I was determined to have a shorter walking day today and I did. 10km seemed like a walk in the park so I arrived in Logrono at before 10am. It was very quiet, but clearly the town had seen some action the night before as there were banners and market stalls everywhere. I wondered whether or not I was going to find anywhere to stay. The hotel I found appeared to be in an ideal location right opposite the tourist info office and right on the camino path. I checked in and was relieved to find out that I had just got the last room. However, I might have picked the only hotel in Spain that did not provide a laundry service on a Saturday !
The festa was to celebrate San barnabe de Logrono. From what I could make out the festa was to celebrate the winni g of some enormous battle in 1521 between king Carlos 1 of Spain and francisco 1 of Somewhere else. I imagine the Spanish won! There were a few battle re enactments going on and lots of market traders dressed in medieval costume. The stalls looked fabulous and the temptation to buy overwhelming. I did manage to resist to some degree, as I was very conscious of the weight of my ruck sack.
I have discovered that the vast array of individuals of all nationalities are travelling this el camino for an equal array of reasons. Some spiritual, some for a cheap holiday,some because its a very convenient long walk with many places to stop on route. Still others are raising money for charity and others are just curious because they have heard or read about its 'magic'. Some people have travelled the route many times. There are many cyclists too. Most seem to be either from Holland or Italy. The Italians prefer to mountain bike along the walkers path and can be a bit of a pain in the ass, even though some of them are very charming. The Dutch prefer the motor route, thank goodness. One thing is for sure though, everybody that that's doing this understands that it's not easy and that things could put an end to the journey at any point. It's what keeps all the Camino travellers on the look out for each others safety.
I ventured out of the hotel for a bit and bumped into a few familiar faces. I got some provisions for tomorrow, but didn't stay out long. It was time to hand wash my very smelly clothes again and iron them dry. Tomorrow will be a long one, almost 30 km if I manage to get as far as Najera.
I am trying to write some blog every day, but it's not always easy to post. I seem to be having problems with Internet connection along the way, so thank goodness for this free wifi.
The photo by the way is a fairly typical example of the rows of people's washing, something we have to do everyday. Oh bum te bum.