This morning the Dutch couple, who were staying in the same hotel, said goodbye. They were going on to Logroño, while I was stopping in Viana, 10 kilometers short of Logroño.
I started off in another beautiful day. The soreness in my thigh muscles from all the climbing was gone; even better, my feet were feeling great. The boot adjustment was working. The guidebook said the next stretch was relatively flat. Great feeling, and the line came back to me from a poet (Rossetti?), “My heart is like a singing bird whose nest is in a watered shoot.”
The landscape much flatter now, with majestic mountains still appearing in the distance, a landscape painter’s dream. Fewer vast wheat fields, more vineyards and olive groves. Another day alone, alone, alone.
As I passed through one medieval hill town, I passed a sad-eyed woman sitting on a stool. She asked me, Is it difficult? I said it was very difficult. She was French Canadian and said she could no longer walk because of the pain in her feet. Truth to tell, they looked a lot better than mine.
Came around a bend and saw Viana, a medieval town on a hill. Checked into a hotel and savored the air conditioning. It was in the high 80s today. Nice thing about three star hotels is that they have bidets, perfect for washing out your clothes. Also, computers.
Tomorrow I will leave Navarra and enter La Rioja. I may spend two nights in Logroño. I really want a good camera; I’ve missed so many shots. My shoulders are sore and my forearms sunburned. The rest would do me good.
Un abrazo para todos,
John
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