Navarette to Javier

 Anyone who looks at the 2 cities in the title will realize they are not close to each other. No worries, not all was done on foot.

We had a relatively easy hike today from Navarette to Logrono. Mostly flat unless we crossed a highway, the highlight was the 2nd half of the walk when we went through Lograno’s Central Park, past the lake and dam. The most interesting thing all day is that we were walking counter to the French leg of the Camino Santiago and so passed many pilgrims headed the other way. It was actually funny that as we pulled into Lograno, residents were trying to send us back in the other direction. All told we walked about 8 miles.

We then took a bus to Javier as we detoured from the Camino Ignaciano track to visit the ancestral home of St Francis Xavier and where we will spend the night in the Jesuit residence on site. fr Jose gave us the detailed story of St Francis including his eventual friendship with Ignatius and how it led to the founding of the Jesuit order. We then toured the refurbished castle that was build around the Xavier family home and walked away with a deep knowledge and appreciation for the missionary work that St Francis was known for.

We had some emotional and heartfelt discussions of what we’ve experienced on this trip before having dinner at 9 and heading to bed.

Tomorrow promises to be another light day of hiking as we bus from Javier to Fuentes de Ebro in the Spanish desert before being bussed to Palau d’Anglesola.