Day seven, Los Arcos to Logrono

Wifi connections are driving me crazy. For two days I've had my phone online and not my laptop. Today I have my laptop online, but with a very weak signal, but I don't have my phone online so can't add photos. When I can, I'll add a photo album at the bottom of this page

Day 7, Los Arcos to Logrono.

Saturday June 8

A longer day. A walk of 20-22k is ok, but 30k, as today was, starts to drag.

It was an inauspicious start at 7.35am, when I took a wrong turn from the hotel, couldn’t find the trail, and clocked a kilometre before I got on track.

It was a nice day, a little cool at first, but I discarded my top layer within the first hour. I was marching along pretty well, so stopped at a very rustic coffee stop at 10.45am. At this stage I’d covered 14km in a touch over three hours.

There was nothing particularly hard about the day and I was trying to make myself stop, but the next opportunity didn’t come until the very scenic medieval town of Viana (population 4000). I felt like I’d cracked the day by then. It was 12.25pm and I was more than 19k into it after a little less than five hours.

I loved walking through its streets. Apparently pilgrims 600 years ago would have walked the same streets and the town was then a favourite stopover for pilgrims.

As is the way, I marvelled at the price of food – two lovely little anchovy thingies (pinchos) and a coffee for $3. Lathered up with sun cream, as it was getting hot, there wasn’t much wind and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen. I wished I’d mimicked those old pilgrims and stopped in this lovely town, but I had a hotel booked in Logrono, so off I went, feeling quite good.

As always, the last part is the hardest. I thought I had about 9k to go, but it turned out to be 11k, and there wasn’t a single stop – just shadeless, sealed country roads..

Logrono is a city of 155,000 and the capital of the wine region of La Rioja. It’s usually hard to know what you’re drinking. A typical meal doesn’t usually give you the option to choose, as the wine is thrown in with the price. Either a bottle of wine is plonked on the table, or you get a glass full, topped up on request. For $12 for three courses plus wine, you can hardly be picky.

Following the trail through the city isn’t easy, as the trail signage is a bit hit-and-miss, but I managed to strike it lucky and ended up safely at Hotel Los Bracos. It’s a typical flash hotel, all slick and shiny with good facilities, but no soul. In an outpost of the fourth floor, I can’t even get a wifi signal on my computer, although I have it on my phone. Correction – I can get the signal, but it won’t load.

Which means – I won’t be getting a blog loaded tonight, although I’ve typed this one in Word and have it saved to paste into the blog when I get my computer connected.

The window opens to a vertical gap in the centre of the building, so when I look out all I can see is the windows of other rooms. The building is eight storeys high, so from my fourth floor room I can’t even see the sky.

Nothing of spiritual significance to report today, it was more a matter of purifying my soul by just plodding along. I didn’t get into any discussions at all, apart from a brief one with a Spanish man who kept on peeing. He and his mate were just in front of me, so I’d catch them up when he stopped for one. After the fifth stop in a couple of hours, I asked him why he peed so much. “I drink a lot, so I piss a lot – they’re both good,” he said. “I get a euro every time I piss”. He’ll be a rich man at that rate - I reckon he’ll have earned about 500 by the end. Not sure who’s paying him though.

42,000 steps today 

Sunday, June 9

Doing my best to take it easy today. I’ve had a good wander. There are huge streets of markets with all sorts of stuff including music and theatre. As it’s Sunday, there are people everywhere. I made sure I sussed the route out of town so I don’t repeat yesterday’s misdemeanour.

I’ll go out again for some food soon, as it’s after noon, but might just lie down and finish my book.

Took another wander after 1pm. The streets are absolutely packed. It’s interesting to wander and look at everything, but after a huge slab of flat bread with chicken and mushroom minced between, I drifted back and snoozed for a couple of hours.

Done some more reading with a beer, but my poky room doesn’t even have an arm chair, so have to lie propped up on the bed.

Tomorrow is another long day.

Photos from Los Arcos to Logrono, then in Logrono on the rest day: https://photos.app.goo.gl/x9H6c5N2hgmiNC5n7