Day 10 (5/21) Logroño to Nájera

I’ve been really encouraging students to not be heroes and to portage bags & take cabs when needed, and I finally swallowed my pride and followed my own advice and took a cab from Navarette (half-way point 9 miles in) on today’s walk. That said, today was one of my favorite camino days. Had an impromptu picnic with students along the trail, had a great coffee break in Navarette, and spent two hours lounging by the river in Nájera while waiting for the albergue to open. Jeff, Aaron, and I found a cool little bar in town for lunch and cider, and I thought that it had a vending machine of Vienna sausages, but they ended up being poorly illustrated sunflower seeds. Still tasty.

Fun dinner at Bar Naxara where students were introduced to Birdmanning. God help us all.

Day 9 (5/20) Torre del Rio to Logroño

Today was an easy day in that we only had 12.5 miles.
We had a solid Pilgrim’s breakfast at the Albergue (Pata
de Oca) before setting off around 8:15. The only major stop
was Viana about 6 miles in and it was my first camino
flub up in that I stopped at the first cafe that was
overpriced and had limited food choices (thank goodness
Jeff and I packed sheep’s cheese and salty meats!). If I had walked another 4 minutes, I would have ended up on this great avenue with tons of cafes and better people watching.
Always go for the second stop.

While the last two miles walking into Logroño were beautiful, my body is finding new ways to break down. I have a huge lump on my knee that is very, very painful when walking downhill. Some sort of patellar bursitis caused by overuse and downhill walking… hmm…

Logroño is one of myfavorite stops on the camino. It’s a lively town with great food. The students gave a great presentation on the history of the Camino and Rioja wine history and culture. Afterwards, Jeff, Deya, and I ate
all of the tapas on Calle Laurel. All of them.

Tomorrow: long walk to Nájera.

Day 8 (5/19) San Sebastián beach day

Finally caught up! We boarded a bus at 8:15 and drove 90 minutes to San Sebastián on the coast of Northern Spain. It did not disappoint.

I immediately treated myself to lemon gelato and a coffee while students played bocce ball with Jeff (and some dogs), kicked around a hacky sack, read books/took naps, and of course got in the ocean. The water was very cold, but it felt phenomenal on everyone’s feet and legs. I couldn’t stop myself — I went for a run because frolicking on the beach is my actual favorite lifetime activity.

After my run, I read ACOTAR while listening to Radiohead <shrugs> while walking up and down the beach until it was time to meet Jeff and Deya for lunch. We dined on pinchos in the plaza and I treated myself to some chocolates from the sweet shop before returning to the beach for one last frolic. The students have done a great job of being on time.

Thank you, Deya, for facilitating a perfect beach day! 

We stayed in Torre del Rio (another new city for me) in a very funky old Albergue that was Templar themed. The Albergue hosts were fantastic. It was our first real “get to know the locals” Albergue experience, complete with music and dancing and a surprise visit from the mayor. 

Tomorrow, back to the Camino en route to Logroño.

Day 7 (5/18) Puente la Reina to Estella

Another new stretch and new city. I have taken a new walking approach this year which is walk-super-fast-to-maximize-mid-walk-cafe-stops and I have been LOVING this approach. And I think it’s helped my body hold up pretty well, all things considered. I was joined by Eimee and Ashley on this walk, and let me tell you, those students can move. We were averaging sub 19 minute miles, and they eventually dropped me with about 2 miles to go (which was totally cool with me — I gave them my blessing). Well done, Ashley, Eimee, Bodie, and Owen!

The Albergue in Estella was super cool. An ecolodge of sorts right next to the river. The renovated building retained some of the Roman architecture. I shared a room with Deya, Marta, and Vivi, and it was nice to get to know them better.

At this point in the trip, we are 35 miles and 187,000 steps into our journey. In 2024, we averaged about 12 miles a day. This year, with several new stops — including the Pyrenees — we are averaging 17 miles a day. Needless to say, people’s bodies are in pretty rough shape between blisters, hip/shoulder soreness, lower extremity soreness, etc.

But luckily, we have a secret weapon, and that weapon is Deya. She approached me a few days ago to say, “Jeff has always wanted to go to San Sebastián. What do you think about getting a bus and surprising him and the group with a beach day?”

Um… yes, yes I think I could go for that.

Never one to miss an opportunity to turn Deya’s act of kindness into a prank, we told students of the beach plan (they were STOKED) and plotted a scheme in which everyone requested a cab instead of walking. The students nailed it. Jeff was very confused by the number of cab requests and was very touched when we revealed the plan.

Day 6 (5/17) — Pamplona to Puente la Reina

New route! New city!

Interestingly enough, I did not consult the syllabus or blog before starting this walk, and I was completely flabbergasted but by the fact that I had no recollection of the section — only to discover that I’d never done it. Heh.

It was our first good weather day and it was a beautiful walk. Big open fields and lots of wildflowers. And some climbing. The air temps couldn’t be more perfect, which was a welcome change from Days 1–3. Given the high number of miles we’ve already logged, much of the group was in pretty rough shape and opted to take a cab, so they got to Puente la Reina early and got to explore the city and attend mass.

Puente la Reina was beautiful. I didn’t explore as much as I would have liked because I was pretty tired after another 17 mile day, but dinner was good and so was the company.

Day 5 (5/16)— Zubiri to Pamplona

Day 5 (5/16)— Zubiri to Pamplona

Written on 5/19

I’m writing this post a mere 3 days after this walk and I can’t remember for the life of me what happened on this day. I think it rained but eventually stopped.

This walk has a combination of forested paths and urban stretches. The albergue is one of my favorites — Aloha Hostel. We ate dinner as a group at a restaurant that I think we visited in 2024, but I’d need to check my notes.

Sidenote — sorry these posts are so bland. I’m bored writing them so I can’t imagine how boring they are to read. Hopefully the next two days are new walks and new cities so it’ll get more interesting. And I’ll try and stay on top of posting. I really have been absurdly tired.

Day 4 (5/15) Roncesvalles to Zubiri

Written on 5/19 (May 15)

Day 4 (5/15) Roncesvalles to Zubiri

I am dropping the pelota on blog updates. Not having my laptop is part of it, but the bigger contributing factor is that we are averaging 17 miles a day and I am exhausted by the time we get to the albergue, unpack, shower, have my celebratory tapas, and debrief the day with the team.

But better late than never.

This stretch was beautiful and also comically difficult because of weather conditions. We started walking in snow. SNOW. And then eventually the snow turned to sleet. So then we walked in sleet. And then the sleet turned to cold rain.

So then we walked in cold rain.

And there was mud.

Lots of mud.

Last Camino, I brought my gaiters as an afterthought and I don’t think they ever made it out of my pack. They have been worn every day this trip.

I unfortunately have no photos from this day because it was too cold and rainy to faff about with my phone’s camera. Take my word for it; it was character building. Good time spent walking and conversing with students and enjoying a break at the Dragon Peregrino pub. I don’t remember what I wrote about Zubiri in 2024, but aspirationally I will revisit these posts and add some cultural and historical intel about the towns and albergues we stay in. The hostel in Zubiri was the same as 2024, as was the dinner location. (Albergue Zaldiko).