Los Arcos to Logrono. “Walk strong, my friend” (graffiti en route)
This was the final phase of stage 1 of the walk, a 28km stroll to Logrono. I know I’ve been banging on about the views, but for most of today the scenery was yet again panoramic, with more wind farms, mountains, golden fields, vineyards, churches (the Spanish, as you may have gathered, are very big on churches) and immaculate villages full of handsome houses bedecked in flowers. The bubble finally appeared to burst when we reached the outskirts of Viana, which contained streets of purpose built, modern but pretty devoid of character houses. I only say this because it’s the first time we’ve come across them in Navarra. The town centre, however, was as impressive as ever, with a massive church (always one of them), narrow streets leading to plazas bathed in sunshine and fascinating statues, everything appearing to be hundreds of years old.
We arrived in Logrono about seven and a half hours after leaving Los Arcos, our feet very much the worse for wear. Carolyn has two new blisters on the same foot that hosted and has almost got rid of Blistardo. You get shot of one and two new ones immediately move right on in……so it was a demanding trek for her. I have to say, she responded very positively to my motivational cries of “How good do we feel ?” and “Are we feeling strong?” When I say positively I mean she just ignored me, which I took as a better response than throwing one of her walking poles at me.
Logrono is a large, attractive looking city that looks as though it would have been interesting to spend a day exploring. Sadly, there just ain’t time. It’s very apparent that we’ve left Navarra behind and entered the region of La Rioja. Suddenly we can see Spanish flags draped over balconies. As I’d said previously, they were conspicuous by their absence prior to today. We’ve settled upon Calenda for tonight’s meal; a bit of a shot in the dark given there are dozens and dozens of eating places. Carolyn has her foot up on the spare chair, having been to the farmacia to see if they had any miracle blister cures (they didn’t). Tomorrow is a 29km grade4 walk. Not ideal timing! One way or another we’ll get there ! We stay positive and upbeat ! We’re too irresponsibly optimistic to have doubts! I……..think?
Our sunny disposition was, I feel, perfectly reflected in a moment of inspiration yesterday morning when, having seen the moon sitting in a clear blue sky, I felt compelled to whip out my quill and ink a few lines of verse :
“A Contemplation On Heavenly Things”
The moon is very moony
It sits way out in space
The moon is very moony
It’s got a shiny face
The sun is very sunny
It’s also very hot
But if you live in Scotland
Then often it is not.
The stars are very starry
They sparkle through the night
Although so very far away
They make the darkness bright.
Today’s album track is “I Can See For Miles” by The Who. Like I said, the views……
I thank you and say buenos noches!
