Day 10 (May 19) – Navarette to Azofra: 14 Miles

Let me begin with a retraction. Yesterday morning we said goodbye to Angus and Angela (not Alicia) from Dublin (not Australia). When I told them about the mistake I made on the blog the night before regarding both name and country of origin, we all had a good laugh. A tired blogger is an inaccurate blogger. They have walked with us for a week since Orisson, are going home now, but expect to finish the Camino in stages over the next few years. I was sorry to see them go.

Today, Day 10 was a very nice walk through the Rioja vineyards.We saw old vines and new, but were always surprised to see the vines growing in such tough, rocky conditions. J

It is the season to trim the vines, and we saw crews all over doing the careful pruning required to make their delicious wine.

As we neared the top of a hill, far from any town, we came upon a friendly guitarist, playing Neal Young. It brought back memories is Sam who loved to play and sing. http://trishdeford.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/img_1432-1.mov

We walked on, humming, to Najera for a lunch stop by the river, then a few more hours to Azorfa where we stopped for the night. Why do so many of the town names here sound like the names of prescription drugs…Azorfa for chronic gastritis?

We had dinner with Kathleen and Barry from Glasgow and Wendy from Toronto, new Camino friends.