La Rioja

You've left Navarra behind, and the Basque character that has been fading since Roncesvalles disappears almost entirely. La Rioja is Spain's second-smallest autonomous community and the smallest on the Camino Francés. The camino crosses it in about 60 km — roughly three days of walking.

The region is defined by wine. The Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja is one of only two DOCa classifications in Spain, and the vineyards stretch in every direction from Logroño. Tempranillo is the dominant grape, and the range from young crianza to aged gran reserva provides excuse enough for extended tastings. The bodegas around Haro and Cenicero are open for visits, though they're off the camino route.

The landscape transitions from the green river valleys around Logroño to the drier, vine-covered hills heading west. The food is excellent — Rioja's pimientos, chorizo, patatas a la riojana, and lamb dishes are all worth seeking out, and even small-town bars take their cooking seriously.

To the south of Logroño lies Clavijo, where in 844 (according to legend) Santiago Matamoros made his first appearance. The story tells that during a battle between Ramiro I of Asturias and the Moors, Santiago appeared on a white horse to rally the Christian forces. The legend became the foundation myth of the Reconquista, and the image of Santiago on horseback with Moors underfoot appears in churches and cathedrals the length of the Camino.

For those with time, the Monasteries of Yuso and Suso in San Millán de la Cogolla (about 40 km south) are UNESCO World Heritage sites and among the finest monasteries in Spain. The Suso monastery is where the first written words in both Spanish and Basque were recorded.