Logroño

The dorm was again awake early, and since we were pretty crowded, when those around me weren't moving to get out of my way, I got up to get out of their way, and so was ready to go by 7:30. I knew I had a short walking day, (it being the Lord's Day - a day of rest anyway) and I was only going about 8 miles to the big city of Logroño - the third largest city on the Camino. So of course I was here by 10 am. Found a pilgrim's hostel, but it wouldn't even open till 1 pm. I went to visit one of the old churches here in the old part of town. I found that Mass was just about to start, so, of course, I stayed. The church was named Santiago, so it had a long tradition of welcoming Pilgrims. Two of the churches have these very fancy, 16th\17th century, gilded, rococo altar pieces. They really are nice to mediate on when one doesn't understand the language being spoken. The third church had managed to avoid such modernizations and preserve its more simple, Romanesque-Gothic interior. So it has its own beauty and quietness. There is also the cathedral. I arrived at the end of Mass, and could not, of course, wander around the church too much. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel was near the door, and so I spent time in there, which was beautiful. Amazingly done. The skill and effort they took in the 16th century.
So after several nights of completely packed hostels, I picked a smaller private hostel that was a little harder to find, being off the main Camino route. The big city has lots of options.  I've heard that the cheaper municipal hostel is filling up, but so far I am the only one here! And they have an electric drier, so I can finally dry yesterday's clothes and today's.
The day's walk started under dark clouds and a little drizzle. I thought of a day without a sunrise, as it was all overcast and looked like storms any moment. Luckily nothing more than that misty drizzle came all morning. But when I came out from Mass, the sun was shining! Not that there weren't those dark clouds around, and by 5pm they are predominating, and a drizzle has started again. It's like Missouri - if you don't like the weather, stick around and it'll change. So I'm feeling at home.
Hey! Less than 400 miles to Santiago! And only 36 more days in which to do them. No problem!