May 18. 8:00 PM. Day 6. Walked 28.1 km (17.5 miles) today. Walked 138.4 of 787 km (86 of 478 miles) total.

Today was the longest day so far. However, I am totally back in form and very happy! Last night I paid 10€ for a room in the albergue with only four beds. The bad news is that someone in the room snored very loudly all night. The good news is... it was me and I slept like a (snoring) baby. After eating a pretty quick meal, I went to sleep at 6:30 and slept almost straight through the night until 6:30 this morning. I did not realize how tired I had been until I started walking this morning and felt fantastic. The extra hours of sleep really helped, and the 7:30 dinners / 11:00 bedtimes are now officially history. As I write this it is almost 8:00 and I am am feeling the need to hurry so that I can get to bed quickly.

Why am I writing so late you ask? I arrived in Logrono at about 4:00 and decided to treat myself to a hotel room. Logrono is a fairly big city and I thought that (a) they will have decent hotels here and (b) the big city albergues are generally hot, crowded, and filled with inconsiderate snorers (don´t you just hate them??!!). Upon entering the city, I found a pilgrim information office (no joke!) and asked the man there where a good hotel was. He recommended a place in the newer part of town where he said it was very nice but not too expensive. I asked him how far away it was, and without a twinge of irony or humor in his voice, he said: ït is walking distance from here.¨ You can´t make this stuff up folks!

The hotel is OK (nothing fabulous) but it did have free wifi in the lobby and -- are you sitting down? -- a bathtub in the room! So, after making a few skype calls from the lobby, I went upstairs, peeled off my clothes, and took a very appreciated hot bath.

I should tell you a little about the walk today. Like I said, it started out fabulously. I felt great and had a pep in my step that had been somewhat rare for a couple days. I was feeling great mentally as well and was back to flying by most walkers. At one point I passed an older german couple (they are probaly in their 60´s or maybe 70´s!) who recognized me and yelled ¨Coloradö!¨ I turned and smiled and they exclaimed ¨jannakosh¨ and looked at me as if I should absolutely understand them. ¨Jannakosh from Colorado¨they insisted. After a few more times I finally understood and said, ¨No, I don´t think Jonny Cash was from Colorado!¨

After walking about 19km (12mi) I arrived in Viana at around 1:00. On previous days, this would have been the end of the walk. However, today´s destination was still another 9km (5.5mi) away. I stopped in a grocery and bought some bread, salami and cheese, and made myself a great lunch. And at about 1:45 I set off again for Logrona. Today was the first hot day since I got here, and I think that many of the other walkers must have stayed in Viana, because for the first time since I started this walk, I did not see anyone else for the entire rest of the afternoon. At one point it was actually a bit scary, as I walked through a not so wonderful looking neighborhood and it occured to me that I was basically a sitting duck for anyone who wanted to make trouble. However, my fears were completely unfounded, and I made it to Logrona with no incidents.

So, where is Pablo you ask? The answer is, I don´t know! Remember I told you that I ALMOST slept through the night last night? Well, at about 10:30 I was woken up by a loud crash. Pablo had apparently decided that he couldn´t sleep and was getting down from the bunk above me when he accidently stepped on a wooden chair that was right by my head and came crashing down onto the floor. I jumped about a foot and looked down at him laying on the floor (it was dark, but I am pretty sure he was still sweating!). He looked up at me sheepishly and said ¨sorry Jon.¨ When I awoke this morning, there was a note that started ¨Dear Jonh¨, and went on to explain that he could not sleep and, though he did not know where he was going, he had decided to leave the alburgue. It was 10:30 pm. I have absolutely no idea where he could have gone or what he was thinking. However, I have no doubt that he will appear again when the camino decides the time is right.

Until tomorrow...