Blogs from Logroño, La Rioja, Spain, Europe - page 4

Leaving Los Arcos Today was the day to get some items in the post, so there was a period of to-ing and fro-ing to get that done. The officina de correos opened at 8.30, but did not accept credit cards. So it was back to the market square, where the cash point at the bank had run out of notes. A woman came out to let me know that she was filling the machine up, and then again when she had finished. Back down to the correos, and a pile of forms to complete. Probably about the same as would be required at home, just a little more difficult to interpret. The staff were extremely helpful, despite my limited Spanish. I left feeling that Los Arcos was clearly in the running for the most friendly town ... read more

Ten eerste wil ik jullie bedanken voor de leuke reacties en moet ik even vermelden dat ik de reacties die gegeven worden eerst moet bevestigen alvorens ze op mijn blog verschijnen. Dus als je reactie niet meteen verschijnt, dan weten jullie waarom… Mijn derde week in Logroño is inmiddels aangebroken en mijn lichaam heeft zich aangepast aan het a-Hollandse eetritme. In het begin begon mijn maag te knorren rond een uur of half een en nu is dat pas om twee uur. Het is hier ook heel normaal om tijdens de lunch om half drie wijn of bier te drinken. Deze gewoonte heb ik nog niet aangenomen, want na de lunch moet je toch nog vier uur voordat je naar huis kan. De dagen die ik de afgelopen weken gemaakt heb zijn aardig lang, maar het ... read more

Are we in Spain yet? I wonder if we really are, because the last 7 days have brought us numerous signs posted on rocks, walls, and roads proclaiming "tourist, you are NOT in Spain!!". Well, we are (supposedly) out of the Basque region and now into La Rioja, in the city of Longrono. It might be as big as Pamplona, and compared to the past few nights in Puenta la Rente, Estella, and Los Arcos, it is huge. We walked 30kms today, and my feet are killing me so after siesta (gotta love a late afternoon nap after starting our walk at 615am!) we might head to a pharmacia and get some shoe inserts. The rest of my body is fine, but it´s my feet that need some TLC and hopefully I won´t be hobbling tommorrow ... read more

The 100 kilometres has been passed. The rest day in Estella two days ago worked certainly worked wonders to help tired limbs and to ensure our journey is more voyage of discovery than diligent plod. One of the goals that we have been successfully achieving is the 30 Euro a day budget. It seemed ambitious if not perhaps a little too frugal but has been supporting a very successful existence. The financial breakdown is as follows. Accommodation is the key daily cost when your transportation is by foot and your entertainment the world around you. The frequent refugios, hostals for pilgrims, cost a very reasonable 5-7 Euros each per night which is bed, shower, clothes washing facilities (very necessary for slightly whiffy pilgrims after the daily 20km) and often a kitchen. Camping is the other accommodation ... read more

We left the coast and entered a flat, hot valley, not unlike Yakima valley in Washington. As we topped the last hill before entering La Rioja, we could see colorful patches of vineyards and crops, small hillsides, and winding highways curling across the valley. The air was drier and a lot hotter. Compared the coastal climate, it was now in the high 90´s to low 100´s. Quite a change! We stopped along the way at Laguardia, a quaint (we keep saying that don´t we...) town perched on a hill top and enclosed in castle walls dating back to around the 1500´s. We walked around town and took in the views. We then continued our journey southwest to Calvijo, our next destination. We weren´t sure if we would have a place to stay that night as ... read more