So it seems that you can definitely have days where inspiration eludes you on the Camino. The last two days of walking from Los Arcos to Logroño and Logroño to Ventosa have been fairly bland. We have moved into the Rioja wine region so vines everywhere. I miss the poppies.  We spent our first night in a municipal albergue in Los Arcos-a room of 60+ bunk beds so close you could reach out and touch the pilgrim next to you! It was ok. At 6EUR you get what you pay for. Los Arcos was small and compact. The best thing was the town square where pilgrims gathered to eat and catch up on news.

We spent time with the lovely Katarina from Sweden and our friends Dave and Li from the US. And Jesus! So good to see him again. Poor Jesus. He decided to get a back massage and ended up in so much pain he was unable to walk the next day. We left him in Los Arcos unsure whether he was able to move on or not. Left los Arcos early morning due to the pretty young things (and there are many!) eager to race to the next stop. The church was lovely pre dawn.

I’m enjoying my new routines. Getting my pack ready the night before so as to leave efficiently the next day, walking a couple of hours, then stopping for breakfast (of bocadillo of course!), walking another couple of hours and stopping for lunch and some days an early cerveza. Walking a bit more the stopping for the day.  Shower, washing clothes, relax, explore the new town, meet friends. The next day we do it all again!  A great day is when the walking is easy and the showers are hot and strong, you have wifi and you catch up with old friends or make some new ones. We stayed in Logroño last night – a vibrant and bustling town known for its cathedral and its tapas bars. Did a bar crawl with Bill and his lovely daughter Daria from Boston. 

The last few days the walking hasn’t been easy so I’ve been listening to Paul Coelho’s The Alchemist as I walk. What is my Personal Legend? Can I hear the language of the world? It’s been an inspiring story. And is transitioning me to what I hear is the next stage of the Camino- the inner journey. I haven’t got there yet though as my physical journey has been challenging, with my ankle deciding it needed some attention. I limped into Ventosa today in tears from the pain of tendinitis in my right foot. I am not a wuss. Just so you know. The angel owner of the Albergue San Saturnino where we are staying tonight gave me an ice pack which helped considerably (today’s miracle).

Tomorrow we are sending our packs to Azofra. Only 16 km away but I think it’s all I can manage. I am learning to listen.  Ahh, now about the Spanish kilometres… I truly believe they run at about 1.5 to ours. This means when you see a sign or read a map that says it’s 10km to the next town, really this is likely to be around 15. And the last 3-5 km will take you hours. It’s one of the strangest phenomena of the Camino!  We saw this sign at the Albergue in Logroño. By my reckoning we have walked around 185 km. That’s inspiring, no?