Resting in Ventosa

Linda

Yesterday we walked 28.6 km, from Los Arcos to Lograno! Since we were with our Danish friends it made the distance seem much shorter. We stayed in a large alburgue run by some very strict and somewhat cranky old men! Once showers and laundry were done we wandered to the center of the city (pop 145,000) and enjoyed the Sunday afternoon festivities while sitting at a sidewalk cafe having beer and tapas. Lots of families and some beautiful traditional Spanish clothing.
Later on while relaxing on our bunk beds a short storm blew through and when we checked on our laundry(hanging outside on racks) the volunteers were busy moving all the racks inside! They are well organized. Forgot to mention previously that we have had perfect weather since we started the Camino. Rain on two different occasions but we were in the alburgues each time. We marvel at how lucky we have been.
Although Russ slept ok there I did not-way too much noise out on the street with people yelling and having a good time til all hours of the morning.
Got up at 5:30 and the four of us started out in the dark. With the help of our flashlights we found the yellow arrows to guide us out of the city, but unfortunately no cafes were open that early so no coffee or breakfast until Navarette which was about 12km along. Our feet were quite sore from the long walk yesterday and Russ had one foot giving him trouble from tying his laces too tight. We decided to stop in Ventosa, a small village 10km short of the recommended walk for the day. Neither of us felt like we could do 30km! We said goodbye to our friends and they continued on...hopefully we will connect later, but can keep in touch by email. We booked into a very small hotel so are keeping our feet up and will only venture out to eat. We are now in the Rioja wine district and passed several large wineries today on our walk.
Commented that if we had the energy it would have been fun to do some wine tasting. This village is so small that they do not even have a grocery store. This afternoon we watched a truck roll into town with loud speakers blaring, listing the fruit & veggies available. The back door of the truck popped open and there was a portable store! We bought some bananas and I got a bit of video footage before the vendor told me "no photos"! Apparently he shows up anytime between 11 and 4 daily.
Tomorrow we hope to get an early start and walk 15km to Azofra. We'll see how we feel. No blisters yet which is good, but we've seen people with tendonitis, shin splints etc so are being cautious.
Bye for now!

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