Walked today: 5.2 mi Camino2023: 71.8
We began walking at 5:45! It was still dark so we used a headlamp for the first mile or so, until first light made the lamp unnecessary.
The path was very straight, flat and monotonous for the first 90 minutes, making it easy to walk, as if still asleep, which might well have been the case.
our first hill and a slight wiggle in the path
Torres del Rio is the end of our walk today. Otherwise we would need to walk another very difficult 8 miles before the next stop. We did that walk in 2014, 2017 and 2019, but skipped it in 2022 as part of our modified Camino and again today.
We plan to catch the 11:25 bus from here to Viana, where we have reservations for tonight.
To occupy the almost 3 hour wait, we had breakfast and then camped out in the patio and lobby of La Pata de Oca, where we stayed in 2017. Our bus is scheduled to arrive at a stop only a few minutes walk away.
As we were waiting, we struck up a conversation with Stephano, from Italy. He completed a degree in economics then worked for a financial firm during the pandemic but realized he wanted something different. So he quit his job to give him some time to think about who he was and what he wanted for his future. He saw the Camino as tool to decide what direction he wanted his life to take. He started out walking too fast from SJPdP, treating it like a race and by the time he had reached Estella, he had a painful leg injury. After conferring with his doctor back home, the prognosis was to continue, but at a much slower pace to allow the injury to heal naturally. He said the last few days, taken at a slower pace had already given him new insights and perspectives. Our interesting chat on a variety of subjects made the time go by much faster for our wait and we also picked up some suggestions for his choice of Italian red wines.
We walked down to the bus stop at 11:10 and waiting in a nearby shady spot until it arrived at 11:30.
The bus dropped us off a couple blocks from our hotel in Viana. On the short walk to hotel, we noticed more than the usual Sunday crowd and many were dressed in typical festival red and white.
We checked in at noon but our room was not ready for another 30 minutes. We inquired about the apparent festival and the desk clerk confirmed the festival started yesterday and will continue through Wednesday. He also said that the 2:00 running if the bulls would pass under our hotel window.
We decided to leave our day packs in the hotel lobby and go out amongst the festival celebrants and partake of the free flowing wine and countless pintxo offerings.
After 30 minutes of bull running, the celebration continued with families and locals nearly all dressed in white shirts and bottoms, red bandannas and an occasional red sash… sitting together at tables along the main street, drinking wine and beer and munching pintxos for the rest of the afternoon until no pintxos could be found only drinks and people talking and laughing and enjoying each others company.
We ventured out at 5:30 for a ice cream bar for dessert and observed setups for evening music and entertainment in the main square. It appears that the festival will continue into the evening and hopefully we’ll sleep through it!
Viana has always been a town of surprises and today was among the best.
Jimandi 