Cycling the Camino de Santiago - Day Five (Exploring Logrono)

In the last few days I've walked and cycled 175km from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France to Logrono in Spain... which means today is a day of rest.

And a well deserved one at that.

Annoyingly though, I woke at 8am (despite best laid plans for a lengthy slumber) and couldn't fall back asleep.

To make up for this early rise, I spent the first two hours of the day propped up in bed watching Game of Thrones.

On the ankle front, my situation is still precarious I'm afraid.

The tendons didn't pop today, which is progress, but they still don't feel right.

On my later outing to see the jewels of Logrono, therefore, I wisely took the bike.

Logrono is a very compact city - one can easily walk from one end to the other. But I need to do everything I can do to alleviate ankle pressure right now, so I cycled.

While the area is beautiful, no doubt about that, there's not a whole lot to do except eat and drink and lounge around in the sun and visit a couple of churches.

The main point of interest would be the Cathedral of Santa Maria de la Redonda.

Amazingly, there is actually a genuine Michaelangelo painting hanging inside.

You do, however, have to pay 50c to see it clearly.

Insert the coin into a nearby box and the area will light up, giving you a look at the masterpiece.

This system is fairly common in churches here, I've found. The interiors and areas of ornate decoration will be left shrouded in darkness until a curious visitor pays for illumination.

On one hand, it's a clever way of covering the cost of the electricity. On the other hand, it's a pity such beauty must spend most it's life in darkness, seen only by those willing to pay for the privilege.

Perhaps in contrast, there are beautiful works of street art in Logrono, as I discovered. Graffiti has always had a certain allure for me. I'm fascinated by it. Here are some of my favourites from today: