Camino Day 5

We left Los Arcos and walked 7k to Sansol. The morning was cool and overcast. As we were approaching the village, a lead bike and a group of runners went past. The local villages were sponsoring a marathon which ran from Los Arcos to Viana (our route for the day) along the Camino.
We had stocked up on snacks the night before because cafes, shops, and bars in most small towns stay closed on Sundays. We stopped and had a snack break as the rest of the pack of runners ran past. Then we continued another 12k to Viana. You have to be aware of how long the distance is between villages and stock up on water accordingly. Because this was 12k with nothing along the way, we filled all of our water bottles completely full.

This was a really long day, and we didn't take any long breaks due to the lack of villages along the route. We arrived in Viana around 2:15 hot and exhausted. We ran into a friend we had met from Italy as we walked along the main road in Viana. She suggested we take a bus to Logrono.
This turned out to be a great suggestion as we did not have the energy for another 8k, and the route into Logrono is through a very industrial area.
We found the bus stop and waited. It arrived 30 minutes after the scheduled time, and we rode for about 10-15 minutes to the bus station.

We then found our way to the town cathedral. (This is typically along the Camino and is the best way to find the route again.) From the cathedral, we found the Santiago Apostol albergue and checked in. This was another large albergue with over 60 beds in 4 different halls.

We showered and then went to the church square for sangria at Cafe Beso. (Stephen had stopped at the same cafe two years ago and recommended we have sangria there.) We then went in search of dinner. Even though it was 6:15, we had a difficult time finding anything open. Most restaurants do not open for dinner until at least 7 if not 8pm. We finally found a place that had a “menu del dia,” and even though it was 6:30, she brought wine and nut mix for us to tide us over until they started serving dinner at 7.
The whole town was out and about on the streets celebrating the Festival of St. Barnabas. There were people in medieval costumes, and there were balloons and special markets set up everywhere. We were really too tired to stay up for the festivities, but it looked like the town was up late into the night.

For dinner, we tried several typical Spanish dishes. We had clams cooked in a celery stew, stuffed red peppers, and squid in black ink sauce. All of which was served with Vino tinto and bread. For dessert we had flan and arroz con leche.
After dinner, we looked for a farmacia (pharmacy) for foot care items. It was closed and would not open until 10am tomorrow, so we decided to sleep in and hit the pharmacy when it opened in the morning.