Navarrete

The church bell strikes noon and two worlds collide in Navarrete's main square. Backpackers in quick-dry trousers queue for credential stamps while elderly locals in housecoats carry shopping baskets past them, barely glancing up. This is no stage-set village: at 512 metres above the Ebro valley, Navarrete functions as a working market town that happens to sit squarely on the Camino Francés, 12 kilometres east of Logroño.

Stone the colour of burnt honey lines narrow streets that climb from the modern bypass up to the sixteenth-century Iglesia de la Asunción. The tower serves as a landmark for kilometres around – you'll spot it long before you reach the town limits, rising above vineyards that stretch towards the Sierra de la Demanda. Inside, the baroque retablo gleams with gilt cherubs; outside, pilgrims compare blisters over cortados at the café opposite. The church keeps erratic hours, so if the doors are locked you'll have to content yourself with the Romanesque portal and the satisfying crunch of gravel beneath your feet in the adjoining plaza.

Clay, Kilns and Credencials

Navarrete's other claim to fame lies a street away from the Camino arrows. Follow the scent of woodsmoke and you'll find the talleres where potters still fire clay in traditional kilns. Unlike the demonstration workshops of tourist Spain, these are functioning businesses: ask politely and you might watch a bowl being thrown or buy a seconds dish for a few euros. The craft dates back centuries – locals claim the clay pits outside town produced storage jars for Rioja long before glass bottles became fashionable. Most workshops shut between two and four, so arrive early or risk peering through locked gates.

The municipal pottery museum (free entry, when open) occupies a former convent and displays everything from medieval roof tiles to contemporary sculpture. Don't expect interactive displays: labels are in Spanish only, but the artefacts speak for themselves. A hand-written notice on the door provides a mobile number to ring if you find it closed; someone usually appears within ten minutes, wiping clay from their hands.

Walking Without a Pack

You don't need a scallop shell to enjoy Navarrete's paths. Agricultural tracks leave the upper streets and thread between vineyards, offering level walking with sweeping views back towards the town walls. In April the vines fuzz with new growth; October turns the leaves bronze and brings the vendimia, when tractors hauling grapes force pedestrians into the ditch. Summer walkers should set out before ten: at midday the sun reflects off stony soil and shade is non-existent. Winter brings the cierzo, a cold north wind that can drop the wind-chill below freezing even when Logroño basks in sunshine.

For a circular route, head south-east towards the ruined Hospital de San Juan de Acre. Only crumbling walls remain of this twelfth-century pilgrim hostel, but the vantage point explains why the order chose this ridge: you can see approaching travellers a full twenty minutes before they reach town. Return via the dirt track that skirts the cemetery; blackberries ripen along the fence in early autumn and locals arrive with plastic bags to strip the bushes.

Wine Without the Coach Parties

Navarrete sits within the Rioja DOP, yet lacks Logroño's stag-party atmosphere. Several bodegas offer tastings by appointment – Bodegas Manzanos operates from a modern building on the eastern approach and will collect you from the bus stop if you book ahead. Their €12 tour includes three wines and local cheese; the reserva costs an extra €3 to sample and justifies the supplement. Smaller family cellars closer to the centre open irregularly: look for hand-painted signs reading "visita y cata" and ring the bell. Weekends fill up during harvest; mid-week you'll likely get the owner to yourself.

If you simply want a glass with lunch, Bar Deportivo serves a perfectly decent crianza by the glass for €2.50. Their menú del día runs to three courses plus wine for €12 – expect patatas a la riojana, a filling stew of potato and mild chorizo that tastes better than it photographs. Vegetarians should ask for setas a la plancha when mushrooms are in season; otherwise you're looking at tortilla or salad.

Thursday Market and Other Rituals

Market day transforms the main car park into a maze of tarpaulin stalls. Local farmers offload surplus vegetables while a neighbouring stall sells factory seconds from the pottery workshops – cereal bowls with slightly wobbly rims for €2 each. Arrive before eleven for the best choice; by noon traders begin packing up and the square reverts to parking.

Sunday lunchtime operates on its own timetable. Half the restaurants close entirely; the rest fill with extended families who linger over chuletón until four. Book a table at Obrador Bar Jamonero or queue on the church steps watching the world go by. Their 1 kg T-bone easily feeds two; ask for "poco hecho" if you like it rare – Spanish cooks tend towards well-done unless instructed otherwise.

Getting There, Getting Out

Logroño bus station lies fifteen minutes away; services run roughly hourly until 22:00 and cost €1.65 each way. Buy tickets on board – exact change helps. By car, leave the AP-68 at junction 11 and follow the N-120; parking outside the walls is free and usually plentiful except during fiestas. Pilgrims walking from Logroño should ignore the old main road (no pavement, heavy lorries) and stick to the signed Camino path that swings north through the vineyards.

Accommodation ranges from €12 dormitory beds in the municipal albergue to €70 doubles in converted manor houses. Easter and September fill fast: if beds are full, Najera lies an easy 16 km further on. The municipal pool opens July and August (€3 day ticket) and provides welcome relief after a morning's walking; shaded grass beside it makes an ideal picnic spot.

When to Come, When to Stay Away

Spring brings almond blossom and temperatures perfect for walking – light jacket weather for Brits used to April showers. May can be wet; paths turn to clay and trainers prove inadequate. Autumn offers crisp mornings and grape-harvest bustle, though accommodation prices edge upwards. August midday heat tops 35°C; plan indoor activities between two and five or risk heatstroke. Winter sunshine feels warm out of wind, but the cierzo whistles through alleyways and night temperatures drop below zero. Many rural restaurants close January-February; call ahead.

Navarrete won't change your life. It will, however, give you an authentic slice of Rioja life minus Logroño's stag parties and Haro's tour-bus crowds. Come for the pottery, stay for the wine, leave before the last bus – or keep walking westwards with the pilgrims, pottery bowl clinking in your pack.