Days 9-10 Into La Rioja

Osbourne--the emblematic sherry bull of Spain

Day 9
Villamayor de Monjardín to Torres del Río 12.4 miles; 26,005 steps; 632 km. to go

Excellent walking day. Weather not hot, flat, hardpacked path that meanders around vineyards and wheatfields. The best time to walk is from 6-8am with the trail to myself, iPod in. I stop in Los Arcos for coffee and chocolate croissants and watch the news. It´s pictures of weeping Germans, distraught over their World Cup loss.

Lots of cycle pilgrims on the road today; they always "Buen camino" you as they schuss by.

The refugio in Torre de los Ríos has a washing machine, which is heaven on earth. I spend a wonderful hour watching my clothes go swish, swish, followed by a tumble, such a treat after spending hours looking at road and gravel. Another high point here is the massage therapist three doors down. 45 minutes, or however long it takes to fix your problem is only--get this--10 euros. My back and shoulders feel terrific. Apparently, there are a lot of massage therapists on this part of the route--good business since at this point everyone´s muscles are shrieking. I´m seeing a lot of knee braces coming through.

Torres del Río

Day 10
Torres del Rio to Logroño 12.4 miles; 27,036 steps; 612 km. to go
Not too much of interest on the trail today--indescript farmland and vineyards, some up/downs. There´s a new batch of pilgrims coming through. Brazilians, Norwegian, Canadians (on a celebration-after-cancer walk). The Spanish are always the most fun on the road.

I cross from Navarra into La Rioja.

La Rioja--famed for its vineyards and gorgeous wine


Pilgrim grafitti in the underpass

A longish walk past an industrial area and into the capital of the Communidad de La Rioja. The big city! I go to the tourist office and if I fill out a questionnaire on how I like Logroño, I get a small bottle of Rioja wine in return. Excellent!

No refugio tonight. Six straight nights of communal living is enough. I´ve got a real hotel room with towels and sheets and a remote control and a bottle wine. I´m happy.

Logroño

Logroño has the worst computers on the face of the earth. I´ve probably walked 8 km. to find this. So, sorry I can´t post any more pictures yet. I´ll keep trying. Hopefully, my mental wanderings will keep you entertained.

Santiago de Matamoros above the church in Logroño--gotta slaughter those pesky Moors.