I thought when I started the day that I would spend the night in Santo Domingo de Calzada, which by all accounts is a wonderful historic town. But on the Camino things don't always happen as you plan. When I arrived in Santo Domingo, everything was closed since it was Sunday. I waited in the Square outside the church at 11.30am thinking there might soon be Mass inside. But it started raining, and the church doors remained still firmly shut. So, having passed the heartening 550km-to-go mark, I decided I would walk on...... And I walked on through some rain towards Granon, another eight kilometres away. And how glad I am that I made it here, as it turned out to be one of the albergues I enjoyed the most in Spain. It was an albergue run by the parish, and you climbed up stairs near the belltower at the rear of the church to reach it. There are volunteer hospitaleros who do two week stints in Granon, and we had a lovely welcoming man from Leon looking after us. It was yet another bitterly cold day, and he had the fire going. There was a cosy, relaxing feel to the lounge/dining area on the main floor and sleeping mats were on the mezzanine floor above. These photos of the buildings don't really do the place justice because they can't show how welcoming it was. And there was an evening shared meal, cooked by the hospitalero. At one stage the rain stopped and the sun came out, so I ventured out in the cold to explore some of the village. The church, unusually for Spain, was open all day, and I spent some quiet time there. Upstairs we had mattresses on the floor, close together. I was pleased to find I had the three Canadians on one side of me. And on the other side I was next to Francis, a Frenchman I had enjoyed meeting along the track. Next person along I was to discover later, was an Italian priest.... all the people who actually went to Mass found that out! Thanks to all those responsible for setting up and running this albergue: it was a special place with such a wonderful welcome.
When I was preparing to walk the route from Le-Puy-en-Velay to SJPP, I found there wasn't much info in English, and I hope this blog might fill the gap a little.... In 2008 I walked from Le Puy to Santiago. In 2012 I walked from Cluny to Conques, then spent three weeks in Spain, re-walking two sections of the Camino Frances. Please feel free to contact me if you wish.
Hunkered In
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The sky keeps changing colors, the wind roars all night and morning.
Sometime overnight it pulled the chicken-hut door off its hinges and
smashed it to k...
Beachscape
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I haven't blogged for a while, but here is a new poem.
*Beachscape*
*Surprising that I never knew before*
*the bright curve of this bay,*
*the way the wash...
Taranaki-born, long-time Manawatu resident and primary teacher; inveterate traveler, Camino walker, occasional cyclist, lover of sea and bush walks; getting into genealogy more; collapsed catholic; lapsed musician looking forward to doing more again in retirement
from the poem "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver.....
" I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
This quote is taken from notion900 on the Pilgrimage to Santiago forum: "Please know that although some people seem to imagine it as some appalling ordeal, the camino is a very health-giving thing - if you do simple things like healthy food, plenty of water, moisturise your feet and get plenty of sleep. Being out in nature for 5 weeks is just so life-giving: I finished the camino absolutely glowing with health and vitality. I hope you have a wonderful time."
'Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.' Goethe
"Glowing... this is the thing about pictures of people on the Camino. This light within... As if the Camino washed the soul and cleared the eyes." Claire Bangasser in a comment on Johnnie Walker's blog
But on the Camino things don't always happen as you plan. When I arrived in Santo Domingo, everything was closed since it was Sunday. I waited in the Square outside the church at 11.30am thinking there might soon be Mass inside. But it started raining, and the church doors remained still firmly shut. 
So, having passed the heartening 550km-to-go mark, I decided I would walk on......
And I walked on through some rain towards Granon, another eight kilometres away. 
And how glad I am that I made it here, as it turned out to be one of the albergues I enjoyed the most in Spain. It was an albergue run by the parish, and you climbed up stairs near the belltower at the rear of the church to reach it. There are volunteer hospitaleros who do two week stints in Granon, and we had a lovely welcoming man from Leon looking after us.
It was yet another bitterly cold day, and he had the fire going. There was a cosy, relaxing feel to the lounge/dining area on the main floor and sleeping mats were on the mezzanine floor above. 
These photos of the buildings don't really do the place justice
because they can't show how welcoming it was.
And there was an evening shared meal, cooked by the hospitalero.
At one stage the rain stopped and the sun came out, so I ventured out in the cold to explore some of the village.
The church, unusually for Spain, was open all day, and I spent some quiet time there.
Upstairs we had mattresses on the floor, close together. I was pleased to find I had the three Canadians on one side of me. And on the other side I was next to Francis, a Frenchman I had enjoyed meeting along the track. Next person along I was to discover later, was an Italian priest.... all the people who actually went to Mass found that out!
Thanks to all those responsible for setting up and running this albergue: it was a special place with such a wonderful welcome.
I also found Granon a most charming, welcoming and very spiritual place in September 2010.
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