I decide to walk solo to Logrono. Need some independence to do my own thing, at my own pace and stop and interact with people as need or called to. Another beautiful day with no rain, gorgeous views and more vineyards. I can get used to this.
After close to 30 km I see the city of Logrono
I cannot wait. This area is the autonomous region of La Rioja and is known for its wine.
I reach the albergue and check in. And head out into town and visit the sites and look for the pharmacy. First day of blisters on my feet. Dinners in Spain start after 7 PM, usually 7:30 PM and it is early and I’m starving.
I head back to the albergue and meet Janet from Canada. We are lounging about in the albergue, and starving. One of the workers who is eating in front of us feels for us and offers us his left overs. Yes, please and thank you. Bolivian shrimp, friend chicken and rice. The food is a little cold but is enough to satisfy my appetite.
Later that evening at 7 pm Janet, I, Sebastian (from Germany) and Troy (from Canada) walk around Logrono looking for a place to eat. Everything appears 18 Euros and up. I am just hungry and don’t care about the price. When we finally decide on a restaurant (La Tavina) that has a pilgrim menu, we find out that it serves at 8 PM. Grrrrr.
So we walk around the corner to a bar and get one tapa and a bottle of vine and kill time until 8 PM.
8 PM rolls by and we walk to the restaurant. We find out that the kitchen is closed until 8:30 PM, so I'm a little disappointed that we have to wait longer, but we have a few friends nearby who are also eating dinner with other friends and we decide to join the groups and now we have a big table of 12.
It was an amazing night. Everyone opened up about themselves and their journey on the Camino and there were some intense emotional stories to share.
It was a fantastic evening and well worth the wait. The 'pilgrims menu' was delicious.
Our server John spoke great English and then we found our that he is an American living in Spain. He basically translated the entire menu for us in English which made for an eventful day. Great service John and fastantic food.
After dinner we (Troy, Janet, Sebastian and I) walked back to the albergue, and took a picture of the beautiful Church in the night. I feel very close to all of them after they shared out their thoughts and feelings at dinner. Very moving night.
As much as the Camino is about the walk, it is also about the people you meet and share the walk with and the human connection and experiences you forge between them during this intense period.
Expenses: 37.50 Euros
Breakfast: 3.50 Euros
Albergue 10 Euros
Appetizer: 6 Euros
Dinner: 25 Euros
I was i Logroño on a Friday and it was shoulder to shoulder people on the famous tapas street. The tapas were fantastic!
ReplyDelete