I recognize I’m a few days behind here. I was really moving after Pamplona.

Where am I now? Logroño
How far did I walk?
Wednesday- Pamplona to Cirauqui 32 km / 19.8 mi
Thursday- Cirauqui to Los Arcos 35 km / 21.7 miles
Friday – Los Arcos to Logroño 29 km / 18 miles
Saturday – Rest day

Wednesday– To Cirauqui

I was up late Tuesday night finishing my blog post, but was up and on the road by 6:10. Pamplona was very serene, and there were few people on the trail at that point.

It was my longest day on the trail so far (31.8 km/19.7 mi.), but my pace was terrible. It was my first day with the full pack, and I’m getting a second blister. It was not hot, but there was no shade. Finally, there were a lot of hills. All in all, I was only walking about 2 miles per hour.

The scenery was gorgeous all day, including lunch at Puerte la Reinia. I think I’m ahead of two friends from earlier this week, but my friend from Barcelona caught up to me in the last hour.

The town of Cirauqui itself is very interesting, as it is built on top of a steep hill. Many of the shops were closed as there was a funeral that evening. There was also a cool art feature outside town. A local farmer planted shrubs on a steep hill in the outline of a world map.

Dinner was AMAZING in the albergue. All the food was fresh and local as was the wine. I shared a table with my friend from Barcelona, a father-son pair from Milan, and a girl from Aachen, Germany. Most of the conversation was in English, but there were plenty of spin-off sequences as we shared different words from our home language that matched another’s reference. It really felt great to connect with people from such different backgrounds.

Thursday – To Los Arcos

When I looked at the weather on Wednesday, it said Thursday would be the coolest day in the coming week (81 F). That played into my decision to press on for a long day.

I walked 14 km / 8.7 miles to Estella, where I stopped and ate breakfast around 10 AM. I then walked another 9 km / 5.6 mi. to Monjardin, another hilltop village, for lunch. I left there around 2 PM for the final 12 km / 7.4 mi. to Los Arcos.

I knew the final part would be tough and there were no villages in between to stop for the night. When I got to a food truck halfway there, a father and daughter from California commented on how hot it was. When I checked the weather on my phone, it was 88 F. When I eventually made it to Los Arcos at 5 PM, it was 93 F! Yikes!

I was pretty down at this point, and the overcrowded albergue did not help. I got out to go for a walk and found a bakery to pick up two cookies and a 50 oz. bottle of cold water. (While the water comes out reasonably cold from the fountains, by the time I grab my bottle an hour later, it’s usually as warm as a shower.)

I then found the central square, visited the church, and had dinner. Somewhere in this sequence, I realized I was doing this all wrong. I’ve been too focused on the destinations and not the journey.

I sat alone because I was at least a town or two ahead of many of my friends from earlier in the week, yet I saw others crowded together with those that traveled together day by day. I also realized I couldn’t really explore the town because my feet hurt too much.

I decided I needed to slow down.

After dinner, I was back in the albergue, and asleep before 9 PM.

Friday – To Logroño

I did not look at the guidebook as close the night before, because I already knew my plan. One more long day to Logroño, a city nearly the size of Pamplona, and then take a short day, maybe a rest day afterwards to reset.

I left at 6:10 AM, and got moving. The first towns were relatively early so I did not want to stop. When I reached a park bench 4 miles from Viana, my planned lunch break, I realized I never filled up my water bottles the night before!

Knowing there were no fountains or towns in between, I dug in and pressed on. I was optimistic because I could see both Viana and Logroño in the distance, and I could tell the rest of the way would be downhill or flat.

The day before, I was frustrated because I did not see Los Arcos until the final turn. I realized Friday it’s not much better to see your destination in the distance when you can only move 2 mph!

The first fountain in Viana was in a small park. I quickly chugged 32 oz. of water, and laid down for about 5 minutes.

When I got up, I wound an open restaurant and had a slice of some form of breakfast pie. (It was like scalloped potatoes and onions in a pie crust. I should probably learn the names of these Spanish foods better!)

As I left town, many of the same people from the crowded dinner tables the night before were leaving as well. My competitive instincts were frustrated as I watched them all pull away from me on the trail. My blisters were getting worse though, and I could not keep pace.

As a got closer to Logroño, passing through a scenic industrial park, my feet were sending a clear message on the next day’s itinerary. I walked 95 miles this week, and 60 over 3 days.

My feet were shot.

As I crossed the river into the city center, I saw a nice, modern hotel. Then, I noticed all the windows were shut, and decided I was going to splurge for an air conditioned room for my rest day.

The room was a little more expensive by local standards, but was a 3 star hotel for the cost of a Motel 6 at home. I checked in, showered, called home, and took a 3 hour siesta. I went out to get a snack and some blister supplies, and was asleep again before 10.

Saturday – Rest Day

I set my alarm for 7 AM today so I would not fall too far out of my sleep cycle. I was out by 8 AM in search of breakfast. This took longer than anticipated!

Honestly, there is more going on at 8 AM on a Saturday in State College (non-game day) than here in Logroño. I must have slept through some party.

After a half hour, I finally found an open bakery, and sat in Paseo de Espolon for nearly two hours writing this post.

In the past week, I’ve thought of the tortoise and the hare fable a great deal. The first few days, I definitely was the hare. But I consciously wanted to be that way. I knew I was not in shape to go slow and steady for hours, so I went as fast as I could as far as I could, stop briefly, and then go again. This worked better before my bag arrived.

On Wednesday, I started accepting that I would become the tortoise. I felt like I was getting slower. (Strangely, I did the math again today, and the pace difference is not as big as I originally thought.) I accepted it because I still was making progress in terms of distance.

At this point, I need to think about the broader picture of the trip though. While I was the tortoise for each day, I approached the whole trip as the hare would have. My original goal was to reach Santiago in 28 days. Most take 32-35. I justified it saying it’s only a few extra miles each day.

I’m starting to realize the cost of that pace. A colleague of mine had surgery on her foot last week for a nagging injury she sustained running marathons several years ago. I joked with her that her experience convinced me never to run a marathons.

Is this any different though? If Logroño was only 4.5 miles from Los Arcos, I would have finished a marathon Thursday. Every time I stop for a break though, I’m hobbling for a half mile while my feet get used to the compression of each step again.

I’m talking a lot about this trip, but I know it relates to life at home as well. I came here for a number of reasons, but one of the bigger ones was to disconnect and cut my stress. The same instincts that lead me to take on “marathon” days at home are driving me to outstretch myself here.

So I have some goals for myself as I get back on the road tomorrow:

1. Follow the crowd – I need to focus less on winning the race and spend more time with the people I’m falsely competing with.

2. Eat more – This may sound strange, but I’ve lost a lot of my appetite over here. While I need to watch what I eat at home, I probably should eat a little more.

3. Get to Finesterre … By bus – I wanted to say I walked across the whole Iberian Peninsula, but I need to just focus on Santiago at this point. I can take a day trip to the coast afterwards. It wasn’t meant to be, but I’ll still blame the airline 😉

4. Learn more – need to make more time as a tourist along the way, and learn more about the towns and villages I’m staying in.

5. Write more – This blog has forced me to reflect more on the experience, and I need to make more time for posting updates.

95 miles down, 380 miles to go!