95 km
After the thunderstorm in the night the tent was astonishing dry.
In the nice village Los Arcos I became the first stamp for today. Because the church was closed, I asked at the Albergue near the casa de cultura, that had some interesting sculptures on the garden.
The twin villages Sansol and Torres del Rio were less interesting and also there, the churches were closed.
As the next town Viana was visible, I waned to take a picture and rode the bike into a small way. Ar that time the bicycle chain run off the gear week and was completely stuck. No way to move it. I had to remove the trailer and remove all bags so I could turn the bike. I detected that the two moving frame parts of the fully had clamped the chain. After I put my full weight on the frame I was able to move the chain partly. Finally I was able to free the chain completely, but the complete procedure took about half an hour. And one shackle is probably not fine anymore. After I mounted all bags and the trailer I continued to Viana, that is a very nice pilgrims town and the church was open, so I got another stamp.
I lunched near the historical town walls with a view to the Ebro valley.
The cycle path into Logroño was ugly: A big road through industrial areas. After crossing the river Ebro I entered the old city. A nice spot was the Plaza del Mercado with the Concatedral de Santa Maria de la Redonda. The front was in the shadow and a big van was parking near the church, so not very nice for photos. The way out of Logroño was better than the entrance: The Camino was allowed for bicycles and lead through a park area to lake and further through Rioja vineyards. In order to avoid the track just parallel to the highway, I choose the route via Sotés and Ventosa. Just after Ventosa the pilgrims track seemed to be suitable for bicycles, but somewhere in the middle I had to dismount and tear the bike and luggage through a rough part. In Najera I bought food in the Simply market, because thus was the last opportunity before the planned camping in 20 km.
Najera is walled by red rocks in the west. The town itself was less interesting.
The last kilometers to the camping took longer then expected, because nearly the complete distance the street was ascending.
As I arrived on the camping it was the same style camping as last night, just bigger and worse. 95% of the area is tightly filled with holiday containers and people are entertained by loud music and public gymnastics. I could pitch my tent on empty lots and actually the bottom was nearly as hard as concrete. A friendly Spanish man saw my problem and gave me a stone that could be used as an hammer. The prospectus of the camping tells something like ‘in the middle of nature’, but that must be a joke. So using a tent for overnighting on the Camino is not a good idea until now.
Paul
After the thunderstorm in the night the tent was astonishing dry.
In the nice village Los Arcos I became the first stamp for today. Because the church was closed, I asked at the Albergue near the casa de cultura, that had some interesting sculptures on the garden.
The twin villages Sansol and Torres del Rio were less interesting and also there, the churches were closed.
As the next town Viana was visible, I waned to take a picture and rode the bike into a small way. Ar that time the bicycle chain run off the gear week and was completely stuck. No way to move it. I had to remove the trailer and remove all bags so I could turn the bike. I detected that the two moving frame parts of the fully had clamped the chain. After I put my full weight on the frame I was able to move the chain partly. Finally I was able to free the chain completely, but the complete procedure took about half an hour. And one shackle is probably not fine anymore. After I mounted all bags and the trailer I continued to Viana, that is a very nice pilgrims town and the church was open, so I got another stamp.
I lunched near the historical town walls with a view to the Ebro valley.
The cycle path into Logroño was ugly: A big road through industrial areas. After crossing the river Ebro I entered the old city. A nice spot was the Plaza del Mercado with the Concatedral de Santa Maria de la Redonda. The front was in the shadow and a big van was parking near the church, so not very nice for photos. The way out of Logroño was better than the entrance: The Camino was allowed for bicycles and lead through a park area to lake and further through Rioja vineyards. In order to avoid the track just parallel to the highway, I choose the route via Sotés and Ventosa. Just after Ventosa the pilgrims track seemed to be suitable for bicycles, but somewhere in the middle I had to dismount and tear the bike and luggage through a rough part. In Najera I bought food in the Simply market, because thus was the last opportunity before the planned camping in 20 km.
Najera is walled by red rocks in the west. The town itself was less interesting.
The last kilometers to the camping took longer then expected, because nearly the complete distance the street was ascending.
As I arrived on the camping it was the same style camping as last night, just bigger and worse. 95% of the area is tightly filled with holiday containers and people are entertained by loud music and public gymnastics. I could pitch my tent on empty lots and actually the bottom was nearly as hard as concrete. A friendly Spanish man saw my problem and gave me a stone that could be used as an hammer. The prospectus of the camping tells something like ‘in the middle of nature’, but that must be a joke. So using a tent for overnighting on the Camino is not a good idea until now.
Paul
