Red Rocks

Today was the back half of our split day, so another enjoyable short walk of 10.6 miles, this time through the vineyards of La Rioja. Leaving Navarrete through these crops, I made the characteristically uninformed and premature comment that we couldn't really have walked into a new climate, it must just be crop choice that led to all these vineyards. As the dirt beneath us turned a rust color, the fields hilly, and the soil clearly rocky, I was again proven wrong. This is Spanish wine country.

After a nice morning breakfast in Ventosa we crossed the remaining 6+ miles with ease. We took a rest at the monument to Roland's legendary defeat of the giant Ferragut after three days of battle. He won after Ferragut, who had earlier disclosed that his "achilles heel" was his belly button, tried to fall on Roland and crush him. That's when our hero Roland speared him right in the belly button, David vs Goliath-style! Roland shows up in many stories here, and has quite a legacy if you're interested:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland

Nájera is the best town we've encountered on this journey to date. After finding an albergue quickly we were able to enjoy a late lunch and sangria in the sunshine along the river Najerilla. This town has historic charm, fun little streets and alleys, and a tremendous riverside run of cafes and shops. It is oddly built right into the red rock cliff here, the name (Naxara meaning "town between the rocks") is of Arabic origin.

The primary attraction is a church, are you surprised? The 11th century Monasterio de Santa Maria la Real has an interesting legend as well. The story goes that after hunting partridges along the river bank, King Garcia III's falcon flew into a cave. Garcia followed and discovered the statue of a virgin with a vase of lillies, a burning oil lamp, and a crown of jewels. So he built the church right there with money he had plundered from the Moors. The crown was stolen and parted out, including the Black Prince Ruby that adorn's England's coronation crown.

Buen Camino.

Leaving Navarrete

Unlike Strider, Bennett knows about the "second breakfast", Ventosa

Good wine dirt, our destination of Nájera in the background.

These guys kind of circled us all day. I think they were waiting for me to fall over?

Poyo de Roldán, a monument to Roland's "goliath" defeat of the giant Ferragut outside Nájera

Always looking at mountains that we need to cross

The river Najerilla, Nájera

Montasterio de Santa Maria la Real, Nájera