Today’s stats: 18 miles/1500 ft elevation. We have left Navarre and are now in La Rioja, the famous Spanish wine region.

The optimism of the past week is fast evaporating as our hearts are heavy and full of concern for the people of Israel. More than 600 rockets have been launched at Israel, and the world is silent.
The scenery is changing from the green wheat fields to vineyards and olive groves. It could be my mood, but the landscape seems less lush and festive, sparser and browner. For the first time on this journey, we listened to music - Israeli folk songs.

Shout out to HBT. Hope the wildflowers in Santa Teresa County Park are spectacular this year. We miss our Sunday hikes, but on the Camino, every day is a Sunday. We were jealous of the group’s stats last week. Today, we put the mileage on our boots.

Mothers’ Day, known as Día de las Madres, honors mothers and mother figures in Spain on the first Sunday in May. We enjoyed the festive holiday vibes in Viana, the last town we passed thru in Navarre.
It is only fitting that tonight we are staying at Calle Mayor, probably the most luxurious of our Camino habitacions.

Camino quote of the day: “God couldn’t be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.” Happy Spanish Mother’s Day!
Praying for peace in Israel. Buen Camino!