One Week Down…

So let’s talk about days 6-7 on the Camino. I was in Estella when I last posted, and currently I am taking a zero day in Logrono (meaning I’m doing laundry, getting a massage, and exploring the city). Tomorrow (Saturday) I’m back on the trail again.

Day 6 – I hiked from Estella to Torres del Rio, a bit over 18 miles. Most pilgrims stop and stay in Los Arcos on this day, but I decided to add another 5 miles so I could get to Logrono early on Day 7. The scenery today was wowza – I have added photos below. And I had another picture perfect day of weather – only a shower thus far on the pilgrimage.

Once I made it to my destination – Torres del Rio – I checked into the hostel where I was staying and went through my daily routine – unpack my bag, shower, review the next day’s hike, figure out what I’m gonna eat/drink, and reserve a room for a couple days out. Since this town only had one restaurant and no supermarket, I had no choice but to eat dinner at the restaurant.

Trying to communicate with locals can be a challenge as many of the folks don’t speak much English and I don’t speak much Spanish. So I use a Translate app on my phone that seems to help most of the time. For dinner, I had to use the app to let them know I am a vegetarian and I eat no meat (and that means fish/tuna and eggs) – for some reason, tuna qualifies as vegetarian in Spain. So I ended up with a salad, veggie burger (no bread) with roasted red pepper, and potatoes. Happy to say I got a break from the usual bread/cheese/tomato sandwich that I routinely eat.

Day 7 was a short stint (12.5 miles) from Torres del Rio to Logrono, a city of about 150,000 people. To date, I have hiked 158,5 km/98 miles on the Camino. Time seems to fly by. The views today were not as amazing as some days, but there were certainly moments of beauty, especially all the wildflowers that line the trail. And the smells are amazing – from both the flowers and the manure from the farms (not so amazing!).

Logrono is the capital of the province of La Rioja, so it is a decent size city. Surrounding it are vineyards and olive groves, many of which I passed by on my hike into the city. This area is known for its red wine, and many pilgrims are certainly taking advantage of the alcohol throughout the day, starting as early as before noon. I prefer my Coke Zero, hot tea, and water.

Yesterday (Thursday) I knew I had to do laundry since it had been 11 days since I had cleaned my clothes. By the way, my entire wardrobe for 2 months includes 2 hiking pants, 2 S/S hiking shirts, 2 L/S hiking shirts, a pair of rain pants, 3 sports bras, 3 pairs hiking socks, rain jacket, and hooded jacket. The hotel did not have a washer/dryer so I went to a local self-serve laundromat nearby. I put €5 into the washer, along with my clothes and 1/2 washer sheet, and started the washer. Within minutes, the washer was filled with suds, and for over 20 minutes, the suds did not dissipate. Finally, as the cycle went to rinse and spin, some of the suds finally washed out. Unfortunately, my clothes smelled like detergent when I got them out, and were still sudsy. While waiting for my clothes to wash, I translated the instructions posted in the laundromat: for the convenience of our customers, we have included laundry detergent in the washer so you don’t have to bring your own. So that’s why my clothes were filled with detergent after the wash was complete. So I brought my wet clothes back to the hotel and spent another 30 minutes trying to get the suds out of them in the bathtub. I strung up my handy clothesline between two lamps and as of today, they are all dry. So far I am not itching – hopefully that’s a good sign.

Today (Friday) I am spending time preparing for my hikes and accommodations for the next several days. I explored the city of Logrono, did some grocery shopping, and found some toothpaste. I scheduled a massage for 6:00-7:00 pm tonight – hopefully the massage therapist can work on my feet, legs, back, neck, shoulders, and whatever else she can work magic on in one hour!

Saturday I am back on the Camino headed to Najera – an 18-mile hike from Logrono. Checking the weather forecast, it looks like rain for the next 5 days. Can’t wait for those good times – NOT!

Below are some scenes from my past 2 days on the Camino.

Hiked by the Bodega Winery on my way to Torres del Rio. They offer a wine fountain daily where you can drink free red wine (as much as you can put in your bottle or mouth).

Wheat fields, vineyards, and rock cliff mountains.

Town on the way to Torres del Rio – surrounding farms.

Pilgrims love the wine of the La Rioja region of Spain. Wine tastings are a common excursion if you take a day away from the Camino.

Pilgrims ahead of me, which I quickly passed after taking this photo.

Some cement art along the trail.

I can’t get enough of these organic views.

The Camino on Day 6 – and yes, I passed that pilgrim in the distance!

The restaurant where I had dinner Wednesday night. I met the Korean guy above, Jeong Kim, on the train from Bayonne to SJPP (start of the Camino). He said I was his first Camino friend so he gave me a Korean book mark to show his gratitude for our friendship.

On Day 7, I passed by a food truck and guess who I saw – Raymond from Germany (the dude who took my photo on an earlier day when I was pictured in the rusted sculpture that I posted).

A South Korean pilgrim – check out those trousers! And I passed her numerous times going into Logrono.

It’s all about the grapes.

Pilgrims and locals on the Camino in Viana – the trail goes right through the town.

Vineyards in the foreground, Logrono in the background.

Logrono and me.

Yes – I had to post it. My clothes in the laundromat with suds beyond the max. What a disaster.

The 1000th cat I have seen so far on the Camino. Maybe his/her name is Sellon? He/she had no interest in me – did not even wink an eye.

Buen Camino!