Day 7: Torees Del Rio to Logrono

Day 7
12 miles
Total: 102.1

Torres del Rio was a small town.  A couple of albergues (the word for a Spanish pilgrim hostel) were flanked by a couple of bars and a church with ties to the Knights Templar.  We stayed at Casa Mariela, an albergue with four or so dormitory rooms with beds for 10.  For once, our sleep was quiet and uninterrupted by the snores and grunts that usually accompany communal sleeping spaces.  We even slept in a bit, leaving the hostel at 6:30am.

We had a short day and were in no hurry, but the pace was kept up. Deija was a bit hampered by a new blister on her forefoot while Auna pushed ahead as if there was fire at her heels.  At one point, she was so far ahead I couldn't even see her.  When I finally caught up to her at our pre-planned break spot, she was sporting a grin like a child who just discovered a secret.

The walking was easy today and it gave me a lot of time to think.  Of course history came up.  As we wandered through rolling farmland we would occasionally come across old ruins of pilgrim hostels or other buildings long abandoned.  We inspected the ruins of San Pedro Cathedral for a bit.  Look at our facebook page for pics of the crumbling church.  Wandering this path and all it's complicated historical connections can leave me daydreaming for hours.  

However, today I thought mostly of backpacks.  The Camino is a social hike and rarely are you alone.  Unless otherwise distracted by some spectacular view, I tend to just fixate on the backpack ahead of me. I thought about what I would pack if I were to do this again, what else I would bring, what I would leave behind.  Inevitably I started to think of packs, gear, ounces, and pounds; all the technical pieces of the puzzle that you become acutely aware of every step of the way. Once you get used to the pack though, you start to become aware of all the other things you carry.  Perhaps it is a heavy heart, or maybe a hatred, or a jealousy, or a loss of direction.  All those things that are infinitely heavier and more burdensome than anything you could ever cram into a pack.  I'm not sure, everyone is different, but I suspect we are all out here trying to lighten our load a bit in one way or another.  Everyone seems to recognize this undercurrent and is therefore a bit quicker to listen, gentler in their words, and when someone says "Buen Camino," the most common of pilgrim greetings, you get the sense they truly mean it.

As we approached Logrono, the large university city where we will spend the night, I saw a pilgrim hunched over her mother's feet in the 90 degree afternoon sun, squinting, providing care for debilitating blisters.  A small sacrifice for a lightened load.  So too were the words of encouragement one pilgrim offered his friend as they climbed one of the many steep, thigh burning climbs we had today.  I'm actually unsure of what he said, it was in French, but I know what he meant.  "Just a little bit further," probably sounds the same in all languages.  Of course, there is the opposite.  One can add to someone's load, a metaphorical brick in the backpack.  In the local supermarket, I walked by a mother as she slapped the candy out of her son's hands and added in Spanish, "you are too fat," to the already public embarrassment.  I think it will be my goal on this trip to lighten loads however I can.  Even if it is just a simple "Buen Camino" at the right moment, I want to do my part.  

If you are still reading this and it makes any sense (we tend to write these things at the end of long days when our brains aren't entirely functioning) feel free to join me at home.  Go ahead and lighten someone's pack a bit.  It will feel good and it just might loosen up your own.

Tomorrow we have another long day to a town called Navare.  It will match our longest day yet and will put us at about 25% completed.  Wish us luck and a Buen Camino!

James