Ride Like The Wind

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 8: Wednesday 16 April 2025 – LOGROÑO to AZOFRA (35 [+2] kilometres)

Over its approximate 800 kilometres (500 miles) The Way of St James, as the Camino Francés route is alternatively known, passes through only four cities, namely Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos and Léon, before reaching its destination at Santiago de Compostela. These centres all have populations in excess of 100,000 souls, but after this the largest settlements are Estella (14,000) through which I have already passed, Astorga (12,000), and Sarria (13,500), that both lie on the path ahead. So in leaving Logroño this morning there are only two more cities awaiting my eventual arrival on the Camino. It is a shame that the constraints of time and the wet weather prevented me from seeing more of Logroño, although there is no doubt that our group of trekkers made the right call in visiting the Calle del Laurel last night for the best range of tapas and wine bars in the city: Logroño is yet another place that will go down on my list for a return visit.

Before my update on today’s walk, just another quick thank-you to all those who have signed up to my Blog over the last few days – it has been quite overwhelming to see all the interest and support from home. Thank you, and I hope that these missives continue to convey the Camino experience.

My good fortune with the weather continued today. I awoke to clear blue skies and, after a quick coffee shop breakfast in Logroño, I headed west out of the city, walking briefly with Evie and Laurent, friends from earlier days of the trek. After that time I was pretty much walking on my own all day. The conditions were almost perfect – bright sunshine becoming broken by large cumulus clouds as the day wore on, great visibility, and cool air. The one impediment to walking was the cold, and at times gusty headwind, that meant for the start of the day I walked in three layers for the first time on this adventure, and my lightweight gloves even saw some action in the morning. Given this opportunity I upped the pace a little, and despite a half-hour stop for coffee and sustenance in Navarrete, I completed the day’s walk in 7.5 hours, having elected to progress past my intended end point of Nájera to the village of Azofra. To ride like the wind over such astounding countryside is a privilege indeed.

I haven’t commented much on this trip about the wildlife, other than to mention the Pyrenean birds of prey at the start of my Camino trek. By one or two of the rivers, on either side of the mountains I did see some dippers fleetingly, and through the trees a few cormorants hanging their wings to dry. In the woods on the ridge above Zubiri on Day 2 there were woodpeckers to be heard, and I did spy some colourful chaffinches that seemed slightly different to those at home – a flash of yellow perhaps, that brought to mind the Madeiran sub-species that Rachel and I saw last year. Over these last few days birdsong has proliferated in the hedgerows, and in the grasslands between the arable fields of Navarre and now the vineyards of La Rioja, the sound of skylarks is to be heard, whilst cuckoos have added their distant accompaniment to much of my walk. In the meadows of the Pyrenees and in the glades of sheltered river valleys, particularly around the Rio Arga, there has also been a profusion of butterflies, but this time of year is mercifully free of flies or biting insects.

In reaching Azofra I had ‘over-walked’ my destination of Nájera by about six kilometres, drawn on by the fine conditions, the scenery, and a clear path all to myself. A quick taxi ride (the first vehicle I had been in for over a week) took me back to Nájera, where I had already booked accommodation – for a welcome shower, dinner and early bed! Another fine day beckons tomorrow!

My Blog heading today, ‘Ride Like The Wind’ is borrowed from the title of a soft rock song written and recorded by US guitarist and singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. The number was released as a single from Cross’ eponymous debut album in December 1979, and it reached No 2 on the US charts for four weeks (kept off top spot by Blondie’s ‘Call Me’). The first verse of the song holds a certain relevance to today’s walk:

It is the night, my body’s weak
I’m on the run, no time to sleep
I’ve got to ride, ride like the wind
To be free again