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Left early enough. Loved Santo Domingo. Awe inspiring church, cloisters and monasteries. Stonework is amazing. Seems like they use a mixture of grey or taupe coloured granite and sandstone. It is beautiful. I have said this many times that whether you are a believer or not, Christianity has given civilization a multitude of awesome architecture, impressive art,music and literature. I am a believer and when I see this I am bewildered.

But modernity is here side by side with the old. They compliment each other. Domingo is old but it is a modern city too. One feels a sense of contentment walking the narrow streets. Love it.

Meet my new friends from Brazil enjoying a paella lunch washed down with Sangria. Paella is a rice based dish. Add shrimp (big) chunks of whatever and voila…delicious.

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Oh and  siesta time is near. Everything shuts down for a few hours before reopening a few hours later. Then out to have a meal, wine perhaps or a beer. The Spanish have their evening meal late,usually starting around 7pm. Highly civilized. Golly how I love this country.

One can sense a major change coming as the horizons get bigger, landscapes broader, drier with rolling hills. Harvest is in hence a dull,yellow and dustier look and feel to the ground.

Belorado is but a small farming village of no real repute except for its respite from the daily slog. 20 clicks done today. Enough. Albergues beckon.

Did 24 klicks today. Started out cool and that was great for the first few hours. Normally civil twighlight at the beginning with about 30 minutes before sunrise. You can see ok but buildings and streets are still in the shadows. City lights soon come off and the day begins.

Weird that the start of this walking began with a long climb. About a kilometer uphill. The landscape then flattened out into lush green rolling vinyards as far as the eye can see. The grapes seem to be like concords but they’re probably not.

A glass of wine here costs 1 euro 50. Gosh I love this country. The day progressed across undulating landscape with barren, brown coloured Mesas. The sky is broad but cloudy with the sun obscured by haziness. Thank goodness as the temp is about 30 C today but we cannot really feel its full brunt as there is a constant breeze blowing. It is heavenly. A real gift for us.

Group of Canadians wiped out on their bicycles. Jerry helped the woman with no thxs to us. They just carried on. Why???

Speaking of people, most of the pilgrims keep to themselves. No socializing at night particularly the Americans, Canadians, and Scandinavians. Elderly like me and Jerry socialize well enough and talk to everyone we meet. The older people respond and chat, while the younger ones just stick to their ipads and iphones. Sad. That is the state of the younger generations. No social skills at all. Luckily not all of them.

Pedro and Marisa from Argentina.

Katarina from Switzerland.. our two french sweethearts. French Bulldogs cause they just keep going and going.

Martina and Nolina from Bourges France. Of course some lighter moments too.

The last 5 kilometers were brutal. 32 C. Wind died and very hot. We made it though. I had to cool off. Our current Albergue.

Pool was only 2 feet deep and very cold. I did not care.

Read ya tomorrow.

 

Why dear lord, tell me why that every town, village and hamlet here is built on a high hill. At the end of the day when your legs are burning, sweat is pouring out of every single pore of your body, you are dying for a cold one you have to navigate up a very steep hill to get to your quarters.

”Why dear lord, why?”

” Because I can” I thought I heard an inner voice say to me. “Remenber John my son, I am lord and you’re not.”

I left it at that.

Viana last night was very cool. They have a custom here called “Kintos” where they have a celebration with the young men and women of the village of coming of “drinking age.” Can you believe it? What a country. I just had to see this….and I did… and I had to participate:

Hola!

We started the day in…more rain. Have to move on though so we cranked through 22 k but decided to stop because every thing is wet and that is not good. Jerry and I stopped at a park just outside of Logrono,a major city in this part of Spain, to change our clothes for drier ones but to no avail because our drier clothes are damp. Press on:

We arrived at our Albergue around 1330. Tired but Jerry and I went to a cafe for a cold one and chatted with two women from the Netherlands. One was named Marijke, the same name as my late wife. That was weird but she and her walking partner were very nice. Glass of wine cost 1 euro 50 cent – about 2.75 Cdn. Wow. What a country.

Marijke is on the right. From Den Haug.

read ya tomorrow and……..HOLA!