9-18 Belorado to Ages

9/18 Belorado To Ages

Pretty easy day and around noon the sun started shining. I met a man from Holland (Gil) on the 12k stretch. Upon meeting again, we just spoke pretty casually for 15-20 minutes. I met him the night before when we were just hanging out in the square in Belorado. After about 2k of talking about nothing, we started getting into why we were here and what we were trying to accomplish or find out here. It got pretty heavy in the 2 hours to town and pretty darn emotional. It was pretty amazing. It was great to see that if I opened up a little to let a stranger in out here that they would do the same. Everyone has a different story for being here and it's great to hear! 

After the pretty easy day of hiking, I decided at 2 to call it a day. Finally, I was early enough to get any albergue and sort out my plan! First, I needed to eat though! I ate so much food, that I felt as if I would never eat again. Then, a lovely British lady (Sharon) helped me plot out the rest of my Camino. She has completed it before, so she was showing me all the good spots! Next, there was a college class of 10 with a professor and his wife that came into the albergue! They actually give the kids credit for doing this! It was on the east coast and I don't remember the name of the little school but I couldn't believe it! All they did before was hit the beach for 2 weeks in Biarritz before and learn Spanish and the history! If I got credit for being active in college I would have been doing so much better! All in all, a pretty darn good day.

9-17 Belorado, Spain

9/17  Belorado 
Today, I stayed in Belorado again. Just a day to slow down and relax... So I thought. I woke up refreshed and ready to go. I decided what better way to spend my 27th birthday, than to go run 27 miles? I was happy and healthy and excited for life! It only took about 4 hours and around mile 20, I realized I had eaten anything of substance the last night and wasn't drinking much water because I didn't have a water bottle. Oh well, I'm in northern Spain and life couldn't get much better right now! I was doing something I love to do for 4 hours and loved every second of it. I've slowed down the last couple of days to "smell the roses" as some might say, and now I must continue tomorrow. Just a quick post today. Nothing too exciting. If you know me, you know I didn't tell many people it was my birthday. Just a good relaxing day.

9-16 Belorado, Spain

9/16 Belorado 

It was raining this morning, so I decided to finally rest. I thought instead of this being a miserable endeavor in the rain to wait. I decided to stop and I will wait for some of the Aussies to catch up because I enjoyed their company so much. They have such a different perspective from the American culture that it's very good to hear. I finally took the time to sit down and really think if the time spent being miserable and hurting was worth it. Ultimately, I finally was able to be happy with just slowing down and gathering myself for once and not constantly being on the go. I spend much of my time home on the go, always tiring myself, and pushing for the next goal. Finally, it was nice to sit down and look at how far I've gone and be happy with the process and people I've met along the way. The happiness and people I've met along the way mean more than the loneliness and wet defeated feeling I had. Time to relax and not go so fast and enjoy the journey instead of making it so grueling. So, I wandered around town today as well.

9-15 Najera to Belorado

9/15 Nájera to Belorado

Today was an extremely long day. We went by the maps 44k or so but on our phones it said about 33 miles. Those don't match up. We hit the usual stopping point for the day at noon. We grabbed a meal real quick and still felt good so we continued on. Again, it was overcast much of the day. It started raining once we left and would continue for the next 6 hours or so. The rain began to sink into the layers of clothes and started to become miserable, but we reserved a place in Belorado so we had to make it there, so we soldiered on. There were many towns on our route today that seemed lifeless. No one was walking around and nothing was going on. It seemed like the western books I like refer to as "tumbleweed towns" and it was kind of cool. Again, with the rain and distance on our feet it was impossible to truly appreciate it. Luckily, there are water fountains in every town so it is easy to get water everywhere you go. Once we got to the albergue it was nice just to lay down and relax.

9/14 Logrono to Najera

9/14 Logroño to Nájera

Today wasn't too bad of a day. It was sad leaving everyone in Logroño to strike out on my own again. We created a good bond over the last couple of days and it was sad to see them off. A few were done for the week, and some were leaving later. It was overcast most of the day and the sun came out the last couple of hours. It was hilly with many fields on the way. While wandering these paths alone, you think a lot and I was thinking what will become of these people. They all were good people and I only hope the best for them. For much of the day I contemplated this crazy life and how we only get to live how we want to once. The best way I could piece it together in my head was that everyone's life is a marathon with an unknown destination. You never know when it will end and which path is the right one, but you have to have a little faith that your own the correct one. Everyone has their own unique path. If your path leads you to a cliff's edge, then you just have to retrace and go in another direction. It wasn't a failure or end of the road, just a wrong direction and a lesson learned. I just pondered a lot of things.
In Nájera, all albergues were full again by 2 so we started asking around. I met a Pennsylvanian (Jason) to help find a hotel. We were ok with spending a little more than the normal 10 euros just to find a place after all the "esta completos" we heard. The hotel wonder had no rooms but for 20 euros each we got our own room in an apartment with a bathroom. That was nice to spread out in and lay down. I got ready to hop in the shower and after 10 minutes of running the water it was ice cold. I had to just "man up" and get in. That stunk! I got dressed and headed to the hotel for Wifi and the lady running it said, oh I'm heading to turn on the hot water now... Well that explains it!!! Jeesh! Oh well. We went for tapas and I tried pigs ear and thick bacon. It was not very good. Oh well, can say you've done that!

Pigs ear and fried bacon! No idea what they call it though.

Viana, Spain

9/13 Los Arcos to Logrono

9/13 Los Arcos to Logroño
Today was one I'll not soon forget. We went with the flow all day. At 6:30 AM we hit the road; Joe, Sam, Jan and I. We hit Viana around11:30 and there were celebrations beginning. The company there was quite great as well! In Viana, we found out there would be something special at 2... So, Sam and I got very excited by the anticipation! There was a running of the Bulls in town!!! It was insane! We hung out and had tapas and all the Aussies we left behind soon caught up! We crowded the streets to see the crazy bulls and it was a blast! These people were nuts running up and down and taunting the bulls. After, we went to Logroño and Lucy, who now lives in Logroño, took us out! We went and all pitched money and had a blast trying different pinchos. It was an absolute blast enjoying the new experiences with my new friends... Even if the Aussies called me Josh because they said I looked like one.

9-12 Villatuerte to Los Arcos

9/12 Villatuerte to Los Arcos
Today, I left about 7 AM and it was rainy and overcast for most of the day. Around 8:30 AM we hit the wine fountain. That was amusing. It had a maximum of 100 liters a day. That seemed a bit excessive! For the first time, I had an amazing breakfast and found stuff that I enjoyed. Eggs, chorizo, and French fries for breakfast? That'll have to do. And a potato and ham quiche. They call them tortillas here which is very confusing. While there, I met Joe (New York) and Lucy (Australia) that I walked the rest of the day with. On the way, we passed an old man and woman that had a stand. The woman was playing an accordion and a song I knew... The Chicken Dance! So I grooved a little bit. The 12k to Los Arcos was a long walk with beautiful rolling hills and vineyards and olive trees on the way. At the albergue in Los Arcos we met a group of Australians (Sam, Jan, Margi, and Annabelle. We ended up sitting in the square and cooking dinner together and had an amazing time! It was a ton of fun! I didn't want to sleep.