So once again high hopes dashed or so I think.

Part one in my travels through the Rioja. Don´t worry it gets better I just need to edit the other posts...Stay tuned...

Yesterday I took an early bus to Logroño a small (135,000) town in the heart of La Rioja. A town where all the wine business goes down! The bus ride was magnificent and showed all save the sea as far as what terrains and climates Spain has to offer. Mountains, cliffs, plains, desert and more all within a 5 hour bus ride with a 20 minute layover to pick up new passengers. Not bad, in fact I hope to one day take a car back with Gab so that we can stop and explore along the way. At one point we were side winding our way up a hill covered with snow, all the while passing carcasses of less fortunate souls who had jackknifed along the way. Stunning, and I was hoping to find Longroño nestled in these hills so that I could stop and call this my new home. But it was not to be as we slowly snaked our way out of the canyon we came to the plains again and industry. Not to mention Longroño seems to have a bad case of the "condos" if you know what I mean. At least upon first glance the condo ruled, though I was to find out later that there is much more to offer here.

Like always arriving was a bitter mix of relief and frustration. So far on my trips I plan to be set back at least 4 times or so. My first setback in Longroño was a combo both weather and tradition. Getting my bearings straight I headed to the tourist office to find a room for the night and to get some information about where the bodega was where I had an appointment the next day. The time was 3:15 and like all things Spanish they were closed until 4. Oh well I would wait under the nice awning to avoid the rain or so I thought. But such is my luck some wise ass architect thought it would be nice to have an awning with braces but no cover. Oh so modern, don't they know that braces are meant to support a roof and a roof will help to protect against rain. Fortunately a large pine tree provided some cover and protection against the elements and I waited.

Good news the tourist office was helpful and I was able to locate all the major car rental locations and a few cheaper rooms with little trouble. I even received directions to my appointment the next day with Bodegas Ontañon. Things were looking up and after booking myself into a pension for 20€ a night I was set to find a car to rent for my exploration of the city.

Setback #2 and note to self. In life there are times you learn things little my little or as the Spanish say poca a poco. Other times you learn a lot all at once. My fate seems to be the latter. When renting a car in Spain book as far ahead as possible. The rates for one day in Euros averaged 65 with a minimal deduction if I used it for more than one day. On a budget that dwindles everyday this does not seem to be an option that I can afford and thus as I write this in the back of my mind I search for another way to succeed in acquiring transportation to the bodega.

Frustrated and realizing that I needed to conserve funds I headed out for a walk and to find a grocery store to feed myself on a budget. This was easy and in the mean time I was able to make a nice circuit of the historic downtown where I wandered winding streets and narrow roads.

After acquiring food for the night I headed back to my room to eat something after a long day without anything to eat. I really wasn't hungry and a bit confused by this as so far I had had only a granola bar and a banana and we were approaching 7 o'clock. Oh well I thought first some food and then a Tapas or two to round things out.

An aside for a moment. Recently I received a call from a friend who was in Europe on business. I was to meet him here in Longroño for a dinner and to catch up. The call postponed changed this as he had had a long trip and was feeling homesick. Not necessarily from Minnesota but rather from his wife. At the time I thought that that was sweet but didn’t really understand it. I now know what he means. Part of the reason for these trips being so hard for me is not being able to share it with Gab. She would have loved the bus ride here and as I headed out to find Tapas I quickly realized that I like company. There are so many cute little bars and places to grab a glass of wine in this town and not one appeals to me right now. I know I should just go in and try to find conversation or some culinary treat but without the ability to share the moment it loses some of its fun.

So I wandered and saw many a place that I must return to. The streets here are very narrow in places and the 2 or 3 streets with all the bars are just that bar after bar after bar. Amazing and beautiful, I made it to not one. Not for lack of want but more for lack of caring. These trips are less enjoyable that I thought they might be. On the other hand today I'm to take a taxi to a bodega to taste wine followed by what I hope to be a trip to Haro. We’ll see if things start to look up.

For those of you who don't know my grandfather was able to trace some of our roots back to this old wine trading town in central Spain. I'm hoping that some ancestral cosmic vibration might bring me a feeling of home and safety when I arrive. I'm not holding my breath, though I am a bit excited. Here's my chance to touch something in my far pass. Do I hope to receive great insight from this visit? No, but I do hope to complete one more goal in my life and learn something too.

Till soon, Ryan