Last night in the hostel, a man who has walked the Camino before said to Mary Lou " I don't know what has happened. You used to be able to walk all day at a leisurely pace, and find a place to stay in any town. But now you have to get up early, rush all morning and stop off at the alberque just after it opens or you can't get a bed. Then you sit around all afternoon with nothing to do. " True enough, and the only option if you want to stick to the main towns is to book ahead at a private hostel. We decided on a third option, and that was to go past the main stop points and stay ahead of the pack.
So at 5:45 am we were up and out and prepared for another long walk. Having been burnt the last time we left early, we were determined not to miss a guide marker, and that we would double back if either one felt uncomfortable about the route. The plan payed off well as the walk in the dark went off without a hitch.
You walk the Camio from west to east, so the sun rises at your back. It is funny, though we all know the sun rises at a constant rate, it seems more like someone turning a dimmer switch a bit at a time. By that I mean all of a sudden it seems a little brighter, and a little warmer, as opposed to a steady change. The mind plays tricks on you.
The walk from Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a ancient town that had been ravaged a few times by the Black Death, was 21 km, much of it along busy highways with little tree cover. This is where most people end their walk for the day. The scenery was typical to the past few days but with just enough variation to make it interesting. To avoid the crowds we decided to aim for Granon, a town we knew nothing about, but was 6 km further. The walk to Santo Domingo was a relatively easy one as the early start allowed us to avoid the days sun. The same can't be said for the finish, as we struggled in stifiling heat. But make it we did by the early afternoon.
Now one of the issues of travelling off the beaten path, is that there are not the same level of facilities in some of these places, and we ended up on a mat in a church hall room, one of two with twenty or so people. Our initial though was " oh, we took another step down in accommodation again", but in the end the night turned out to be a real gem.
After getting cleaned up we headed across the street to have a beer and get a bite. I noticed a guitar behind the desk, and talked a little music with the shop owner. He played classical but was a big blues fan and wanted to learn to play. We showed each other a few licks and listened to some of the old and new blues greats. Took his email address and promised to send him a link for some free blues lessons. Great way to spend an hour.
Prior to the shared supper, I'll explain in a bit, we all headed down to the church for mass. These old churches are incredible for their architecture and art, but sadly in need of some repairs. The service was a short one and that was the quickest communion I have ever seen, although my experience is fourty years ago. Though the spirit didn't really speak to me during the service, I will say this, if mother Mary looked anything like the statue in the church, she was smokin in her day.
The alberque, which operates on a donation by the pilgrim basis, buys the food, and the pilgrims make and serve supper, then clean everything up when the feast is over. Salad, soup, dessert and wine. It was actually alot of fun, and a very interesting evening listening to the stories of the people around us. The lady sitting beside ML started the walk with a close friend and they were to travel all the way together, but her friend met a man on the trail the first morning, and she hasn't seen her since. Can't imagine that friendship is going to last.
The evening ended with a trip back to the church, where we sat in the choir seats, the only light being candles. The priest gave a pilgrim blessing, then each person was handed a candle and asked to say something; could have been a prayer, why they were there, sing a song or even say nothing at all. The best one was a short song from the pilgrim opera singer. Some people revealed pretty intimate stuff. It all ended with hugs, OK I said I would be opened minded on the trip, then back to our mats on the floor for lights out.
Distance 28 km
Time 7 hours
Weather Sunny
Distance remain. 563 km
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