27th April 2024 Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

We had a lovely breakfast before packing up and putting on our rain gear as it was raining gently outside.  Down the stairs into the rain and headed along the Camino until we came to the Plaza where some cut out figures appeared, and Steve could not help himself – it was head through the hole and photos taken.

About 200m later the top half of Steve’s rain gear was taken off and, another 500m later, his long puffer jacket.  It seemed that was to be the way of the day.  I decided to just keep mine on as it was easier.  The scenery was gorgeous as Najera is right up against red-brown cliffs and we wandered up the hill and over the top – always amazed to witness the scenes that kept on presenting themselves.

We arrived at a little town called Azofra after following irrigation channels for a while and seeing how every bit of soil is utilised – often just a small patch 2m x 5m but with 12-14 vines in the space you could see how valuable the land is.  We headed into a bar/café but Josie had already left and we stayed a while as the rain had started coming down heavily.  Once it had subsided we continued.  Steve has had a real issue with heavy sweating and today was like the previous time on the approach to Pamplona when he just hit a wall as he had run out of electrolyte sachets for his water.  It is amazing but it got progressively worse as we wandered through the property bubble area of Ciruena to reach Bar Jacobeo so I could get him some food, a drink and, if he didn’t recover, a taxi to Santo Domingo.

Poor thing – we got there and he sat outside with the bags while I went inside to see what was available and was confronted by a large room filled with Koreans all from a bus tour.  They were finishing up their lunch so by the time I headed outside to Steve they were also leaving.  In that five minutes the wind had risen and a wave of cold was now sweeping in so we made the decision to move inside regardless of the rubbish they had left behind.

The young waitress was amazing and was working very hard to keep the orders under control and also clean up the tables.  We ordered a ham bocadillo and two salads.  These came out beautifully presented and they were the best we have had so far on the Camino.  Steve was, by this stage, feeling so much better and was very positive that he could make the final 6km into Santo Domingo de la Calzada.  The rain had stopped for now so we made our way outside and started down the track which rapidly became very muddy and slow going but we kept at it and a few kilometres later came to drier ground. 

It was still threatening to rain but Steve decided to keep his wet weather gear off and hoped we would get into Santo Domingo before the predicted rain arrived. The fields were so green and fertile and a few hills later Santo Domingo came into sight.  We could see the rain coming in from our left side and we wondered if we would get to the hotel first. The canola fields were just gorgeous and there were also a plethora of cornflowers and poppies growing wild and it looked beautiful so I had to take some photos.

A new statue was in place as you came over the top of the last hill and Santo Domingo came into sight.  We stopped for a few minutes before continuing on to our hotel where we checked in, came upstairs, I ran a cold bath and put my feet in while washing clothes, then did my favourite thing of adding hot water before sliding in and having a soak.

Steve had a shower and we headed off to a local bar to meet up with Josie, Mary, Roland and two American sisters.  Dinner was great – we both had white asparagus vinaigrette as a starter then Steve had the chicken and I had the breaded anchovies and they were both lovely.

The girls left and, once again, it was only the three of us (Roland, Steve and me) so they continued with the red wine until it got a bit late and we headed back to our hotel for a final drink before Roland went back to his accommodation. While there some Americans came in and we all started talking.  They are here on a National Geographic tour where they just turn up and walk for a little while before being transported to the next place.  They are enjoying their time.  Eventually they went to be and, once again, it was just the three of us. 

Roland had told us a lot about his home and before we said our goodbyes he (and we) reiterated what we had said about visiting.  He is a good man and he said that we have helped him with a Camino lesson about marriage etc.  I think he will go home with a different focus for life and his entire family unit will be happier, and stronger, as a result.  Lots of hugs later, Roland left and we headed upstairs for bed.