May 18 - Arrived in Viana

I am frustrated by my inability to post photos of any of the wonderful sights we are enjoying. It would seem that the software limitations of the machines we encounter, if we encounter machines, rule out the posting of pictures from either of out two cameras. Words will have to suffice.

First of all, we are walking well. Yes, the feet hurt and the back gets sore. But we did complete 20 kilometres today, have had supper, enjoyed a couple of beers and some wine, and will soon head to bed. By morning, we will be ready for another day.

We have gradually moved from the mountainous landscape of the Pyrenees down though the hills of northern Navarre, and are now exploring the rolling fields of wheat and wines that make up the southern part of the region. Tomorrow we will be in Logroño, at the heart of the rioja wine country. The landscape is very green, springing from a reddish soil that has changed the colour of our boots, thanks to the rain that has left stretches of the trail quite muddy.

The landscape is vast, much broader than one would think. The Cantabrian mountains to the north appear from time to time, but we are comforted by the knowledge that we do not have to cross them.

The real joy of the Camino, however, is not the landscape, not the flowers, not even the continuous sound of birds singing as we walk through the hedge rows. The real joy are the people we talk with and what we call "Camino moments" that occur.

Let me give you a few examples.

This morning we stopped to view the old church in Torres del Rio. It is small, really only a chapel. Its floor plan is octagonal in shape, and its ceiling was constructed in a Moorish design, as that was the only technique the artisans of the period knew, because the Reconquest had happened only a few years earlier. As we stood admiring the simplicity and the beauty of the design, we hear music. Five voices, signing a capella an "Ave Maria" from the 16th century. They were a church choir and wanted to lend their talents to this ancient architectural treasure.

A little later we came to an outside altar that seemed to be prepared for some event. A Romeria, when the statue of the virgin is taken from the church to a special site, in this case a hermitage that was devoted to the patron saint of the nearby village, and mass is celebrated. The whole town had turned out, and there was lyrical music from a group of fifteen parishoners.

This evening we are staying in an up-scale hotel. Frank and Gina, however, asked us to join them for dinner in the albergue where they are staying. The albergue, or hostel, is attached to the cathedral. After dinner, we went through a secret entrance into the choir, high in the church, and spent fifteen minutes contemplating the enormous barroque altar that was slightly illuminated.

Each day has its moments, more than one, that makes this a very special trip.

Tomorrow we will spend the afternoon and night in Logroño. The following day we are off to Sotès, where we have accommodation booked in a hotel that has six rooms located in a renaissance mansion. And so life goes on.

Sorry about the pictures. I will keep trying, but I won´t lose any sleep over it.

John