Day 10: Logroño

I did NOT sleep well my first night in Logroño. My friends who were sharing the room with me stayed out past 11pm, our hostel’s curfew. When I heard the front door knock at 11:05 but did not see anyone enter the dorm room, I worried that they had been kicked out or something. (I have no idea how these curfews are enforced, but the record has shown that I tend to get a little paranoid when I’m tired). Then there was the presence of the “emergency” light which actually shone very brightly over my top bunk. I gave myself an hour of restlessness before I got out of bed to dig out an eye mask from my backpack. I slept briefly, then woke up abruptly to the sounds of pitter-pats. It was raining. Shoot. It was raining, and my laundry was hanging outside in the courtyard to dry. I scurried to bring the damp stuff in and, without much of a choice, threw it over my backpack on the floor and climbed back into bed. I struggled to find a good position for my feet: I couldn’t comfortably rest them while sleeping on my back because The Twins – what I now call my heel blisters- would get too much pressure.

By the time I woke up in the morning, my friends had magically appeared in their bunks, but I was exhausted. If there was any question about staying another day in Logroño, this was my answer. I made a plan to meet up with Colin and Lukas later on in the day, found a private room in a pension close to the main square (25 Euro and so worth it), and slept for the rest of the morning.

I love rest days. I walked around a bit, got some Roquefort-cheese-and-nut gelato, finished some journal writing, took another nap. I met up with Colin and Lukas and also ended up seeing Lynn and Garrett, who joined us for an evening of tapas and the sharing of gruesome blister photos. We talked about the different paths that people take on the Camino.

My path on the Camino includes karaoke.

We found a karaoke bar within walking distance of the center of town. We were the only ones there. Lukas was very shy at first about singing, but he soon developed a true enthusiasm for it. I think I may have freaked Lynn and Garrett out a bit when I sang, “Enter Sandman.” (“Wow. That was kind of dark,” Garrett commented when I finished).

There’s nothing like a night of singing to prepare you for a long day’s walk ;).

The view from my room’s balcony

This blood sausage is for Dad 🙂