Day 11: To Azofra

This morning I was looking up the address to where we are staying tonight in Apple Maps and it happily told me it would take 16 minutes to get to Azofra. That confirmed driving is definitely faster than walking… about 5 hours and twenty minutes faster. Although you definitely see, hear, smell & feel more taking the slow way.
Today’s hike was the longest so far at about 25.5 kilometers. As of today I’ve officially hiked right at 200 kilometers on the Camino (not counting walking around towns to eat and drink good wine.) Only 600 more to go. Speaking of wine, after walking past just over a gazillion vineyards, I understand why it’s so cheap here.
The morning started by taking an (unintentional but fortunate) alternate path at added about 1k to our hike but allowed us to stop at a nice place for coffee and make a friend with a burro (with the help of a sugar cube I have been carrying just for such bribery.) Then the path climbed up and up to where a musician from Galicia was busting on the trail. It was great to pause and catch our breath and let his music relax us to continue. On we walked towards Nájera. Entering the town was the least esthetically pleasing (let’s just say ugliest) part of the Camino so far. To keep things positive, I going to post a photo of a beautiful fence laden with roses. Nájera is a nice town and Dorothy and I had a great lunch there before continuing up past the red rocks that flank the town into more vineyards. (They really are beautiful). Finally, we made it into our little picturesque town of Azofra.
Starting tomorrow my Camino will be markedly different. For the past couple of weeks it’s been wonderful sharing the company of my sister Dorothy on the camino. It’s been a true pleasure. I’ve also been fortunate to be able to share her photos here with you. Tomorrow she is leaving to join her husband Steve on vacation and honestly, I’m very sad to see her go.Read more