Day 5, Oct 3, Monjardin to Logrono, 24mi

Today was a long day but filled with great sights and thoughts.  I began down the road and after 5 minutes of not seeing any Flechas Amarillas, my guard was up and I decided to turn back and see if I had missed one.  And I had.  They never fail me!  It’s a great analogy for life – watch for the signs, if you don’t see them after a while, re-assess and possibly make a u-turn.

The morning was beautiful; once the sun rose fully it was a very sunny and warm day.  Around 10:15am, I stopped in a small town for breakfast, purchasing an amazing homemade apple pastry and then down the road sat down and ordered a coffee while I ate it.  I checked my map, enjoyed the break, and headed on.  I felt an immense sense of gratitude; getting to be here, having the health and fitness to walk where I want to go, finding small treasures along the way like homemade apple pastries.  For the first time this trip, I put on my headphones and listened to a few songs as I walked in the sun.  I felt so happy.

Later on I met some girls from Denmark and Lithuania.  They were marching along eating flowers, and offered me one.  They, like my French friends, were finding fun and joy in eating their way along the Camino.  One of the gals told me the flowers were like the kind you’d see on fancy cakes.  I took one and ate a few petals, discreeting tossing it behind me as we chatted.  I was more interested in the next edible we came across – almonds.  We picked a few off a tree growing right by the Camino, and they showed me how to peel the soft fuzzy part off, then crack open the shell with a rock.  Raw almond, right there in my palm.  I ate it!

It was sunny and feeling hot; I began to slow and feel weary.  I had about 5k (3 mi) to go.  Some folks caught up with me whom I had met a few days before.  It was a brother and 2 sisters, and one of their husbands; they were from Boliva (La Paz), but now live in Miama.  At first I had spoken Spanish with them, but we could have much more in-depth conversations in English, so we did.  They were a really fun, energetic group and it was fun to reunite with them and have some great conversation heading into Logrono, a fairly big city (155,000) with a university.  The Guiterez family and I said our goodbyes, exchanging emails, and I found my albergue, which was an Association-type, fairly big and well-equipped.

I showered, and though my feet hurt quite a lot (still no blisters!), I headed out to the nearby Square where the city cathedral was.  It was a Saturday night, so tons of people were out and about, all ages.  As in any city, it was really fun to people-watch.  In bigger cities, I am choosing to eat at local cafes or restaurants instead of the Pilgrim meal usually offered at each albergue (not always, though), so I can try different foods.  I found a restaurant right off the square which looked a little up-scale but not too over the top.  They had good wifi so I chose a table in the back to be able to people-watch and check my emails and upload photos.  For 16.30 euros, I had a huge salad  (interesting addition of tuna and canned asparagus 0n top!), a glass of wine, a typical Spanish “tortilla” which is not like the bread/tortilla we know; it is like a crustless quiche made of eggs and chunks of potato, then additions like onion, tuna, olive, or ham.  Then…I also got dessert.  A brownie with ice cream and lots of chocolate sauce.  24 miles and I was hungry!!  Plus, experiencing the food is one of the super-fun things about travel for me.

Tomorrow I will walk 21 miles, so it was good fuel.

Thanks for reading!

I pass quite a few small farms and gardens; they all look so healthy and beautiful!
I pass quite a few small farms and gardens; they all look so healthy and beautiful!

Sunny morning joy!
Sunny morning joy!
Apple pastry and cafe con leche
Apple pastry and cafe con leche
Raw almond, from tree by the side of Camino
Raw almond, from tree by the side of Camino

 

Blogging during dinner!
Blogging during dinner!

I liked the light on this colored wall

I liked the light on this colored wall
There is not a lot of grafitti around, but near bigger cities and in tunnels there is some. This one was artsy and nice, though!
There is not a lot of grafitti around, but near bigger cities and in tunnels there is some. This one was artsy and nice, though!