To Nájera

Our walk today was the longest so far on this journey at 29 km and included an ascent of 400 m. We are gradually gaining height over the next few days as we skirt the high mountains to the south which go over 2,000 m.

The church in Navarrete was stupendous with an amazing reredos. The interior height of the church was immense. Quite remarkable for a place which is at best a small town.

I had hoped to see more church embroideries but the altar clothes have so far been mostly fairly plain. There was though a display of clerical garments some of which looked old. There was some fine embroidery work to admire.

We are now in the region of Rioja. There are plenty of well tended vineyards but very few trees for shade. We’re again glad that the weather is warm rather than hot and mostly overcast.

There are many flat topped mesas which are curious. I suspect they are formed from hard red sandstone caps with softer ground in between.

Although today was a long walk we are enjoying the slowly changing landscape. The hours of walking are not tedious as the mind relaxes into the journeying. We are improving our energy input with food of some sort each hour which helps us to keep going. The soles of our feet are tender at the end of the day but fortunately no blisters. Liner socks are a wonderful invention. Two walking poles each certainly reduce the load on our feet.