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Walking the Dream
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[QUOTE="SantiagoCruzB, post: 1189650, member: 98657"] Oct 10 Najera to Sto. Domingo de Calzada We went out at 6:30 a.m., it was still quite dark. The plan was to walk a bit further today from Najera to Cirueña (15km) which is longer than yesterday, then we evaluate whether we want to walk on or take a cab to Sto. Domingo de Calzada. The idea was to push ourselves a bit harder and see how hot it would be by the time we got there. But what happened took us by surprise. The town was well-lighted, and we found our way to the trail easily. But as soon as we hit the trail it was completely dark (we forgot to bring our headlamps since we haven’t used them yet on the Camino). Fortunately, we were walking with two Spanish gentlemen and a British couple. One of the Spaniards had a very powerful headlamp and the British lady had one too. The British couple set a brisk pace lighting the way in front of us, while the Spanish gentlemen were behind us partially lighting up our footsteps as well. We knew we had to keep pace with them otherwise we would be left behind in the darkness. After about 30 minutes the couple dropped back behind us while the Spaniards moved up front also setting a brisk pace. Their pacing was quite fast but not too fast for us to keep up. I’m sure they could have left us behind if they wanted to but they were chatting between them all the time, keeping a steady pace. We managed to keep up with them for the next hour while the sky began to light up gradually. We were walking faster and longer than we have done on the Camino so far but we were not having any difficulty. I think the cool morning air (12C) helped too. Soon the sky was light enough so he turned off the headlamp but we still managed to keep pace with them until we got to Azofra about two hours after we started. We stopped for coffee and I thanked the Spaniards (Chabi and Juan Diego). They were still enjoying their breakfast as we were leaving so we took a selfie with them. We were both surprised that we walked much faster without any difficulty so we agreed to maintain the same pace until we felt we could not do it anymore, then we’d slow down. To our surprise, we managed to keep this steady face for the next few hours. I think we have become stronger as our bodies adjust to the demands of the Camino and that we have recovered enough from the rigors of the previous days. After Azofra, we had the trail to ourselves for a while. Soon we saw an Asian-looking male pilgrim in the distance. We will soon catch up with him at our current pace, but we decided to slow down and adjust our pace to his since he was going not too fast but not too slow. Soon the sun was out and we changed our headgear to the pilgrim hiking hat and put on our sunglasses. It was still cool with a breeze (I’m surprised at how many of the pilgrims do not wear headgear at all despite the blazing sun) A young woman caught up with us and my wife (Tess) started chatting with her. Jar was from Australia, on the trail with her husband (Jess) and a couple-friend. Her husband was behind us at the moment in the distance. Soon he caught up with us and we asked for another selfie. They kept a fast pace and soon they left us behind. Soon their couple friend, Allison and Dallas, caught up with us. We saw Allison in our hotel in Logroño two days ago and exchanged greetings. She remembers us. It was at this point that we caught up with the young Asian guy. (We ended up with Tess speaking to the Aussie couple while I chatted with the Asian guy) Paine was Mongolian, and spoke very little English but some Spanish. We chatted in Spanish. I thought it was strange that two Asian guys were speaking to each other in a foreign language other than English (usually the default language around the world) in the middle of the Spanish countryside which is completely alien to both of us (hahaha) The Mongolian soon went ahead and we left Allison and Dallas who dropped back. We powered on. The trail was relatively smooth compared to the day before and flat except for the gentle uphill to Cirueña. We stopped here for a snack and decided we’d walked on to Sto. Domingo de Calzada since it was only 1.5 hours away. By this time we were resolved to finish the hike, something we thought we couldn’t do when we started. We kept a steady pace, keeping the pilgrims ahead of us in sight but not trying to catch up with them until we walked into Sto. Domingo. We did Najera to Sto. Domingo in 6.5 hours, arriving at 1300, still early enough to avoid the intense sun. SUCCESS (hahaha) At Sto. Domingo, we had to ask for directions before we found the Parador Fresnada. When I booked this, I thought we should treat ourselves since this is the first chance (and probably only one) to stay in one of these historic buildings. After settling in and taking a nap, we explored the hotel museum. For 5 euros you can visit this museum, the Cathedral of Sto. Domingo de Calzada where they have the chickens, and the Cathedral tower. You also get a sello. We were awestruck by the absolute magnificence of what we saw in the altars, paintings, sculptures, and other artworks. We saw some magnificent churches along the Camino but what we saw here makes all the others pale in comparison. One can spend a whole afternoon (even a whole day) just admiring each item and the whole place. We had the same experience in the Cathedral where we also saw the famous chickens. At the Cathedral, we also stopped to say our prayers. Tess bought me a rosary of Sto. Domingo as a souvenir since a visit to this Cathedral had always been on my bucket list. The religious items here were cheap and of excellent quality (comparable to what you’ll find at the Vatican in Rome, for example) but we couldn’t buy anything since we didn’t want to add to our luggage. We also spotted the Spaniards (by this time already dressed in non-walking attire) from this morning in the Cathedral, smiled and waved our Buen Caminos. Soon we were hungry, we didn’t bother to visit the tower and went to find a place to eat. We met Evelyn (half of the Taiwanese couple whom we met at the Champignon shop in Logrono two days before) at the Cathedral square exploring the town on her own. She didn’t know the tale about the chickens (she hasn’t been inside the cathedral) so I explained. After hearing my story, she says now she understands why there are chicken images in the albergue they were staying in (hahaha) We left her to proceed with her sight-seeing and find and place to eat. By this time most places were closed but we found the Cafeteria Espolon, a short walk from the parador along Avenida Juan Carlos, which was busy with diners. We ordered salad, paella, a pizza, beer and bottled water, all for 32 euros. I really can’t believe how good and cheap the food along the Camino is, plus the servings are gargantuan compared to back home. We were so hungry we finished the salad, paella, and half the pizza, which we took home for breakfast tomorrow before we hit the trail. In the middle of dinner, we saw the Spaniards walk into the restaurant and we waved to each other again. After dinner we headed back to the hotel where I arranged the luggage transfer (more on this later). My takeaway from today is that our bodies seem to have adjusted to the Camino. We can walk faster, for longer distances, within a shorter time than before. To be fair, the path today was less arduous than during the previous days. Still to be able to walk 20km in 6.5 hours, without getting left behind by other pilgrims, is for us, quite an accomplishment. Plus, we aren’t as exhausted at the end as we were in previous days. The etapa tomorrow from here to Belorado, at 22km, is just a bit longer than today’s so we hope we can do the same thing. (Please continue praying for us, as we pray for all of you, our fellow peregrinos) Thanks for reading this far. Good night and God bless! Bani[ATTACH type="full" alt="Mongolian Allison Oct 10 2023.jpeg"]158097[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full" alt="Spaniards Oct 10 2023.JPG"]158098[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]
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