We had a nice stay in Logrono, but Joe wants to wake up and get to work.   6am.  It is a cold drizzle this morning.  I am a bit grumpy.   My bed over the last couple days was soooo comfortable.  It had this nice curtain you could pull for privacy, a charger, light, good WiFi.  The shower didn’t suck.  And now we are leaving.  

So the first item on the agenda is to get lost in the city with all the other Camino people.  We criss-crossed several squares trying to figure out where the trail was.  At least 4 different locals tried to help various groups out.  Joe and I mostly just followed the crowed.  Eventually an old guy emerged who was taking a morning walk and he showed a Spanish speaker ahead of me where to go.  They walked together and a bunch of us followed.  

It was drizzling, of course.  I was pacing myself behind put-together-asian-girl.   I started to pass her, but she picked up her pace and I wound up following her umbrella for the first 10km until she caught her friends and fell (way) behind.  

Today, it rained, then it stopped, then it rained,then it stopped For good in the afternoon.  Not a good day for the outdoors.

Speaking of bad days, there is a ruin outside of Logrono that used to be a hospital for pilgrims in the Middle Ages.  I wonder what folks in the Middle Ages would think about my high-tech gear. I mean, just the thick horse hair blanket these folks carried likely weighed more than my 22lb pack.  

I suppose I have no reason to bitch about the weather or my aches and pains.   Patients arriving here would show the Dr their toe blisters and they’d probably just chop those off.  Then put a bunch of leeches on their leg and maybe drain some blood just to be sure. 

Lots of vineyard in this area.  Check out the soil.  Clay and rocks.  This is a tough area to farm.  

As we approached Najera, we saw our first junk yard !  

We ran into a wierd stone structure that I thought might be a smoke house.  Looking inside, though, was a stone bench seat that ran along the interior wall.  I guess it is a resting area for Camino people?  Saw several after this along the trail.  Joe calls them stone pineapples. 

We checked into our hostel at Najera.  The Albergue might be lacking in amenities, but it had plenty of character.  

We had a pilgrim meal served by an amazing gal who managed a dozen tables.   She would pop by at certain intervals and if you could not tell her what you wanted quickly enough, she would just walk off to the next table.  Somewhere during the meal I shouted “Vino” to her retreating back and 2 minutes later a bottle of wine was dropped on our table without comment.  My kind of service. 

On the way back, I was checking out the sandstone walls towering over the village.  If you look at the picture below, you can see windows and, I assume, rooms, cut into the walls.  That got me excited.  Soft stone, people, and centuries.  I took off wondering, trying to get as close to the mountain as possible.  

 

I was rewarded with the Monasterio de Santa Marie

5 euro gets you in.  They stamped my Compostela for free.  The more modern section has some impressive stone work and a cool courtyard.  

 

Napoleon turned up to rape and pillage the place.  After the city was thoroughly liberated, his soldiers took over the monastery.  They chopped off some heads and shot up the walls before they left.  

Off the courtyard there is a huge church that almost appears to grow out of the mountain.  It is hard to determine what is natural, what was carved out, and what was built up.  Further back are tombs of some important bosses with their families.  Then through another doorway was a shrine carved in the mountain.  Neat place.  

I wondered the city for a couple of hours, on an important mission.  I need Tapatio.  All this pilgrim food is great, but I need some spice.   I checked 6 places in town.  Closest I could find was Siracha which I am now carrying.  Bought some ramen noodles for our dinner.