Ciruena and Granon

Day 16 in Ciruena and Day 17 in Granon vía Santo Domingo de la Calzada - the all night party in Najera kept all the pilgrims awake. Luckily I could turn my deaf ear to it and get some sleep. The cafés that were supposed to open at 6:30 am did not (open) and we had to get our caffeine in Azofra which had crowds of pilgrims at all their cafes. I found my friend Annika from Switzerland (she told me that she had walked from Geneva to Santiago about 12 years ago). The entire walk to Ciruena yesterday was very pleasant. I had left fairly early and reached Ciruena, a quiet, sleepy village by 11 am. I had plenty of time to wander around - past the little church and have a glass of local red wine and soak in the atmosphere of this cute place. Dinner at the Albergue was communal and the owner had made a lentil stew with vegetables and sausage - it hit the spot!
This morning I left Ciruena late. I didn’t want to disturb my young room mate so stayed in bed till 6:30 am. The owner provided fabulous hot coffee and a light breakfast. Reached Santo Domingo by 9:00am and everything was closed. They too had pulled an all night party - even the tourist office was closed. I found Santo Domingo to be somewhat elitist - some very important looking people were bustling around and a bunch of expensive looking cars were parked in the plaza. The Santi Domingo church is the first church I have come across that charges for visit. Couldn’t get in through the normal entrance - it was closed for the special event - but slipped in with some other people for a quick look.
Continued on to Granon. It’s a small cute town with a church and central square. Had dinner in the one restaurant along with other pilgrims.Read more