Roncesvalles

Well isn't God good! I made it across the pass and am in Roncesvalles. According to the guide book, I've walked 13 kilometers (8 miles) and climbed up over 800 meters (about 1/2 mile). So it shouldn't have been too bad anyway. But it was a good workout. However, confession time, I cheated... The poor lady from Vienna, on her first day on the trail, realized that she brought to much stuff and had to get rid of some of it. She wanted to mail a package of it back home, but the post office was closed and wouldn't be open this morning. Then the hostelier said there's baggage service to Roncesvalles, you can have the whole thing sent ahead, and you don't have to carry anything over the pass. Bet you can see where this is going... I too sent my backpack ahead and just walked. It was really inconvenient to have to carry my lunch and water in a plastic sack, but I made it.
Roncesvalles is one of the places pilgrims have been shopping at some the middle ages. There was a need for a stopping place near the pass, and so a monastery was built here to care for them. The monastery is only a shadow of what it was, with only a few secular canons providing religious services, but a lot of the monastery complex is still here and used for various things - restaurants, hotels, a museum, and a pilgrim's hostel! All in pretty good condition, that is all fairly modern.  In fact this is one of the largest pilgrim's hostel on the Camino - 180 beds, and room for overflow if needed. Roncesvalles seems to have a permanent population of about 10, but welcomes hundreds of pilgrims each night. I actually got here about noon, and I'm waiting for it to open at 2 pm, though I've already have bed 120 assigned.
Well with 180 beds on three floors, there isn't a lot of room. It's quite a contrast from last night even when there were only four of us. They are full and already sending people to the overflow dorms, they say up to 400 pilgrims a day come through here on the way to Santiago. I certainly hope all these pilgrims get spread out from here...