Eight Day On The Camino Tuesday, September 25, 2018

There was a full moon last night so Abe suggested we get up early, about 6:30 AM, and start walking at 7:00 AM, by the light of the full moon. Great idea Abe. It was a magical walk.

This is a view of the sunrise looking back to the East. We walked for 7 kilometers until we reached Sansol, where I had breakfast.

This is the view as we approached Sansol. I had a croissant and fresh squeezed orange juice and a banana. The next town, Torres del Rio, is only a kilometer away. As I was walking through Torres del Rio I saw the strangest thing. There was a guy in his 40s walking around town in flip flops, tighty whitey underwear and an underwear shirt tucked into his tighty whiteys. He was marching from parked car to parked car checking the doors to make sure they were locked.

There was a dog that was half asleep that saw this and got a little agitated by it.

I call this picture: “Let sleeping dogs lie on the Camino.”

Anyway, this dog got up and started to run at this guy, barking up a storm. The dog was barking, not underwear guy. Although I bet that underwear guy, under the right circumstances, could bark like a mad dog. Anyway, the dog lunged in and tried to nip this guy’s ankle. Underwear guy sternly shouted a couple of words in Spanish at the dog that Google Translate could not translate to English. The dog immediately pinned back his ears, curled his tail between his legs and slunk, or is it slinked, back to his usual resting place in the shade on the side of the Camino. After this display of canine mastery, underwear guy proudly strode off like a Spanish matador who has just vanquished a raging bull. I know you all want to see a picture of underwear guy but the whole thing happened so fast that I did not have a chance to get out my phone and take a picture.

From Torres del Rio to the next village, Viana, is about 8 kilometers. The countryside along the way was beautiful.

Along the way I encountered a guy who was sitting beside the Camino displaying his rock sculptures and asking for donations. He also had a boom box playing Ravi Shankar type music to set the mood. I talked to the guy and told him that his rock sculptures were great, but suggested that he lay off the drugs and alcohol and maybe look for a real job. I left him a couple of bucks, or Euros as they call them over here, and went on down the road.

This is the view as I was struggling up to the top of Alto del Poyo. These are sheep with bells. The racket from the bells was deafening. I am starting to feel like Quasimodo with all the bells and the backpack hump on my back. By the way, or BTW, for you younger people, anytime I refer to anything that has an Alto in its name, that means there is a hill involved.

This is a view of the trail to Viana from the top of Alto del Poyo. What a beautiful blue bird day. Those are vineyards and olive orchards.

This is a sign along the Camino reminding all Pilgrims why we are walking the Way. I stopped and said a prayer for Anna.

I saw this poster as I was walking through the outskirts of Viana. Country Rock in Spain 🇪🇸! Can you imagine that?

I stopped in Viana and had lunch across the street from the Church of Saint Mary, where pope Cesar Borgia is buried.

This is the massive, stunning main altar piece in the Church of Saint Mary. There were six other equally stunning altar pieces in the naves of this church. I lit a candle and said a prayer for Anna.

Every fruit stand in Spain comes with a sign warning you that you are not allowed to touch the fruit. How do you buy the fruit if you can’t touch it? How does the fruit get from the display to the checkout counter unless you carry it there and violate the no touching the fruit rule? Can I touch the fruit after I buy it? I tried to quiz the owner of this fruit stand about the ins and outs of the “no touching the fruit rule” and got nowhere. I guess the “no touching the fruit rule” will remain a conundrum for me and I will remain fruitless on my Camino unless and until I can solve this riddle or work up the courage to violate this rule.

This is a view of the trail to Logroño, my final destination for the day.

As I was walking through Logroño I spied this beautiful rose bush.

The smell from this rose bush was heavenly. My end of the day smell was not so heavenly. I picked a couple of the roses and tucked them in the outer recesses of my backpack to mask my stench.

I got to the Alburgue Logroño, checked to make sure that Vlad the Inhaler was not staying there and got a bed in a small room with six bunk beds. I got a top and bottom sheet and a towel so, as my Father always says, I will be farting through silk tonight!

This is the massive Cathedral in Logroño. It was closed but I stood outside and said a prayer for Anna.

I hope everyone had a good Tuesday.

Good night from Logroño, Spain.