Day 11, Monday, September 2nd, 2019: Cirueña to Castildelgado
Today, we knew it was going to be a shorter 13 miles to our Albergue in Castildelgado, so we decided to make it a later start, taking time to have breakfast at the Albergue. After a nice breakfast of coffee, toast and jam, and an omelette, we headed out around 7am. It was still dark, but the sunrise was not far away.
And what a glorious sunrise it was! We were headed into Santo Domingo de la Calzada, where Saint Dominic did his great work for the Camino, building many roads for the Pilgrims to travel and a hospital to care for them on their way. We saw the sun break through the cloud cover to illuminate the town and then we turned and saw one of the most amazing sunrises of our Camino. So beautiful!
When we arrived in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, we had some coffee and headed to the cathedral. What a beautiful place! We spent some time admiring all of the statuary and paintings and the beautiful interior of this church constructed starting in the late 1100’s. Here lie the remains of Santo Domingo.
About 5 miles later, we stopped in the little town of Granon at the Church of Saint John the Baptist. I especially enjoyed the stained glass window here, a dedication to all those who have journeyed to Santiago de Compostela. We also stopped briefly in Redecilla del Camino, before heading to our final destination for the day, the Albergue Bideluze in the small town of Castildelgado.
Lovely little place in a renovated farmhouse. We enjoyed a private room with a common bath. The lovely courtyard was lovingly maintained. We had a pilgrim dinner with 8 other guests. 4 were from Croatia, two were from Italy, and two were from Australia. We chatted and exchanged stories from our Camino. It was very nice and another one of the unique Camino experiences. When was the last time you had dinner with 8 strangers from different countries?
Today’s “Camino Lesson:” if the load doesn’t feel right, make an adjustment
Today, my pack, all of a sudden about halfway through the morning started rubbing and irritating my lower back. I could not figure it out until the evening when I realized I had adjusted the way I loaded my pack. I made another adjustment and it did not bother me again.
Life is like that sometimes. We change something and then things get worse. Listen to your body and mind and when a change is not for the better, admit it and try something else.
Buen Camino!
Ran into our friend Katherine from South Africa in Santo Domingo de la Calzada!
So many beautiful things to see in the cathedral at Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Check out the gallery below for many more!
Little yellow arrows mean so much along the way
The Albergue Bideluze. Beautiful place!
How far we’ve come…and how far we have left to go!
