Many Pilgrims Bus it!

Sunday, May 7, 2017--Pamplona to Logrono

After posting to the blog yesterday, I decided to go back out and enjoy the crowds.  They were unbelievable--so thick that one had to squeeze through them at times.  And bands were out everywhere--drunk and still playing with at least one of them running down the streets while playing.  There were at least 3 bands I hadn't seen during the daytime.  The biggest crush of people was at the square where the students hang out.  It was almost impossible to get through there which made it lots of fun.

Just after getting up, there was a different kind of music outside.  I went to the balcony and opened the door.  There came a 4-man fife and drum unit marching down the street.  Whether they were participating in the Folklore Festival or whether they do this every Sunday heading for the Cathedral across the street, I don't know.  But it was a pleasure to hear and exciting to discover.

There was already a band playing this morning when I headed to the bus station.  They were outside one of the museums which was having a family day.  They looked fresh, especially considering how drunk they had been last evening.  They were having a great time playing music for the crowds.  Click here for videos by the group.

The bus was a "local" between Pamplona and Logrono--staying on the old rural highway rather than the expressway and following the Camino de Santiago much of the way.  What was interesting was the number of pilgrims catching the bus.  The scenery between the two cities is beautiful, but I can see how trekking the whole distance would become boring, especially since a big part of it involves walking along the side of the highway instead of on a trail through nature.  Pilgrims were getting on and off everywhere we stopped.  Some getting off would see others they already knew from crossing paths before and would greet them in passing.  And all the pilgrims had the same burnt orange guidebook to the trail they were carrying and referencing in determining where to get on and off.

There are inexpensive places for the pilgrims to stay in each town (meaning every town and village and not just the big cities like Pamplona and Logrono).  It used to be traditional to be able to stay for 5 Euros a night for a bed in a huge dormitory (some with as many as 500 beds) and a shower.  But now, many of the places charge more.  But I did see a place here in Logrono today that is a hostel charging 19-25 Euros a night for regular guests (according to which night of the week it is), but offering a bed to "peregrinos" (pilgrims) for 10 Euros per night as long as they prove who they are by producing their special passport which is issued to pilgrims and stamped at each stop they make.  Click here to see the local city-operated sleeping place (7 Euros per person for a total of 68 people).

Logrono has a much smaller old center than Pamplona and Zaragoza.  Much of Logrono seems quite modern and even somewhat American looking with wide streets and modern apartment buildings.   Before calling it a day, I did venture into the old part of town.  While there, one of the interesting observations was made by going into the Cathedral.  My guidebook says it is free to tourists (which is not true of most churches in Spain.)  And getting inside the door IS free.  But they have a different way of making money.  Visitors pay for light.  All around the church to see something, there is a box where money is dropped to activate the "illumination."  To see the beautifully carved wooden seats of the choir, drop a coin.  To see the small painting by Michelangelo, drop another coin.  To see a special side chapel, drop another coin.  Of course, when I saw a man dropping coins to see everything, I just lingered behind him seeing each area as he walked away.