Camino Day 8: Los Arcos to Logroño

Date: April 8th, 2022

Distance: 28km/ 17.4 miles

Time: 6:30-1:30pm (7 hours)

Are you ready to read an uplifting blog post about me happily strolling along the Camino without any physical ailments? Today is not that day. Maybe one of these days. So far, each day is more physically challenging than the last, the soreness compounding.

Ahead of us was the longest day yet- 28km/17.4 miles. This day has been dubbed “the knee wrecker” by other pilgrims for its ups and downs.

Iris and I headed out at 6:30am into the darkness, our earliest start time yet. Emily had gone ahead (you go girl!) and Rachel would follow behind us.

We were grumpy little gremlins- it was cold and incredibly windy, and we were both still having serious achilles pain, so we started slowly.

Another pilgrim with us kept trying to stop and wait for me and offer me cream for my leg, bless him. But I was ready for some alone time; I was feeling the effects of nonstop time with others. For a week straight, I had been walking and talking with pilgrims, eating meals together, sleeping in shared accomodations, etc. The communal aspect is such a special part of the Camino, but it can also be challenging for an introvert like me who likes to spend a lot of time by herself.

I was oscillating between so many emotions that morning- annoyance, frustration, awe, gratitude. The sun was coming up behind me, so every time I looked around, the landscape was colored with new shades of pink, purple, orange, and gold. I was in awe of the beauty of it all and grateful to be on this beautiful hillside in Spain doing this hard thing that I’d always wanted to do.

The struggle was real trying to get to that first town. My achilles was in pain, & a long ass day stretched ahead. As Emily had said, “I personally think it’s rude for the destination to be visible & seemingly not getting any closer.”

I walked. I also did the walk and cry combo. Later that afternoon, the girls would share their own come-to-Jesus walking and crying moments from the day. (I’m really making the Camino sound fun, right?)

After cafes con leches at our first stop (Torres del Rio) we had 10.4km to Viana to go. We made an effort to take more stops along the way to snack and elevate the legs.

We arrived to Viana at lunchtime after 6 hours of walking. I was so ready to put my damn bag down. I enjoyed the Pilgrims menu with James (the Canadian) and Frederico and David (the Italians).

I was gearing up for the last 10km of the day when Iris texted that she would be taking a cab the rest of the way to avoid further injuring her achilles. Smart. Didn’t take me long to decide that I would join. I met her and Rachel at a cafe around the corner. First, we drank wine at a table outside while propping up our achilles on bags of ice. Rachel had slathered icy hot on top of her leggings hoping it would soak through to her hurting knees. (I’m laughing out loud as I write this….Remind me again why I’m doing this to myself?)

Our cab arrived. Felt great to tap out early and condense several hours of walking into an easy and pain-free 5 min cab ride. Shhh. It’s our secret.

For our last night together (Emily and Rachel were heading on, Iris and I were staying an extra day in Logrono for an Achilles rest day), we headed to the famed Calle del Laurel for bar and pintxo hopping. We drank wine and sampled bocaditos (little sandwiches), pulpo a la gallena, mochi, mushroom pintxos, croquetas, y mas. Man, I love Spain!

I also love these Camino besties. Gonna miss this gal squad! So grateful that I had these ladies by my side during the trials and tribulations of our first Camino week.

That’s the thing about space… one moment you’re craving it, and in the next, you’re not ready to say goodbye. But we shall meet again soon- & we’ll talk, laugh, drink wine, and eat more bags of candy.

But in the meantime… buen camino, babies!