Today was not our greatest day on the Camino. We knew it would be a long day, but we had no idea how long.
The morning started out strong. The walk out of Los Arcos was flat for miles, and we got a reprieve from wrangling the beast uphill. Snails oozed up trees in the morning rain. We identify with the snails.
We met up with Brenda and Dave, a pair of Canadians we’ve gotten to know along the way, and we chatted while Dave pushed the stroller to the first town of Sansol. The miles passed quickly and we were energized and optimistic about the day.
From Sansol to the next town, Torre del Rio, we walked with Sue and Deb, also from Canada, and we had beers with them when we reached town.
At 8 kilometers into our 18 kilometer day, we discussed whether we would taxi or continue. We didn’t feel confident about another 10k to go, and there was a big climb out of Torre del Rio, but we decided to give it a go.
The climb was very difficult, and it seemed to go on forever. In the words of the Beatles, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” Marcus, a man from Germany, took the stroller from us and pushed it up the long grueling incline, while telling us about the treks in Nepal that he plans to walk in October. When we reached the day’s summit, we were tired but proud. We were confident that we would make it to Viana.
The day wore on. We were exhausted but we were certain we were nearing Viana. Only a couple kilometers to go…
Except we came to a fork in the road with no yellow arrow. We consulted Google maps, and we still, somehow, had 7 kilometers to go, when we should have had only about 3 or 4, by our calculations.
I managed to find the Camino on AllTrails, which showed that we were waaay off track. Surrounded by foothills, with hours of walking still to go, and needing to backtrack to find our path, it was hard not to feel a little panicked.
We backtracked nearly 2.5 kilometers before we were back on the Camino. We had accidentally followed a yellow x, which we’d mistook for an arrow.
We were tired and hungry and defeated, but the girls were angels. Addie got more screentime than we’d normally allow, but we needed her to ride in the stroller so we could get to town and be done with the day. Eloise bounced along happily.
All total, our mistake added 5 kilometers onto our day, and we walked 23 kilometers into town. Once there, we found out that the nearest restaurant was another 1.5 kilometers away, adding 3 more to our day’s total by the time we were done.
We went to bed tired and overwhelmed. Tomorrow, though, is a short day. 9 kilometers to Logroño, and the walk appears to be downhill. We considered catching a taxi and taking a rest day, but we wanted an easier walk to boost our spirits.
Whew you all are such troopers. I think I would have sat down and cried. Will say a prayer for an easier run today.
It was very tempting to just sit and cry. Today was much easier.
This was hard to read, as i wanted to run over and help and feed you. You are all an inspiration as you carry on thru hard and really good times. May today be easier !
Reading yesterday about your daughter enjoying the worms, we so hoped those snails would make their appearance for her. As we went along, they got bigger, the kind of thing a little kid (or we big kids) loves. You are getting the full Camino experience. I doubt any peregrino gets through without going off track at least once. The take away is you now know you can do 25km if you have to. The other part of that full Camino experience that I love to read about is those helpful friends who appear in times of need. Cool you just have a short jaunt (or taxi ride) to Logrono. Very much a City relative to the villages you’ve just been through. But not a massive City, just right. Logrono is where I hit the wall – blisters finally getting to me. My wife parked me at a nice table on a terrace, ordered me a beer then went to our host and reserved another night. I was rejuvenated as we strolled out of Logrono on our way to our next adventure. Bet you will be too. “Insider tip”…Logrono has some awesome ice cream shops.
Carry on ladies…
We really enjoyed Logroño today (and the ice cream. I saw this post before heading out for our dinner tonight 🙂 ) You’re right about it showing us what we are capable of. We felt so much more empowered going into today’s walk
Good going little pilgrim family. You’re doing a great job and not only that, you are making strong camino memories for lots of other pilgrims. Buen camino.
Thank you so much 🙂