Camino a Santiago Day 7: Los Arcos to Logroño

Distance: 29.1km (18.1 mi)

Elevation Gained: 457m (1,498ft)

Duration: 8hr

Steps: 42,481

Calories: 1,924

Twenty-nine kilometers done and dusted. Eighteen miles. Metric or imperial, it’s still one heck of a distance, and the longest I’ve done thus far along the Camino. I left early today. Around 6:45am. It started getting quite hot a few days ago and this is the only way to beat the heat—at least for the first part of the day. So much for sleeping in. Ah well. This isn’t a walk in the park I guess.

It was actually quite nice in the early going. There is something very serene about walking that early. And it went by much quicker than I expected it to. It’s interesting, dealing with the inner silence. While I did indeed bring a bunch of audio books and podcasts to listen to, I’ve yet to even break out my AirPods for just plain old music. I’m quite happy listening to the sounds around me. In a week or so I may not feel the same, but for now, I love being in the moment.

This was, like the day before, a day of chance encounters. First there was Bill, one half of the New Mexico couple I told you about earlier. His wife Eloise did indeed have to cab it forward in order to have her knee checked out in Logroño. Luckily as I found out when I ran into them again in the evening, there is nothing serious going on, just a really unhappy IT band. So the walk continues. Fantastic news.

Later I ran into Nelli. I hadn’t seen her since day four when we first met in person quite by accident as Linda and I made our way to the Alto del Perdón. She’s the one who created the What’s App group of women who are walking the Camino solo around the same time. Anyway, as it turns out, we ended up walking the last eight miles together, and it was quite enjoyable. We stopped for a group lunch in Viana with a bunch of folks I hadn’t met before, but who like Nelli and Linda are part of the Albergue crowd; meaning the folks staying in shared accommodations along the Camino. While doing that never appealed to me, I have to say, the positive is you really do meet a lot more people. So if that’s important to you, it’s certainly something to consider. Anyway, after lunch, Nelli and I pushed on and exchanged life stories, and wouldn’t you know it, she’s a lapsed news person who used to work for German TV and now is in marketing. Small world.

Once in Logroño, and after settling into my hotel and procrastinating quite a bit to head out again, I went in search for food. Well I procrastinated a bit too long; Spanish eating hours being what they are and all that. It was 4pm and there was nothing to be had other than a finger sandwich and a glass of wine until restaurants opened again at 7:30pm. I thought I was going to starve.

In the end, Nelli, Linda, New Mexico couple and myself all ended up going pinxto-hopping in Calle Laurel, which is basically a tiny little street in Logroño’s historic center that is known for its Pinxtos. Rather than going to one place for a sit down dinner, the idea is you go from place to place sampling one bite size offering at a time. On the menu on this evening were the most amazing grilled mushrooms doused in olive oil and garlic, a chorizo and egg sloppy joe, and artichokes and clams in a green sauce. Yummy!! Of course, after 18 miles, we threw in the towel shortly after nine o’clock, just as the party was getting started on Calle Laurel. Ah well, I didn’t come to Spain for the night life. Maybe next time. Oh, and tomorrow is a rest day. In Wine country. You all know what that means.

Accommodation: Hotel Calle Mayor. I’m a bit split on this place. It’s location is perfect. The building it’s housed in is historic and beautiful, the service is good and the included breakfast also quite good. My ambivalence has to do with the room which was just incredibly plain and did not fit the rest of the hotel. I also did not have a window that looked to the outside so it felt a bit confining. It may just have been my room, which was a single accommodation. €84 per night.

Dinner: Bar Soriano, El Muro, Letras de Laurel. Of the three my favorite was Soriano. Those mushrooms really were incredible. I would follow that by El Muro. Letras de Laurel was also good, but nothing to write home about.