About 21 km. Compared to the last two days, this felt like a walk in the park. I find I'm not taking many pictures now, as the Camino starts to get really repetitive. Lots of fields. Lots of path. Today we passed through Rioja vineyards as far as the eye can see. Tomorrow we leave the Rioja region.
We are still whole. No blisters (unlike almost everyone else). No sprains or anything else. However, the Camino has a way of humbling the proud, so we are taking it one day at a time.
Santo Domingo was born in 1019. He was rejected by a local religious order, so gave his life to assisting pilgrims on the Camino and improving the route. He built a pilgrim hospital (seeing the struggling pilgrims, I totally get why it was needed), now the Parador and a church which has evolved into the Cathedral. Adjoining the Cathedral is a chicken coop, explained by the following legend.
The chicken coop relates to the story of the Miracle of the Cock. Embellished over the years it has become one of the more endearing legends along the Way of St. James. Legend has it that a pilgrim couple and their son stopped at an inn here on their way to Santiago. The pretty innkeeper’s daughter had her eye on the handsome lad, but the devout young fellow thwarted her advances. Incensed by his refusal she hid a silver goblet in his backpack and reported him for stealing it. The innocent lad was caught and condemned to hang. Some accounts suggest the parents continued on their way, oblivious of the fate of their son and on their return from Santiago they found him still hanging on the gallows but miraculously still alive thanks to the intervention of Santo Domingo. They rushed to the sheriff's house and found him just about to tuck into dinner: Upon hearing the news, he retorted that their son was no more alive than the cock he was about to eat, whereupon the fowl stood up on the dish and crowed loudly. The miracle was not lost on the sheriff who rushed back to the gallows and cut down the poor lad, who was given a full pardon. We are left to speculate on the fate of the foxy maiden. Indeed so many miracles were ascribed to the intervention of Santo Domingo that the town that came to carry also referred to as the Compostela of Rioja.
This is what we are looking at most of the time
This was earlier in the day. We actually have about 574km to go now
