I left Los Arcos really early before six but I had checked out the route the evening before and it was straight down into the vineyards. Even so as I started out I watched two groups head off in the wrong direction. I heeded my advice on offering gratuious advice plodding on. As the light began accompanied by a light breeze racing towards the rising sun I could see them cutting across the fields as their mistake came apparent. This was going to be a short day and I had made my mind up to stop and regroup in Logrono where there were internet cafes. I hadn´t had any luck in Pampalona and wanted to get in touch with Deb who had nothing from me except some quick emails. There were two villages early on Sansol and Rio del Torres, again both built on rises which gave them commanding views of their fields. I gave both a quick walk through deciding to stop at Viania for breakfast. Viania´s approach was a little rough at the edges but once inside the city walls the cobblestone streets narrowed with the older stone buildings leaving it with nothing to apoligize for. The city is famous for being the place where Cesare Borgia met his untimely demise after being exiled from Italy. He had ended up here working as a kind of mercenary errant knight for the local aristos. In one vain glorious charge he rode out to meet the enemy thinking the town was behind him while they basically sat and watched him ride to death. I stopped in front of the Iglesia de Santa Maria at the square which is lined with cafes and had my morning breakfast break. The walk from here to Logrono was a little less interesting being some sort of local joggers path so I pulled out the Ipod and spent the morning listening to old Jethro Tull from Stand Up to Thick as a Brick as I walked. I hadn´t really used the Ipod much, mostly just at night to fall off asleep amongest the symphony of snorers. The ear plugs I had bought were basically useless and through the days walk I had my senses full so the Ipod wasn´t seeing much use. By one pm I was in the city centre where I found one of my guides hotels and got a room for two nights to force myself to rest up totally and get the internet thing caught up. The guide described Logrono as a unexciting working town but again my experience was different. Maybe it was because I spent two days there but I found the downtown stroll lined with cafes, upscale clothes stores, internet cafes run by afganis and while small it had it´s own charms which I think might have been because it seemed so natural and not touristy or superficial. Anyways the rest did me a world of wonder and I realized now that I had made a big mistake just getting off the plane and jumping into things. I probably would have been much better off staying in Paris for a couple of days and sightseeing while sleeping off the effects of the jet lag. In any case, I had stayed true to form only learning from experience, to be continued |
Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr!
No comments:
Post a Comment