Camino Los Arcos to Logorño

There are several good iPhone apps for the Camino. I used the one named 'Buen Camino!' for the first few days and it's name is the same as the greeting pilgrims exchange when they see each other walking. This app has a good map and a big bold line tracing the path of the particular Camino one is walking on.

I came across another named 'Camino Ninja'. It is good for day planning. Today, I used it for deciding how far I will plan to go and the distance/elevations I will cover.

The weather forecast called for rains around noon. Moreover, my body had accumulated fatigue so I wanted to give it a bit of rest. Starting at 5am, the distance of 17 miles could easily be covered before the rains started, even with a couple of coffee or food breaks. Spain has had near drought conditions so rain was welcome. So I decided to walk up to Logroño, a city of almost 150,000 people which was about 28 km away.

Starting at about 5AM, walking in the dark with the headlamp on, I was being careful to avoid any slippery surfaces. The city of Los Arcos was gleaming in the distance when I looked back.

After walking for a couple of hours, I was rewarded with one of the most spectacular sunrises.

The beautiful countryside with farms, old barn, a church tower, and the sun rays projecting up to the sky made for a very fulfilling morning.

In the far distance, I could see the mountains and the tiny windmills on them.

Soon I was in the La Rioja region, which is very well known for its wines worldwide. At this time of the year, the vineyards were very dry and looked lifeless. Looking very closely, I saw a few very small buds and leaves about to spring.

The city of Armañanzas in the distance, the blue mountains, the hillside with yellow wildflowers, and the pea plantations all looked very harmonious.

I came across a spot where there were many rocks piled on each other and they represented a commemoration of people's loved ones.

A pine tree next to it had many ribbons and notes that people had left in memory of someone they missed.

It was very sad to see read some notes, and many people stopped by to stand and reflect on their own lives.

The ancient town of Viana was visible in the distance indicating that I had walked over 10 miles already.

The big gate in the town of Viana indicated it was over 800 years old, having been built in the year 1219.

I passed by the river 13th century Church parroquia de santa maria de asuncion

Viana seemed like a very important historic and spiritual center. There were many edifices with beautiful carvings on them.

It started raining at about 11 AM, just a few miles short of my destination for the day. However, I kept marching on after briefly stopping to put on the rain jacket.

The city of Logroño was visible in the distance, and the last view of vineyards before the rural area ended lay in front of me.

About a mile of walk on cobblestoned surfaces led me to the Albergue for the day, the Santiago Apostol. It was one of the older sites and offered private rooms as well as shared rooms with 20+ beds in them.

My goal to rest up meant that a private room would be better. Later in the night, I was proven wrong because at 3 AM, there were loud and persistent knocks at the front door of the albergue because somebody was trying to get in and had neglected to memorize the front door entry code, thereby waking up who was staying there.

Each day, at each albergue that I stayed, I got a stamp on my credential. Sometimes I got a stamp on the way as well because I was skipping staying at each stage and was covering two stages a day. The first page of my book was fully filled up with colorful stamps.

As I was at the destination at half past noon, I had time to explore the large city and went around to get lunch. In Spain, lunch is served after 1 PM and most often after 2 PM. I saw that despite the rain, there was a lot of traffic in the city center, and since it was Easter Sunday, people seemed to be in good spirits.

After the lunch, I indulged in a long nap, waking up at about dinner time. I discovered that near my location, there were many restaurants mentioned in the Michelin guide. I chose to walk to a place which opened at 7:30 PM and was there just as the shutters to the entry were being raised.

The place was named 'Umm no solo tapas Vino También' and offered a variety of tapas, not to mention the fantastic La Rioja wines. It was a good way to end the first five days of the Camino.

By now I had covered 105 miles, a little over my initial goal of 20 miles a day. I also decided to skip the break day I had originally planned for tomorrow. Instead, I decided to do a 36 km walk and went to sleep with a plan to wake up early.