We were on the road again today at 7:00am , headed for the ‘Cafe on the lake’ just 6 km outside Logrono…sadly the Cafe was closed so we cracked onto the next village.
Not really sure if the next Cafe owner appreciated Geoff cutting his toenails or Richard drying his clothes on the sun terrace … But we are Pilgrims after all so I guess they have seen it all before.
Daily washing of our socks and pants seems quite straightforward … drying however is a bit more of a challenge.
Draping laundry across the back of our rucksacks to dry during the day seems to be the preferred option. Lets be honest, not the ‘coolest’ look when you see how Richard does this (see photo) but Geoff has this off to a fine art as you would expect. John however is in a league of his own, he is now down to his last pair of undies… the rest dropped of somewhere en route. Buene Camino!
We met a rather interesting chap (a Merlin look a like-see photo) selling Fruit and Figs for a small donation , apparently he is a very well known Pilgrim who has walked the Camino many times with a donkey.
Further on we stumbled upon two chaps harvesting walnuts … One up a tree with a stick and the other on the ground collecting.
Oh yes, that reminds me…Walnuts, Richard has had a bit if a dicky tummy today – he thinks it was a bad walnut that he scrumped the day before – we think it is more likely to be the Rioja grape habit he has developed , we are surrounded by vines bursting with ripe fruit..Richard never could resist a freebie!
We arrived at Najerra and enjoyed the late after noon sun , feeling quite weary, but proud to have covered 31.5 km .
Bedbugs and Blisters 
He does look like Merlin… hope you were all nice to him so he didn’t cast any spells…
When the going gets tough ~
Taken from a Blog of an experienced long distance hiker about dealing with fatigue ~
The first day is not generally too bad, although the weight of a heavier pack is quite noticeable and it can be tiring if there are a lot of miles to walk, and/or a lot of ascent.
The next few days tend to be worse, as aches and pains start to build up and a general level of fatigue and weariness sets in, making it difficult to raise the enthusiasm to get going both at the start of the day and after every rest break.
By about day four or five things start to get easier as muscles build up again and the body gets used to the increased level of physical exertion of the daily routine. From then onwards it is generally OK except that there always tend to be good days when everything feels fine and bad days when things can be a bit of an effort.
Much of this is tempered by the state of the weather, the level of exertion of the previous day, and whether any blisters or other discomforts have started to become a problem. It is possible to regain ones fitness as a walk progresses.
With a strong will, a positive attitude, and determination, it is possible to get through all sorts of physical discomforts along the way. I have seen people hobbling along with blisters, limping with sprained ankles and all manner of problems, but still making it to the finish.
(Using hiking poles helps too)