Viana + Logroño

1pm
Café San Juan, Viana
Walking conditions have been pretty excellent so far today. The weather is being kind to us, with cloud coverage and a nice breeze. We checked out a gorgeous and iconic church on our way out of Torres del Río, and while there we met our first Oregonians of the trip, here from The Dalles! A husband and wife duo, Marty and Joan. Marty mentioned something about having attended WSU, and he and my dad compared Coug patches on their packs. It was pretty cute, I gotta say.

We’re stopped in Viana for a lunch break currently, and this town has really surprised me. Most of the small towns we walk through are pretty sleepy while we pass, with a couple places open for food but not much else. Viana is absolutely buzzing with people! We walked through a beautiful little outdoor market and up into the main town square, where I swear every member of this town must be sitting in tables outside of every cafe and enjoying the town square. It’s delightful. We had a lovely lunch, which I again topped off with ice cream, and now we’re preparing to take off again for Logroño. A beautiful day so far, and a welcome break from the harsh elements.

10pm
Pension Saint Mateo, Logroño 
Ohhhhh boy. What an afternoon and evening. The rest of our walk was a lot like the first half into Vianna; not too hot and not too hilly. But it was long. Longer than we really visualized. By the time we found our place for the night, showered, and got ourselves ready for dinner, we were beyond exhausted and hAngry. It took trips into 4 cafes before we gave up on finding something vegetarian and decided to just go to a grocery store to get supplies for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. Neither of us were the best versions of ourselves, and things were hustlin’ and bustlin’ around us, so my nerves and anxiety were starting to get the best of me.

Remember how I said I was pleasantly surprised by how lively Viana was when we passed through at lunch? Yeah, I wasn’t excited about the liveliness of Logroño. It really overwhelmed me in fact. As soon as we got back to the albergue, we tried and failed at FaceTiming with my mom, and apparently that was my last straw. As my chin quivered sitting on my bed, trying soooo hard to shut it off, my dad looked over and his sweet "How are you doing sweetie?" sent me over the edge. My parents have that effect on me (and I think I can speak for my sister when I say her too), because they just get us. They pay attention. They know when we’re on the edge, when to press for answers, and when to let it go. And it’s not lost on me how lucky we are to have that. To be truly SEEN and HEARD by them. And I’m so grateful.

{By the way, I need to take a moment to say how proud I am of my dad. He is an absolute trooper up and down these hills and over the miles and miles and miles. This crap is hard for me, very hard, and I have 30 years on him. Not to mention all he has overcome with the auto-immune disease that used to inhibit his ability to even get dressed. He has persevered, and continues to maintain a positive attitude and overall air of contentedness. I am so, so proud of him and impressed every day}

After my first camino cry, my dad validated my overwhelmed heart and expressed his understanding of the way I was feeling. This journey is beautiful and magical and incredible and also HAAAARRRRRDDDD. Both physically and mentally hard. It’s really easy to think of the many many MANY miles ahead of us and let it suffocate me in the harder moments. But I sorta had a realization during our walk today, when we were going through a really not pretty industrial area, and my dad said, "This is the kind of stuff some people cab through, but I don’t mind walking it." And I said, "Sometimes life ain’t pretty, and you can’t cab through it." And it really made sense to me in that moment. In so many ways, this Camino is one giant metaphor for life itself. It’s not a vacation. It’s not a break from reality (though it feels that way sometimes, with this simple lifestyle and repetitive routine).

It is life. It is beauty, and peace, and connection, and euphoria, and sweaty, and stinky, and difficult, and trying.

And you can’t skip the ugly parts.

There they will be.

There they will always be.

Ugly and unavoidable.

But gosh, they sure highlight the beauty and light by comparison.