On the 4th day, we walked 17 miles from Los Arcos to Logroño (I love that there´s a tilde key). The last stretch was in the rain, and I had a shooting pain in my foot by the end of the walk. When we arrived, the only albergue in town was full. We didn´t have a bed. It was at that moment we decided the race was ON.
Everything turned out O.K. of course. They had overflow mattresses in a nearby church, and the priest sent the snorers to another room. I was thankful the church had no problem overriding the supposed egalitarianism of the trail - calling out the camino leppers. The church didn´t open until late, though (late = 9pm since our regular bedtime is 10pm... we have yet to see stars). So, we set off into town rather than collapsing in bed, and I bought some bonafide Spanish hiking sandals. Any souvenir I don´t have to carry is O.K. by me!
The next morning, Luke concluded we should leave our international companions in the dust and walk the 18 miles to Nàjera (I love that there´s an accent key) as fast as possible to snag a bed. Anytime we spotted pilgrims ahead of us on the trail, we dubbed them targets and picked up our pace. We passed the Brazilians, the Italians, and the French. It was like the Olympics. This definitely wasn´t what I expected our spiritual pilgrimage to entail. We rolled into Nàjera at around 1:30 in 29th place. Considering people had set out from multiple albergues in several different towns, we felt pretty good about that. To celebrate, we made giant hamburgers. Yeah Team America.
It´s interesting the way the Camino seems to be transforming. It used to have much less traffic, and pilgrims were more reliant on the surrounding communities for lodging and support. Now, there´s more of a touristy feel. You can choose to stay at warehouse-type albergues outside of town. The restaurants we pass feel like ski lodges, and many people seem more focused on ¨getting it done¨ than the experience. There are more outdoor enthusiasts than Catholics. Of course, it´s hard to be critical since I don´t have much of a religious motive, either... I just wish I could walk slower.
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I hate to question the wisdom of your purchasing decisions, but even if you buy something you can wear (i.e. sandals), don't you then have to carry whatever you would have been wearing sans purchase (i.e. other sandals)?
I mean, maybe it's possible to wear two pairs of shoes at once. Who am I to question what is possible in Jen World.
I love Jen World.
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