April 23 - Day 10

Day 10 - Navarette to Nájera- 17 km

Last night everyone was so tired, the lights went out about 9:00. So this morning I was awake before 6:00. Yesterday I noticed a sign at our albergue for breakfast for 3 Euro, but didn’t see any breakfast when we woke up. So we just snacked on our munchie stock and got going.

Quite overcast this morning, then the fog rolled in. Nice walking weather. And a gentle trail.

A ways down the road was an intersection where you could go right and stay by the highway, or go left through the town of Ventosa. The town detour was a bit longer but included a cafe/bar. We had planned to take the more direct route but when we got to the corner we met a local man (Alex) who suggested the town. And then he walked us there.

Apparently the Camino originally went through the town, but when the highway was built the mayor at the time wasn’t interested, so the bypass was established. Well, a later mayor realized the economic value of the Camino and put signage and a nice trail for an alternate route through Ventosa. Now there are couple of cafes and an albergue. Because the Camino is good business.

So we had a nice chat with Alex. He likes to just walk with pilgrims and practice his English. And we got coffee, snacks, and a sandwich for the road in Ventosa.

Continuing on, most of today’s walk was through vineyards, with the occasional olive grove. So nice to see the plants leafing out.

We actually arrived at today’s destination (Nájera) just before noon, we made good time today! We had prebooked at an albergue but it didn’t open until 1:00, so we had some time to wait. We ate our sandwich on a bench by the river. Nice view, lots of older people came by and wished us Buen Camino.

After checking in, showering, and a cerveza from the vending machine, a bit of relax time was next on the agenda.

After a rest we picked up some groceries to replenish our snacks, as well as food for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.

Back at the albergue we met up with some friends and went for supper. Pasta today with a side of sangria.

We had a good day today.

Today’s lesson: talk to local residents, you might learn something!