We got moving late today. We have carried a lot of extra stuff, which was useful when we had to cross the Pyranees, but is just extra weight when on the lowlands. Stuff like fleeces, gloves, wooly hats, etc., etc. So last night, we pulled all this out (3.5 kgs worth). You can post it to yourself at Santiago and we were told that the post office opens at 8 am. In fact, as we discovered, opening time during the week is 8.30, but on Saturdays, i.e. today, it is 9.30. So we boxed it and posted it but we didn’t get going until 10 am.

During the morning, we entered the Rioja province, so, as you can imagine, we spent the day walking through miles and miles (that’s 1.6x(km’s and km’s)) of vineyards. On every side, there are vines in long straight rows just waiting to burst into leaf. Be at peace, wine lovers. There is much to come.

All along the Camino, there are small concrete posts marking the route. They might be a few hundred meters apart in some places or a km apart in others. They have nice Camino tiles on them. As we approach Lagrono (a large city and, I believe, the capital of the LA Rioja province), I notice that the tiles have all been taken off the posts. At first I think that they are hanging in some student flat, but there are so many missing, they would be enough to tile a whole house. A large one.

The approach to Lagrono is not nice but as we get close to the centre, we cross a lovely bridge and enter the old town. In the main square, they are preparing for a festival. Stages have been erected. The place is covered in balloons. People are dressed in fancy dress, everything from flamenco dancers to a flip-flop. Yes, one girl is walking around dressed as a flip-flop. Sitting in the sun, at a restaurant in the square, we find Taya, a Danish friend from two days ago. We join her for a coffee and sandwich and watch the festivities for an hour, before moving on. Moving out of the old town and through the modern commercial streets, I begin to feel out of place in my dusty hiking gear. I am very glad to leave Lagrono behind.

As we start to climb, we hear loud claps of thunder and the rain starts. The usual procedure. Off with bags. Get all the wet gear on. Take a few steps. Rain stops. Reverse procedure. Walk half a mile. Rain starts. Repeat procedure. Repeat reversal. It never gets too bad. And we don’t get hit by lightning.

We have a hare and tortoise situation here. I should say a hares and tortoises, (is that the right plural?). There are two Asian ladies walking the Camino. We met them in St Jean Pied de Port on our first day. They could be mother and daughter but as they speak no English, we don’t know. They walk really, really slowly. At a snails (tortoises?) pace. Yet everyday we pass them. That is to say, every day they start out ahead of us! I think they must never stop to sleep. They just plod along all night. They always smile and wave and greet us as we go by, but they never tell us how they got passed us in the first place. It’s a mystery.