Monday, July 27, 2026 – 8th day

La Rioja - Castilla

Logroño - Nájera

26.40 km

Today's stage, although it didn't have major challenges, turned out to be somewhat complicated due to the gravel paths that wear out the soles of your feet 👣. On the other hand, experts say it's better this way than getting stuck in the mud of the path.

This morning we took a bus back and started the walk at around 7:45. Identifying the trail signs when leaving Logroño is somewhat complicated due to the variety of images and because they are placed quite haphazardly. Generally, moving through cities following the path is tricky, but you always find a kind soul who will guide you back if you get a bit lost.

Leaving Logroño involves crossing a series of parks where you encounter all kinds of athletes enjoying the cool morning air while they engage in their activities. About two kilometers from the city (6.5 following the route), we find the Grajera reservoir, a natural habitat full of squirrels that hop from tree to tree and have no problem being petted, but it is strictly forbidden to feed them 🐿️.

Steep streets welcome you to Navarrete, a pottery town par excellence where you find the remains of the Hospital of San Juan de Acre, founded in 1185, of which hardly anything remains. Exiting, to the east of the village stands majestically one of the ninety-two Osborne bulls that still dot the Spanish landscape. Fourteen meters of Spanish breed that stand out on the hill ♉😀.

At one point on the path, you are offered a detour to Ventosa, a charming little village where we made our obligatory stop and which is accessed by a road filled with works by different artists that make the journey much more entertaining. It is not on the path, but it was worth the detour.

We enter Najera through the San Juan de Ortega bridge that crosses the Najerilla river. The name is of Arabic origin and means “place between rocks.” Yesterday when we entered with Thorqui, we came in from the other side, so today we were able to take a look at the other part of the village, which is not too big and not very interesting 💁‍♀️.

This morning before heading out, we moved Thorqui to the parking lot of the municipal pool in the center of the village, so he wouldn't be left alone so far away. We also took the opportunity to shower at the pool instead of using ours. It is much more convenient to do it this way. They charge you one euro fifty, and you can shower comfortably.

The afternoon, as always, was calm. We parked at the entrance of the village right where the path continues towards Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and the idea is to walk there and return by bus.

T went for a walk (he still had some energy 😅) and talked with some farmers who were fertilizing the vineyards with a huge drone. What a beast… They told him that normally it is done with tractors, but this week a lot of rain has fallen, and the machines couldn't enter the fields because they would sink in the mud. He had a great time with them learning a bit about the topic and came back quite impressed with what he experienced. There is not a day that you don't learn something, whether you walk the path or not, and today T realized, in addition to how hard the work of a farmer is, that the profession of “drone operator” also requires a lot of effort and study from the people who do it, and that once trained, you can earn a good living.

As for pains… new ones keep appearing 😅 but we are holding up 😂. The weather has given us a break, and although the days are warm, the mornings are cool enough to make it bearable. Today we even got a few drops of rain.

Good night… I’ll keep you posted 😘