Walking Man...

Day 10   Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

Miles today:  14.0

Total miles:  140.1

Elevation gain:  1011’

Descent:  500’

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time. Steven Wright

This evening we are in the town of Santo Domingo de la Calzada (pop 6600). This town is named after Saint Dominic who dedicated his life to improving the Camino route for pilgrims in the 11th century. He built roads (calzadas) and a pilgrim hospital. His tomb is in the local cathedral. He was a true walking man and a giant among men, born as Domingo Garcia in 1019 in. The nearby town of Vitoria. As a young man he was refused admission to the monastery at San Millan as he was an illiterate son. Their rejection was a loss to the intelligentsia, but has been a blessing to pilgrims for the past millennium.

This was an easy walk for us today, only 14 miles with a few short sections of sticky red mud. The morning was cloudy and cool, but no biting wind. The afternoon greeted us with sunny skies and warming temperatures. No rain at all today. Our paths were wide as we traveled thru the Rioja wine district and we passed vast fields of grape vines interspersed with blazing yellow fields of blooming rape seed (used as cattle food and for oil). Adjacent to these fields are expansive of what we believe to be earl;y growth wheat, an intense dark green in color. We were mostly in open rural areas, passing thru just two very small towns- Azofra (pop 250) and Ciruena (pop 100). Our accommodation for tonight is in an old flour grinding water mill house, restored as a small B&B with 10 bedrooms.