Today started  out early but still a little rough.  We decided to get some food and fuel in us before leaving Viana as there would be nothing available until we reach Logroño, 10km down the trail. The only place we found was at the fancy hotel we stayed in last year (with a big pilgrim discount). The barmaid got on my nerves pretty quickly mostly because she was serving people who just walked in instead of those of us politely waiting our turn.  Her whole being just grated me the wrong way and the crappy tortilla didn’t help at all. At least the orange juice was good. I should add that Melanie, as usual, is far more tolerant than I and she also enjoyed her tostadas and coffee.

Now I’m not saying that Melanie left the cafe entirely happy and she does have her limits.  Even at 7:00am, there was a queue for the toilet.  Melanie started chatting with the squat middle-aged Spanish woman in front of her in the queue. After some pleasantries, the woman asked Melanie where she was from.  Melanie proudly said she was Singaporean, as she always does.  The woman was both shocked and confused. With her limited English she pointed to Melanie and then said in disbelief “But you no….”. Then she pinched both of her thumbs with their respective forefingers just above her brow.  Then she squeezed the fingers tighter and pulled them towards her temples.  As they went past her brow line.  Melanie tried to figure out what was confusing the woman. It took a moment but she figured  it out.  Melanie doesn’t have slanted eyes.  Oh my. 

The walk to Logroño was lovely and easy in the early sun.  We reached that city by 10:00am. We knew there was a big wine festival today so we were fine to pass though before things got wild.  We were very pleasantly surprised though. Just as we crossed the bridge over the Ebro River into the old town, we were greeted by Camino Joe. Despite his 10-15km days, we seem to run into him more than anyone else. He left Pamplona the same day we did but he already crossed the Pyrenees.  So those first two days, we finished in the same towns he did. Other time hit hit the fast forward button (Luis Taxi Service) yesterday he took a bus to Logroño and when we met him, he was on his way to the train station to get to Astorga where he will start walking short days again. He’s having fun despite the knees and that’s a good thing. Maybe we will catch up with him in Santiago. 

As we have done at least the last two Caminos, we walked straight through the big city vibes that Logroño has a lot of. We have stopped for a break at the same cafe just across from the park in 2023, 2025 and now again in 2026.  The barman was very tolerant of me ordering in Spanish.  He only slipped up once when I asked for a sandwich while pointing the one I wanted behind the glass display case. He inquired “Chicken?” And I relied “En España, llamamos a esto “pollo.”  He laughed at that. Later, a man who might have had a few drinks before arriving, walked into the bar. He was arguing with his wife. She eventually left so he turned his attention to us. He was slurring his words badly and he spoke faster than greased lightning. The fun part was, that the barman was translating the tipsy guy’s many questions – but he was translating from the old man’s slurrings to regular Spanish – to at least what is regular to me.

Finally, I always enjoy walking in that park at the western edge of Logroño.  Camino Frances pilgrims walk westward there.  Camino Igraciano pilgrims walk eastward through it. As the Ignaciao pilgrims are so few, I know that I was happy in 2015 to run into an on-line friend in that park who was headed to Santiago. Today, we were lucky again. A French pilgrim was walking “against the flow” so I made a bee-line to him. He had that look in his eye “I will strangle the next person who tells me I’m going the wrong way”.  Instead, I asked if he was doing the Camino Ignaciano and his demeanor brighten up completely. We chatted for about ten minutes about the good and bad of that Camino as well as the various ones we have done in the past. Surprisingly, he has never done the Camino Frances.  He prefers much more solitary walks. It was great to chat anyway. 

Tomorrow we will try to leave early so I need my sleep. Once again, enjoy all those typos and disconnected thoughts. Peace y’all. Goodnight Leo, Stella and George.