La Rioja

Yesterday I left the Rioja region of Spain, the capital of which is Logroño where I was a few days ago.  Apparently this is the least populated region of Spain and I can believe it from the tiny villages I saw over the last few days.  It is of course well known for its wines which draw their name from the river Oja ('Rio Oja' in Spanish) that flows through the region.  Wine making goes back to the 9th Century but it gained in popularity after French vineyards were devastasted by a microscopic aphid in the mid 1800s.  Vintners flocked to Rioja and joined up with local vineyard owners to create the reds now known as Rioja.  It is wine and the Camino that have helped boost the region's economy since the 19th century and I for one have been enjoying both.