Day 12 - Camino Frances - Azofra to Grañón скачать в хорошем качестве

Day 12 - Camino Frances - Azofra to Grañón

Camino de Santiago - The Frances Day 12 (14th of May) Azofra to Grañón - 23km Today was a whole new experience to our Camino adventure. We both woke up feeling a bit sluggish, and not too motivated to start our day. Of course we procrastinated and decided to have breakfast (coffee, toast & jam) at the local cafe/bar before we left the little village of Azofra. Little did we know at that stage, what a challenging day we were about to face. It was already raining when we woke up and continued for the first 8km of the route. Completely drenched and exhausted, we reached the La Rioja golf club, which is on the Camino route, at about 11am. The golf club cafe was very welcoming to all pilgrims and the place was buzzing with everyone wanting something to eat or drink. Some people had to sit on a side wall as there were not enough tables inside to accommodate everyone, but all were happy to just have some warmth and being out of the rain for a bit. We had a small bite to eat and coffee and our pants dried out a bit in that time. We realized that Jo’s rain jacket is not all that waterproof and her jumper was also wet. We will get a better jacket/poncho when we are in a bigger town/city again. Feeling very sorry for ourselves (it seemed most others pilgrims felt the same), we started gathering our stuff to continue our walk. At that moment a friend from New Zealand gave us a video call and there was no better moment on our entire journey so far than just then to get this call. It was just what we needed to feel inspired again to keep on walking. A few tears were shed, but that is also necessary 🧡. We continued on with the walk and with the grim weather improving, so did our general mood and in no time we were our normal selves again, seeing the beauty of our surroundings and appreciating again the opportunity to be on this journey. In the next town, Santo Domingo De La Calzada we decided to stop for lunch as we knew we would not make it to Grañón in time for a meal. We walked by a bar who had a big sign on the pathway for Hamburger and Chips - since Jenny has been craving a hamburger for days now, we decided to eat there. A bit disappointed, as for the second time it was more a deconstructed hamburger on the plate without a bun 😳. Weird for us, but probably normal in Spain 😂. It was still a tasty meal. The town is named after a local monk, Domingo of Viloria, who dedicated his life to the care of pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. In the 11th century, St. Dominic built a bridge over the river Oja so that pilgrims could cross it more easily. He also built a chapel dedicated to Santa Maria, a hospital and inn for pilgrims. As you head into the town, there is a huge sculpture representing the figure of Santo Dominic inside the pillar of a bridge. We visited The Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada (dedicated to St. Dominic). It was quite an experience and with so much to take in, we missed getting a photo of the baroque bell tower which is independent of the main building and stands out from the horizon line serving as a landmark for miles around. It was getting late in the day and we really had to pick up the pace for the last 7km to Grañón. We arrived at 5pm, it was a long day, and our feet reminded us. Even though we had horrible weather and challenging terrain, the beauty of our surroundings and all the history made the walk today worth it. We feel blessed. Having secured accommodation for tomorrow evening, we can now have a peaceful sleep. Hasta mañana 👋