Walking The Way

Sept 19- Woke up early before sunrise and hit the trail. Today I’m walking from Azofra to the small town of Granõn, which means “grain” due to the grain farming of the region.

Still in the Rioja region, I found this view to be filled with vineyards at the beginning but as I walked on, the rolling green vineyards disappeared and were replaced with sunflowers and hay, now drying in the sun waiting to be harvested. You could see the landscape slowly change as I continued to walk.

About halfway, I walked into a ghost town called Cuiruēna. A whole planned housing development was build here before the economy crashed in 2008 and now this town is filled with empty homes and condos that are closed up and mostly for sale. It was a pretty eerie feeling to see. Not a soul in sight!

Continuing on, I broke for lunch in the lovely town of Santo Domingo de la Calzada,- I walked right into the middle of an annual festival that celebrates San Jerónimo Hemosilla who is celebrated in this town every year at his birthplace.

Each of these small villages have their own uniqueness to them. But everywhere I go, the people are all so friendly.

Continuing on the trail, the landscape continued to get very golden, with either hay or sunflowers growing around the trail. Such a change from the rich green vineyards of the last few days.

Entering into Granõn, I left the wine region of Rioja and entered the region of Castilla y Leon. So long wineries! Looking forward to see what the next paths bring.

My place to rest tonight is a lovely little pilgrim hotel with just three beds per room. So I’m sharing with my buddies from NC, Mike and Viola tonight. Granõn is a quaint little town of about 300 people who again cater mostly to those walking the Camino de Santiago. Dinner tonight is a cheeseburger (I’ve been craving one for a while) and sangria! Yumm!

My thoughts: I’m getting close to the halfway point of the pilgrimage. I have just a few more days before I reach the city of Burgos, where I will take a rest day before walking the “Meseta” (which means plateau). The Meseta is a three day walk of flatland and nothing to see on either side of you but the road ahead. They say it tests your mind. I continue to run into all these amazing people I’ve met earlier on the Camino along with new ones. We greet each other like old friends. Continuing to feel humble and blessed to be here and be able to experience this pilgrimage.