Camino Day 11: Santo Domingo de la Calza to Belorado
“Come with me, where dreams are born and life is never planned.”
Day 11: 22.5 kilometres - 34,574 Steps
It’s my birthday. At breakfast we sit next to an older couple from Australia, they pop a candle in a muffin and sing happy birthday to me.
Leaving our hotel we almost bump into two Gigantes – a King and Queen. We are not sure why they are there – it must be part of a parade?
The early part of the day was very pretty. Fields of green laid out like silken panels from hot air balloons. No more vineyards – only wheat!
At Granon, the tiny church had a rickety staircase leading up to a choir platform with a stunning stained glass window of pilgrims. The staircase was so dodgy I felt like Indiana Jones – at any moment a wooden stir would give out and we would plummet to our doom!! We survived.
We leave Rioja and enter Castilla Y Leon
The majority of the afternoon is on dirt track adjacent to the major freeway. It’s pretty on one side but overwhelming on the other. Walking here is tedious.
Dora is till bouncing along above me. She is a superstar and very popular with the passing motorists and truckies. Lots of honking, waving and thumbs up out car windows. Its cheering.
In the village too, the locals love that Dora is going on Camino. In one small village, the local butcher van arrives, honks loudly and all the old ladies come down from their houses to buy today’s meat. They laugh happily at Dora.
A father and daughter from Ohio ask me to say Happy Birthday to their Niece via video from Dora.
When we arrive in Belorado our host makes a reservation for us, and the Melbourne Boys, at the recommended local restaurant which is in the alburgue. One sitting at 7.30pm. There is a huge line winding down the stairs for the pilgrim menu with three courses and free wine at 11 Euro. It’s a bargain and very tasty.
We peek into the dormitories – we count 40 pairs of boots lined up in rows outside one room. 40 people in one mixed dorm. There are two other dorm rooms here too. We feel super lucky to have a private rooms in a lovely casa rural, with a huge fireplace and our own bath!
POSTCARDS FROM Santo Domingo de la Calza to Belorado
