A Case of the Mondays - Yes, I am going to complain

Plain and simple, today was not a good day. But, I still need to discuss yesterday. Yesterday I arrived in Viana and was amazed by the beauty of city. Walking into the main plaza, I was greeted by the sound of church bells, trumpets, and the laughter of children. It was Sunday afternoon and the city of Viana was celebrating Corpus Christi. This is the first city I have visited this entire trip so far where all I wanted to do was explore. The albergue I was staying in was absolutely amazing. It was right in the middle of the ruins of St. Peter's church, so, the first thing I did was explore the ruins. Standing in the center of what once was a grandiose church, you can only imagine what it would have been like back in the day. After exploring the ruins, I found a nice quiet spot in the park and read my book for the rest of the afternoon. Too bad the sun wasn't out because I was freezing and would have enjoyed the sun on my back. But all in all, a nice relaxing day. This morning when I woke up, I knew right off the bat that it wasn't going to be a good day. At half past five, I was tired, cranky, and just plain sore. Even though my blisters are beginning to heal, my feet still feel bruised from awkwardly walking on the uneven ground. I didn't have any food (except for a few nuts), but I was planning on stopping in the first town for breakfast. I should have read the guide book for carefully because 10km and 4 hours later, I arrived in the first city...I wasn't too impressed that it was so far away. Loroña is a big university city so it was quite intimidating walking around after being in the country. And, the city isn't well marked for the camino route so I had to ask for help at every corner, fearing that I would go the wrong way. I finally found a bar and decided to have breakfast, but because it was 11:30, there was no breakfasty foods. I ordered an orange juice (which is the best I have had so far), a coffee, and what I thought was an egg sandwich. But when I took it out of the plastic wrap, it smelled of warm fish. Apparently it was a half egg, half mushy tuna sandwich with mayonnaise and tomato sauce...I took one sniff and decided not to even touch it. So, no breakfast for Matthew. I was getting frustrated with the busy atmosphere so I didn't stop anywhere else for food. I ATTEMPTED to get out as fast as possible. My feet were still really sore and I starred feeling pain in my upper quads, but I refrained from taking pain killers so as not to make things worse. As I was heading out of Loroña, this little 7 year old girl named Alba started talking to me in Spanish. All I understood was her asking if I was walking to Santiago. But despite the language barrier, trying to communicate with her for twenty minutes was the highlight of my day. Back on the road, I was beginning to get really tired and annoyed with everything. All I wanted to do was lay down and sleep. I have no clue why I was so tired today! Finally, after 8 hours of walking, I arrived in Navarrette. It WAS sunny when I arrived, but when I threw my stuff into the albergue and went to lay down in the plaza and read, it started to rain...just my luck! My albergue stinks of armpits so I didn't want to go back, so, I sat under a tree and then in the church until it stopped raining. When the sun came out (for the brief time is was out), I took a long cat nap beside a fountain. Afterwards I didn't feel as sore, but I was still cranky. And what better way to make me feel better? No, I didn't buy a bottle of wine, I went to the candy store and bought a lot of candy. The store owner was funny And said I was buying a lot of "nutritious" food for my walk tomorrow...I had to point out that I did buy watermelon candies ;)I hope tomorrow is a better day. I am still kind of sore, but hey, that's all part of the camino. Sorry for all the complaining. Now time to get a good nights rest. Luckily tomorrow I am only walking 17km. Woot woot! Short day, yay! Bye for now. Oh, but I should add that it wasn't all bad today. At one point I was walking along a lake with the smell of campfires...it reminded me of camping. And the views were spectacular. Now all I have to remember is that with every step, I am one step closer to a gorgeous view! Now k am off to bed!