections were very well-done, with paintings of daily activities to bring the exhibits to life.  There were also objects from San Milan de Cogolla and the Monasteries of Yuso and Suso, which are on my itinerary for later in the trip.

Looking out at the Rioja from Laguardia 

Diagram of subterranean wine cellars in Laguardia 

Roman central heating

Fragments of Roman wall paintings 

Terra Sigillata Hispanica - red samian ware 

Roman glass

Roman weaving

Carved wooden Christ from Suso Monastery and funerary Stella 

Panels of St Aemilian rescued from the old Suso Monastery 

16th century Spanish-Moorish tiles

Photos

Stepping out of my hotel for a little "paseo", I couldn't stop taking photos. The second one is my home for the night. There is one in the middle specially for Claire (maybe 2!)

Dinner:

Mushrooms w fois gras

Roast suckling pig

Laguardia

On Friday night the town of Elciego was dead.  There were only two restaurants and both opened at 8.30pm: too late for me, so I went back to the Casa Rural Rojanda and prepared a mushroom cup-a-soup from my emergency rations. 

The next morning was dull and misty and there had been a shower before I got up. The way to Laguardia was on a quiet country road (no Camino tracks here) and mostly uphill for 6 kms. This is the Rioja wine country, with grape vines as far as the eye can see, now turning red and brown in their Autumn colours. I saw a group of pickers arrive in 3 white vans to start work at 9.00 am. The grapes are put in a cart on the back of a tractor. It is lined with a yellow tarpaulin in my photo. The load goes straight to the crusher in town.

Laguardia is another hill town and it took me some time to climb up there and locate the Hospederia de Los Parajes. This is my Saturday night splurge! (Booked weeks ago). The town is full of tourists who've come for the weekend. Everything is about the wine, even the toiletries claim to be made from the stuff!

The hotel has a wine cellar, two floors below ground, where I had a late lunch of goats cheese salad. One glass of wine was on the house. I sampled some Verdejo and some Albariño. Both were delicious! Then a siesta was called for!

Elciego on Friday night

Elciego church at sunset

Workers starting to pick grapes on Saturday morning

Approaching Laguardia 

Hospederia toiletries containing wine!

Looking down at the internal stairwell from my room on the 4th floor

Down in the wine cellar, looking up at the ceiling 

Wine cellar menu

Wine

On the agenda today: a visit to Elciego and the Marques de Riscal Bodega.  I drink their basic red wine "Proximo" all the time at home, so I've been wanting to come here for some time.

I left Viana on the 9.00 am bus (no walking today!) and the 10.00 am bus from Logrono to Elciego. It was a lovely drive through several small village on a winding route through the Rioja vineyards. I was the only one doing the trip, as I'd left behind all the pilgrims on the Camino. Cost of the fare: €1.60. Cost of Winery Tour: €12.00 for 1.50 hours.

I knew that there was a tour in English at 12.00 so I had plenty of time to have a snack in the cafeteria first. Lots of goodies in the gift shop were tempting but out of the question for a weight conscious pilgrim! ( Eg Riscal Rueda Verdejo half bot €4.15)

The busiest time in the winery is now. Picking has started. The workers are mostly Portuguese.

Oak barrels for are used for storage, French oak for oldest wine and American oak for the rest. There are 140,000 bottles in the oldest cellar which was featured in a YouTube video, with bottles stored by year, representing each vintage.  VIP visitors receive a bottle from their birth year.

 There are 4 million bottles in storage in big square crates in a new cellar below the hotel, ready for shipping all over the world. The Frank Gehry designed building in titanium is similar to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and shines in the sunlight: an amazing sight in the traditional Spanish countryside. I would like to have stayed there but it's a bit beyond my budget!

View from my window at the Palacio at 8.30 am

Marquez de Riscal Hotel

Tour of the Winery

Reserve wine maturing in oak barrels 

Older vintages behind lock and key

Newer wine maturing in bottles stored on crates

Tasting!

This is what we tried 

Elciego Church from the Winery back gate

Winery gift shop