Our usual 09:00 departure took us on a 66 mile journey; at least the marathons of days past were over, and we were back at a more civilised 18:00. The weather was mixed; overcast and showery in the morning, brightening up around noon.

The itinerary planners, however, continued “havin’ a laff”.

First we visited Santo Domingo, a stop along El Camino del Norte pilgrimage route (also known as The Way of St. James) which ultimately leads to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.

We pulled up in what could best be described as a municipal housing estate to walk back to the gates and alleyways that led to the Old Town. It was closed and deserted. It was also a small area.

Even if open, there wasn’t a lot to see except some old buildings and a massive cathedral. The Catholic Church, being ever mindful of the needs of its congregation, charged €7 admission unless you were a Pilgrim. Then you receive a 50% discount to allow you to complete your devotions at this very special price. It was a beautiful interior, but on a trip like this, ABC, seen one…

We were not alone in being back at the coach well in advance of the departure time.

We moved on the Haro, wine capital of La Rioja. An abbreviation for Haro-ing? (Harrowing)

Maybe the instructions provided were vague, maybe we weren’t listening carefully enough, but we spent the first 30 minutes wandering along some shabby shopping streets that had nothing whatsoever to commend them. At this point, I checked where nearby airports were and what flight schedules could end this purgatory. Nothing doing, so Google Maps was asked for “Places of Interest”. All it could offer were bodegas, most of which were out of town, and we had a planned visit to one later in the day. It did reveal that there were some parks and plazas nearby so we made the best of it.

A 15 minute Google-guided walk took us to a semi-interesting area (again deserted and mostly closed) but did have one pavement café which provided us with tea and beer (I needed one by then!).

Once again, most people were back early and so we arrived for our bodega visit 45 minutes ahead of schedule. The sun had come out and it had a garden area, so we all sat around, many buying a glass of Rioja, waiting for our tour.

The tour redeemed the day.

We were taken to all areas of the facility which no longer produces the wines; it is where they’re matured and bottled. The guide was very knowledgable and spoke perfect, unaccented English and had a speaking style that made even the mundane become interesting.

The company produces very upmarket wines, but didn’t waste them on us at the tasting which concluded the tour. We had the supermarket blends (which, apparently, Waitrose sell in the UK). A few nibbles and cheese helped it on its way down.

Another good meal rounded off the day.