20km (177.4km)
Friday 1st April

Quite a quick, uneventful 20km, in the sun at least. I arrived in Logroño at 13:00 and expected to spend the afternoon looking round the city, unfortunately I lay down for a wee nap and it’s now 17:30 (an advantage of being alone with no itinerary). Logroño is a big sprawling urban mess but at its heart there is still a traditional old town of squares with churches (and bars) and a labyrinth of meandering streets with colourful buildings, like all the villages and towns in this area. It is also the capital of La Rioja region.

On the route today there was only one place to stop, Vianna (at 11km). There was one cafe stuffed full of pincho eating pilgrims. It was so friendly, everyone just sat down at tables with people at them as opposed to searching for that elusive empty one. I wonder what would happen if one tried this outside this environment – say in Starbucks…watch this space… I think this is what people find special about this walk; everyone is like one big happy family (I’ll be clapping and singing soon 😱). So far I’d thoroughly recommend this to almost anyone. Whether you came alone or with a couple of friends I think it would be hard not to enjoy the experience (mind you it’s only day 7!).

I have some info about pilgrims – they drink lots of red wine and eat chips with everything. Everywhere there are pilgrim menus, which are three courses (the main being something and chips) and as much red wine as you want all for about €13. The wine might not be the finest but it tastes great after a day’s walk. A long day ahead tomorrow…