Day 12: Reunited and it feels so good!

Chris wanted to do another long (27 km) day and I wanted to baby my feet for another day, so we started the day apart.

We met in the town of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. (“De la Calzada” means “of the road;” Santo Domingo devoted his life to designing and building roads and bridges to make pilgrims’ travel to Santiago safer and easier.)

The cathedral at Santo Domingo is famous because it keeps a pair of chickens above the choir loft to remind visitors about a miracle attributed to the saint: in the 14th century, a pilgrim was wrongly accused of theft and hung on the spot. The young many hung on the gallows for several weeks, but when his parents walked back through town after going to Santiago to pray for their son (still a 2-3 week walk away), they found him still alive. The young many hung claimed that Santiago and Santo Domingo held his feet and kept him alive.

His parents rushed to see the mayor to take down their son from the gallows. The mayor was eating chicken for dinner. Upset at being interrupted he told the couple: ‘Your son is as alive as this rooster and hen that I was feasting on before you interrupted me.’

Suddenly, the two beheaded cooked birds came to life, sprouted feathers and beaks, and jumped from the plate. They began to dance, sing and crow happily to testify in favor of the wrongly accused pilgrim.

Obviously, I’m a sucker for a good chicken story, so I knew we had to visit this church. Unfortunately, the church has become more of a museum and I wasn’t as moved as I had been at other churches, but the crypt was full of really cool.

It was good to get back on the road with Chris. We walked from Santo Domingo to Grañon in the midday heat and little shade but it seemed like nothing compared to what we walked through a few days ago.

Most towns we’ve walked through offer a Pilgrim’s Mass in the evening which is sometimes just a regular daily Mass, but usually there’s a special blessing for pilgrims at the end.

Tonight’s Pilgrims Mass at the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista was really special. The church was full with an equal mix of peregrinos and locals. They also had a screen set up that displayed real time translation from Spanish to English. I sat next to a lovely local woman who hugged me when she saw me trying to keep up with the Spanish responses with the document I have on my phone.

The church has its pilgrim’s hostel in several floors above the sanctuary. It’s very rustic— you sleep on mats on the floor — but most of the people we’ve been walking with are staying there and they love the community feel. That sounds nice, but I have to say I’m pretty stoked to be sleeping in a comfy bed tonight.

Back to walking tomorrow. Here’s hoping I can do all 28 KM! Please keep my feet in your prayers!!Read more