An oddly difficult day

Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Much less distance to cover — 22km (13.5mi) vs 30km yesterday - but it felt a lot harder for both of us.

Leaving Najera, we immediately noticed that the landscape changed to rolling hills of red clay soil. We are in the La Rioja region of Spain, noted for its strong wine industry. There were vineyards for as far as the eye could see, punctuated by small groves of pine trees here and there across the hills. I’m fascinated by the different types of grapes growing here. Some are on short, squat stocks with no vertical supports or horizontal lines for the vines to grow on. Others are more leggy stocks that have the traditional vertical supports and horizontal wires for the young vines. I am also curious about the harvest. Where will they get all the labor needed to harvest the hundreds of thousands of acres of grapes that will all ripen within a short period of time? It must be quite a logistical operation in the fall. Which is also a big time for pilgrims doing the Camino, so it’s probably a bit crazy in the towns!

Today was windy and chilly and overcast all day, which may have contributed to it feeling like a tougher day. (Shout out to Phil for the knit caps that he made for me and Rory to take with us - they have been essential on these cold mornings!) I now understand on a visceral level the meaning of “wind chill factor.” The temperature hovered around 52° all day, but the wind blowing constantly across the hills made it feel like 35°. I had to keep adjusting the clothing layers today. When the wind blew stronger, I had to pull out the down jacket. But when it stopped (or I had a long uphill), I had to take it off again. Though there were ominous grey clouds overhead all day, we did not encounter rain. And I’m actually grateful that it wasn’t sunny, because that uphill climb would’ve been much tougher in the hot sun.

We had our coffee stop in Azofra, a small village that is struggling to stay afloat along the Camino; it seems to get most of its industry from the pilgrims who pass through. We didn’t really feel like coffee or a pastry, but wanted to support the village so we indulged - mainly because we needed to use their bathroom! A note about the bathrooms. I have learned the hard way to bring my cell phone with the flashlight on into the bathrooms of these little cafes. The bathroom lights are almost always motion-sensor and go out at very awkward moments, leaving one to scramble in the pitch black darkness for the TP. (Probably TMI, but just wanted to give you all this public service announcement in case you are in a bathroom in a remote village in Spain. You’re welcome.)

After Azofra, another long and gradual uphill climb through more vineyards to the town of Ciruena for lunch. While not a particularly steep uphill, it just felt more grueling than the past few days. And this particular town had none of the medieval charm of others we have passed through. There is a planned golfing community there, with a golf course, clubhouse and rows of newly constructed (and seemingly empty) condos. A bit soul-less. But we made our way past the golf section of town and finally found the one cafe/bar that was open so we stopped for a bite and to get out of the wind.

We finally made our way to Santo Domingo. Visited the cathedral - huge and impressive, dripping with gold and silver adornments. And even has a chicken coop inside. There’s a whole legend there - too long to share here. I wonder, though, what would Jesus think of all of this? He probably would’ve been fine with the chickens, but not so keen on the ostentatious wealth on display in the cathedral. We had dinner at Restaurante Hidalgo, where we met some fellow pilgrims from Australia. And I tried pork cheek for the first time. (Tastes like pork ribs.) I am embracing the pig-forward culinary culture here and trying many pig parts on the menus… you could say I’ve gone hog wild. (That one’s for you, Mike!) And also, the best flan I’ve ever had!

Final note for today, thanks to all of you who are reading this and posting comments. It’s fun to share this journey with you. Even though I don’t have the patience to reply to your posts, please know that I am reading them and appreciate the thoughts!