Another Long Walk: Day 33: Najera on the Trail!

September 13: During the night, a couple of spits of water fell out of the sky, giving me some worry that perhaps the weather forecasts were wrong and it really would rain during the night, but except for raising my anxiety, nothing came of it.

By the time I woke up and hit the trail, other pilgrims from Logrono had already been walking by. That wasn’t surprising since most people leave the alburgues long before sunrise, but it still amazes me that so many people wake up so friggin’ early in the morning. One nice thing about camping is that I can pretty much sleep in as late as I want. =)

Late in the afternoon, I stopped in the town of Najera. My maps showed a small nature preserve just outside of town where I figured I could find a decent place to camp, but it was too early in the afternoon to be setting up camp just yet, so I killed a few hours in and around town.

First I stopped at the grocery store, following a billboard to Simply (the name of the grocery store) that promised a free bottle of water to any pilgrim who showed them their credential. I love free stuff, but I was a little disappointed that they would give out a free bottle of water. I can fill my own water bottles for free from drinking fountains along the route. Give me something I might actually want like a free apple or something! But they say it’s the thought that counts, and I have to admit, I liked the thought that they’d give pilgrims a free bottle of water. Even if I never took them up on the offer. =)

It took several loops through the old part of town before I finally found the tourist office, and yes, they had a stamp for pilgrims. Awesome! At least now I knew that only the office in Roncesvalles was the only one without a stamp. I also mailed off some postcards

Immediately upon leaving the town, the trail climbed up a steep, tree-covered hill, and not even a half kilometer out of town, I started looking for a good place to camp. I settled on a small depression on a ridge, protected by the trees. A dirt road snaked through the trees just below me and anyone driving or walking towards town along it would see me clear as day, but it didn’t appear to be well traveled and I was well hidden from the busier roads in town.

My main concern about the location wasn’t the dirt road below me, but rather a stadium that I could see through the trees at the bottom of the hill. It was empty now, but what if there was a game later that night? Nobody would be able to see me where I was, but the noise from a game could be quite disturbing for much of the night. However, the stadium appeared to be disserted and none of the lights were on. That was a good sign!

I set up camp and I started cooking dinner when, about ten minutes later, I looked down at the stadium and saw a few people walking around. People who appeared to be wearing uniforms. As if they were going to play a game right there.

As the minutes passed, the number of people continued to increase. First just a few. Then dozens. Within the hour, the field was crawling with tons of people. The stadium lights flicked on and the soccer game started. Yells of “Vamos! Vamos!” filled the air, but I think it might have been a practice game or something because almost nobody was actually sitting in the stadium seats. It was just the players running around and yelling back and forth at each other and no audience cheering the on.

Entering the village of Navarette.

Pilgrims crossing under an overpass.

Karolina takes some photos of grapes in a vineyard.

Lady Gaga was HUGE!

Karolina copies the look of the pilgrim silhouette.

I had no idea that bull fighters were such gymnasts, but
the funniest part about this poster (to me, at least!)
is that tiny little part on the right near the top of the
silhouette of the bull goring someone!