Days 9 & 10 ~ Viana to Logroño and a day off

We only had somewhere around 6 miles to get from Viana to Logroño, so we started at 9am. The temperature had dropped to about 65 degrees starting out, which made it much more pleasant. The trail was also relatively flat, thankfully, because my shins were sore from the steep down hills from the day before. And I had a suspicion it was from the boots I was starting to hate. Something popped in my left shin about 10 minutes into the walk and it took me a good mile before it stopped bothering me, but then my feet started to hurt. They shouldn’t hurt after only 3 miles. This is ridiculous. It’s been very frustrating to have all these little aches and pains. Getting old sucks.

We made it to Logroño at 11:30am. A record for us. Mostly because there wasn’t anyplace to stop along the way. Usually about 2 hours into the day we stop for coffee. But, at 2 hours, we were well within the city limits. So, we pushed on to the town square and found someplace to eat while we waited for our host to let us into our VRBO at 12:30. We immediately showered and did all our laundry. Because there are no dryers to be found in any place we have been, we had to string our camp laundry lines up in our rooms to dry our clothes. Currently, I have socks, undies, and shorts directly above my head.

We’ve been monitoring El País, the Spanish newspaper, to see what the pandemic is doing to the different areas in Spain. Right now, it seems that the restrictions are centered around Madrid. We are worried that if the cases of Covid increase up in northern Spain, we may be forced to stop. It’s already difficult to find restaurants in some of the smaller towns. If they close that all together, then we are screwed. We have no problem cooking, but we can’t cook if we aren’t allowed in the albergue kitchens. So, we keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. We can only worry about today.

We were out, after siesta, picking up pharmacy supplies, groceries, a phone charger at the Apple store, a bigger bag to put my current bag in so I can unload more of my pack, and then we dropped everything off at the apartment.

Since the restaurants are open we went out for dinner early. Surprisingly, there were a few places open at 7ish. Nothing really gets started until around 8 or 9pm. But we heard of gourmet tapas on La Laurel street. Just around the corner from the apartment. They were yummy, but by the time 9pm rolled around, Bruce and I were full, and really tired, and the street was starting to fill up. I cannot even imagine what it would be like with no pandemic.

The morning of our day off we got up and went out to breakfast around 9am. We were looking to find a place to stamp our Peregrino Passport. We passed by Dona Elvira’s the day before, where one would normally stop to get a sello, but sadly she had passed, and her daughter was not giving sellos that day. Normally the churches will have a “sello”, so we went to the cathedral. We walked in during a communion service, so we stayed until the end. Not sure who the gentleman was doing the service, but he was O L D. It took him a full 30 seconds to walk around the alter. It was almost a Saturday Night Live comedy sketch. Once he made it around he had to sit for a minute or two (let up pray) before continuing on with the service. It’s interesting to see how many times he used gel on his hands during the ceremony. (I don’t remember that part of the service when I was a kid. I wonder if they bless the gel before they use it in the service) He had several sips of the communion wine. He obviously over-poured. Because, for the service, no one else is allowed to drink from that glass. 😉 After the service, his attendant came over and offered him his arm to exit to the sacristy to change out of is garb.

While wandering around the cathedral after the service was over, Bill found a painting, behind a vault and thick glass. You had to pay €1 to turn the lights on. What a surprise! It was The Crucifixion of Christ by Miguel Angel Buonarroti. I felt like and idiot when we looked him up and found out that was Michelangelo. Doh!

No sello to be found to put in our passports, so we went to the Museo de La Rioja and got one there. It’s the museum for the La Rioja region. And it was fantastic. One of the better museums I’ve been thru just because of the way they had things displayed. There were several of the altar screens from churches. You know, the highly gilded ones with the paintings that you can’t make out? It was great see up close because the paintings were incredible. Bruce noted that the wood working tools haven’t really evolved much in the last several hundred years.

After the Museum we decided to come back to the apartment and lay around. Rest our hips, knees, and feet for our 10 mile trek tomorrow. It’s a great time to repack, and reorganize. And, find things you packed away in some long forgotten spot. I found two things: my sink plug so I can wash my shirt and undies in sinks with no plugs, and my muscle balm.

My main mission when we got to Logroño was to buy some new trail runners. My boots are dead to me. Yes, I am aware that there may be all sorts of issues with new shoes, but I’ve figured they can’t be much worse that my hated boots. I’ve been wearing them since I got them and they are super comfy and I don’t feel any potential hot spots. Also, the weather will be rainy and cooler. So, that is something to look forward to.

18 Sep 2020 ~ 23679 steps ~ 9.8 miles ~ 78º F

Note: wifi is proving difficult in some places. So, these blog posts will mostly likely be irregular. Can’t be helped, I’m afraid.