The Last of the Vineyards

It rained heavily overnight but by 07:40 it had stopped, leaving a misty, muggy morning. Though I think I prefer that to cold mornings, which are probably coming as we get into October.

We had probably our last roadside grape breakfast this morning as the vineyards started to give way to larger fields of more traditional crops.

About 10 miles in, just after the village Cirinuela, we went up a small rise and then suddenly in front of us the whole horizon opened up, a rolling patchwork of different fields, in several shades, at different angles and the Camino stretching out in front of us. It was as surprising as it was breathtaking, again the photos just don't do it justice.

We got in at 12:15 and luckily our room was ready. So quickly got showered, changed and out to look around the town and something to eat before the heavens opened. The town of Santo Domingo was 1,000 years old in 2019.

Today we are staying in a parador, which is a former convent or monastery converted into a hotel. We wanted to try one out to see what it was like. There are a number of these along the route and are apparently government owned. Though they are literally 10 times the price of a room in a dormitory, albeit we are only doing 4 dormitories. The first we did to see what it was like, the other three because there was nothing else available.

Najera to Santa Domingo de la Calzada
Distance: 13:58
Time: 4hrs 24min
Speed: 3.1 mphRead more