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Published: April 11th 2010
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Ciruena
Benches were provided near a (working) font at the end of a steep 100m+ climb. A day in the country
Entering larger towns in the afternoon can be a bit of a pain, as can leaving them in the morning if, as was the case in Logrono, it takes an hour or more to get clear of the urban edges, light industrial areas and surrounding wasteland. So leaving Najera was a delight. The exit is a pass in the cliffs, and once through that a days walking in quite farmland lay ahead. How delightful a prospect.
Today was overcast, but it didn´t really show any serious sign of rain. The wind came up mid morning, and had a distinct chill, but was not as unpleasant as the bitter winds of yesterday. The roads were generally good, although not universally so, but one could keep a steady pace. So overall, it made a pleasant day of walking.
A Pilgrim still needs to pay!
I had originally planned to stay in Santo Domingo and do some simple but necessary things like withdraw money from the bank. When I got there about lunch time, I decided to push through and onto Granon. There was a parochial albergue there that sounded quite interesting, and was only available if
you had come from further than Sto Domingo - so I was good for that. Getting money had completely slipped my mind. While it might feel like one is not spending a great deal, it was still costing around 25 euro a day with albergue, meals, laundry and a bit of internet, etc.
Now Granon is not the size of place that supports a cash point, let alone a bank. There were two bars, but only one with internet and it had closed for the afternoon when I arrived. There was a small shop, pharmacy and bakery. That appeared to be the sum of commercial outlets. So I was able to make do, but it would clearly be important to get some cash out soon.
The parochial house
The albergue was in the loft of the parish church. Downstairs was a large dormitory for those of us who had arrived later, there was a middle level of kitchen, dining and common room and services, and a small mezzanine sleeping bay for the early arrivals. Heating was on, but a multitude of doors needed to be kept closed to make sense of not letting the cold in and the
Santo Domingo de Calzada
Puenta del Santo crosses the Rio Oja. heat out, and not everyone had the knack. This was a little disappointing, as I ended up being the closest to the door and the chill wind when it went wrong.
When I arrived, I made myself a late lunch with some chorizo I had bought a couple of days ago, and some other stuff from the local shop. The remains became part of a communal meal that evening.
There was a young Italian hospitalera, who seemed to have a good grasp of half a dozen other languages, but not much English. So trying to explain that my leftovers were a contribution to the communal meal was a bit of a comedy.
The were spare mattresses in the downstairs dormitory, so I made a comfortable bed, and slept like a log.
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Pam McLennan
non-member comment
do you feel blessed?
Been away from my computer so have just caught up on your trip. Subiaco to New Norcia trip seems less arduous. Glad you are going to plan. Keep safe.