Morning Challenges
Morning broke in Najera with the weight of yesterday’s mistakes still lingering. The sun had not yet fully risen as I set out, my feet speaking their own language. A new blister on my right foot, patched and padded with tissue in my sock. Small adjustments that made the difference between suffering and walking. The body learns its own wisdom on the Camino.
I reached Azofra early, stopping at a small bar for breakfast. A half-eaten baguette soon rested in my backpack—a disappointing meal from an establishment that seemed to care little for pilgrims. No toilet paper in the bathroom, lights that extinguished themselves too quickly, indifference hanging in the air. Some places along the Camino welcome pilgrims with warmth; others merely tolerate our presence.
Separation and Light
Connection with Ken proved difficult that morning—signals failing, tiredness separating us across continents. How strange that after four years together, these separations grow harder, not easier. I had thought the Camino might ease this longing, filling my days with new landscapes and faces. Instead, I carried his absence more heavily than my backpack.
The weather forecast had prophesied rain all day, yet the sky granted mercy—patches of blue emerged, and sunlight transformed everything. How easily my spirit lifted with the light! I understood again why God is so often referred to as Light, the Sun illuminating our human path. In community and light, we find our way.
Through Fields and Mountains
The path circled through gentle hills as I approached Cirueña. There the landscapes began to shift—beautiful fields stretched across the horizon, mountains rose in the distance, vineyards slept in springtime sun.
After a rest at a café with thankfully kind staff, tasty food and clean bathrooms, I continued onwards. The terrain undulated, sometimes monotonous with endless wheat fields that stretched to the horizon, then suddenly offering a vista that caught the breath. Kilometer after kilometer, one foot before the other, the rhythm of walking became a prayer.
The Miracle of Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo de la Calzada appeared with its famous legend of the miraculous chickens. The story tells of a young German pilgrim, Hugonell, traveling with his parents in the 14th century. When he rejected the advances of an innkeeper’s daughter, she hid a silver cup in his bag and accused him of theft. Condemned to hanging, the grieving parents continued their pilgrimage.
On their return, they found their son still alive on the gallows! When they reported this miracle to the magistrate, who was eating dinner, he scoffed, “Your son is as alive as these roasted chickens on my plate.” Immediately, the birds came back to life, sprouted feathers, and began to crow! To this day, the cathedral houses live chickens as a testament to this miracle, and pilgrims know the saying, “Santo Domingo de la Calzada, where the chicken sang after being roasted.”
In 2019, this place had overwhelmed me with its massive municipal albergue—too many souls in one vast room. The memory of turning away, tearful and overwhelmed, still lingered. Today I pushed through, determined to reach beyond.
Finding Community in Grañón
The last kilometers to Grañón proved challenging, wind pushing against my determination. No breaks, just forward motion, leaving Santo Domingo behind. Fatigue settled deep but I arrived at my destination—the parochial albergue San Juan Bautista.
Here waited an unexpected gift: a donativo albergue in an ancient church building with steep stone stairs and mattresses on the floor. Not the comfort of a hotel, but something richer—welcome, community, shared meals, evening Mass with pilgrim blessings, and meditation to follow. The building’s narrow passages echoed my nightmares of crawling through tight spaces, yet I entrusted myself to this path.
Tomorrow I would wake without an alarm, joining the rhythm of this pilgrim family. How reluctant I am to enter communities, and yet how often I find myself embraced when I do. Life happens both at the surface and in the depths—perhaps this is what the Camino teaches most profoundly.
Note to Myself
In these moments between towns, I discovered again what I knew in 2019: we never truly live in tomorrow. Today I walk. Today my pack is on my back. Today is all I have—such a profound discovery in its simplicity.
Today I walked. Today I prayed with my feet. Today was all I carried.
Day Summary:
- Route: Najera → Azofra → Cirueña → Santo Domingo de la Calzada → Grañón
- Distance: Approximately 28 kilometers
- Expenses:
- €6 for breakfast in Azofra (half of which I eventually had to throw away)
- €3 for second breakfast in Cirueña
- € donation at Albergue San Juan Bautista in Grañón (covers lodging, dinner, and breakfast)
- Accommodation: Parochial Albergue San Juan Bautista (donativo) – mattresses on the floor, communal dinner, pilgrim blessing at Mass, evening meditation and breakfast the next day
