Author: cpcrowley

An excellent lunch

Most restaurants have a menu del dia every day. On weekends it is usually a little fancier, and more expensive. We picked a place about 100 feet from our hotel that looked good. It was more than good. It was easily the best lunch this trip.

We went fairly early but when we got there the outside area was packed. The server was a little hesitant when we asked about lunch and consulted another person and then seated us at what we think was the last unreserved table they had. Lucky!

The menu
The menu, translated using Google Lens (very handy)
First course, roasted vegetables with truffle cream. We shared everything.
First course, ensalada. Not sure if it looks good here but we both agreed it might be the best salad we ever had.
Second course: Salmon and grilled lamb chops. Both perfectly cooked.
Dessert: red velvet cake and orange cream

Viloria de Rioja

A charming little town despite being almost depopulated. It takes two minutes to walk through unless you are like us and stop at a lot and take pictures of everything.

The church is mostly white and made of bricks.
The front, taken with the sun behind it so it looks dark.
A derelict building but strangely elegant. This reminds me of someone saying Keith Richards was the most elegantly wasted man ever.
The few other buildings were also derelict.

It did have a play area. The center has kids equipment. The two machines on the left (and two more on the other side) are adult exercise equipment. And the ping pong table we have not seen before in a play or exercise area.

Signs of the times

Gronze.com is an essential site for Camino walkers. Here is the relevant quote “From the moment we entered Castile and León, the route markers changed. Someone with little common sense removed all the existing markers and replaced them with a metal model, inappropriate for a pedestrian and cycling route that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”

In the photo above you see a new sign and an older post marker. The post is probably 10-20 or more years old. It is pleasantly weathered and has a pretty Camino shell icon on the side. It will look the same after another 20 years.

The new sign is a couple of years old tops. As you can see people do mess with them. Plus they are ugly even when undamaged. And they get filled up with those pesky stickers.

And keep them off my lawn too!

Haystacks

If you saw “The Way” you might remember the scene in the haystacks. On our 2013 Camino we were excited to see them, looking just like in the movie. And there were a lot of them. This year we have seen only a few and they seemed old and deteriorating. One we saw was being taken down and hauled away. I guess new technology has made them obsolete. In previous Caminos (more northern ones) we saw the hay in wheels that were enclosed in plastic, keeps them drier I guess. In fact, during a previous Caminos I uncovered a sinister plot involving them. I’ll say no more.

Back in the 1960s in LA I used to watch wrestling from the Olympic Auditorium. And “Whoa, Nellie!” Dick Lane was a great announcer and Gorgeous George really put it to the pencil necks. I don’t remember him wrestling at the Olympic but these photos make me think of Haystacks Calhoun.

These guys were all fascinating characters.

CpcPix

Just after sunrise, walking through huge vineyards.
Out before sunrise which is not until 7:15 because of Spain’s whacky time zone, thanks Franco.
Massive vineyards to make the La Rioja wine.
We walked by several wineries like this one. We often see olive tree orchards beside the vineyards. This olive tree looks very old based on the size of its trunk. I liked the topiary style pruning.
This is the bar in Ventosa where we had breakfast, our usual fried eggs and toast.
Here is the inside of the bar. You can see Wynette, or Dorothy as she goes by here, going to the table we are sharing with a Canadian couple we met on the trail. Of course, we apologized for the abominable behavior of our country towards Canada.
Every bar has an ice cream freezer like this, nothing special there, but …
On the other wall I see this. What? Gelato in La Rioja? I have never seen anything like this in a Spanish bar. The blue one is nube, cloud, or in this case, marshmallow. So how is this sourced? Isn’t it a lot of work to make gelato? And 12 flavors? Right behind the little white truck that brings the daily bread delivery to the bar is the refrigerated gelato truck?