Day 8 - Torres del Río to Logroño

Torres del Río → Logroño
Distance: 12.48 miles / 20km
Elevation: +1151ft, -1519ft

I woke up late around 6:30am today and pretty much everyone else was already out of the room. I got up and got ready for the day and was walking by around 7am. Even though it’s early, it’s late for the Camino, and it’s funny that leaving at 7am feels like I’m falling behind now.

I walked the first six or so miles by myself and it went through a lot of rolling grassy hills, lots of up and down hills. Finally, I made it to the Village Viana, where I stopped at a café and got an orange juice and ate a peach. I ran into a number of familiar faces, including Adrian from Washington (who I met back in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port).

As I was leaving town, I ran into Moon (from Hong Kong) and we walked together for pretty much the rest of the day. We chatted about how the Camino was going so far, where we’re planning on staying for the day, and how we’ve been feeling about the trip. I also learned that she and her boyfriend have been together for four years and have been doing long distance for a year, and she says that it’s been really difficult. It made me sympathize, knowing that this stretch of doing the Camino has been a new challenge for Tovin and I, but it also made me feel grateful that at least our distance is temporary.

Even though today was a shorter walking day, only about 12 miles, it still felt like a very long day, and I could tell that my body was starting to catch up to me in terms of all the walking. Today was the first day that I’ve woken up and felt like “I really don’t wanna walk today.”

Despite it being a shorter day, I was still proud of myself for making it to Logroño because 12 miles is still a considerable distance. When I got to Logroño, I was super excited, as Tovin (boyfriend of the year), had booked me a private room at a hotel for the night. This was going to be a super welcome change from the albergues I had stayed in up to this point, always sharing a room with up to 80 other people.

It was very nice to have some privacy and some time and space to myself and not always be surrounded by other people. My room had a bathtub, so after unwinding a bit, checking out the gym in the hotel, and doing a short arm workout, I drew myself a bath. Even though I don’t usually like baths, just being able to sit and be submerged felt so nice. I did both a warm and cold bath to simulate an ice bath.

After my bath, I showered and then went to the grocery store to buy some snacks. I found a protein chocolate pudding (which was very yummy), a small container of potato salad, and a donor kebab. I went back to my hotel room and had some of my snacks while calling Tovin and talking on the phone for a few hours.

I’m really more of an introvert, but I've been feeling alone/lonely a lot recently, even though I’m constantly surrounded by people and even talking to people for multiple hours a day. Because of this, it was really nice to catch up with Tovin and talk to someone who isn’t a stranger. After we got off the phone, I finally regained some energy and went around town to explore Logroño.

I started off at the Santa Maria Cathedral, and it was absolutely beautiful in there. I spent some time just sitting and admiring the artwork. I then walked along the main shopping street, Calle Portales, and got a magnet from a small shop. I made a detour to get a new water bottle as the one I had been using was starting to grow some mold on the top.

By this time, it was about 7:50pm and the tapas (pintxos) shops were beginning to open. The majority of pintxos shops in Logroño are located on 2 streets, Calle del Laurel and Calle San Juan. The way you eat is by going to a restaurant and getting a drink and 1 small plate, and then leaving and checking out a different spot - so that is what I did. I walked along the streets and ended up stopping at two places.

One of the tapas shops I stopped at, I got a mini hot dog with a brioche bun and spicy creamy sauce. The other stop was known for their patatas bravas (fried potato cubes with a oil-cornstarch-paprika sauce - and that’s actually the only thing they sell) so I got a portion of that. Their portions were pretty large and would’ve been enough to feed two people so I was feeling pretty full after that.

I went for a walk around Parque del Ebro, the big park in town, and people watched for a bit. After awhile, I went back into town on the main street where I had passed a number of ice cream shops earlier, and I got myself a small ice cream cone. I walked back to the park and ate my ice cream, and then walked back to the hotel.

There, I got ready for bed and packed my things up for tomorrow. I called Tovin again on the phone for a bit more and stretched for a bit and then was in bed ready to sleep by 10:30pm. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, although I’m not quite sure where I’m going yet. I’m really hoping for an 18 mile day, but there is a town at 12 miles where I’ll stop and reevaluate how I feel to see if I can make it but tomorrow. It is also going to be quite a hot day which also affects things. Either way, it’ll be a nice walk and I’m excited!