Camino francés - Page 6

Nájera - Grañón (ca. 29 km)

From Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada it was sunny and the way was pleasant. In Ciruena a ghost town with posh golf course awaited me. Probably built for rich people, only little was rented or sold here. Further it went by Santo Domingo de la Calzada with a beautiful city center around the cathedral. To the place there is a beautiful legend, e.g. here to read. Here I would have liked to visit a church service, but it had just started before my arrival. So I walked after a short tour further to Grañón.

The route was monotonous, it was muddy and passed fields and unsightly places. In Grañón, the hostel was located right under the roof of a small church. It was run by the Würzburger Jakobsgesellschaft and financed by donations and it was one of the most comfortable accommodations. It was an old masonry building with a large fireplace. Ethurna, the hospitalera, welcomed me and showed me around. She explained to me that dinner and breakfast are prepared and eaten together. Everything was family-like here. An elderly Frenchman, bicycle pilgrim, was already here and sleeping.

He was arrogant and had a constant need to spread his oh-so-extensive knowledge to everyone. Just like his mouth, his sphincter was rarely closed at night. A penetrating person. In the evening, the two Frenchmen arrived again so he had a few conversation partners, I made myself unsuitable for this purpose. Shortly before the usual rest time, usually around 10 p.m., another Spanish couple arrived, Alfred and Jana. They started their Camino here. After a halfway quiet night because of the noise from the French corner, in the morning we prepared food together again. A new Hospitalera from Regensburg had arrived during the night and I was glad to be able to exchange a few German words. She explained me that the hostel attendants changed every 10 days. She also had a torture of a journey behind her. In economic terms such a hostel can be profitable, it takes a lot of idealism in addition to the donations. But with a few exceptions, this were the hospitaleros on the way, they were enthusiastic about the cause.

Grañón - Villafranca Montes de Oca (ca. 27 km)

After the good breakfast I walked through to Belorado. Alfred and Jana ran large parts of the way a bit ahead of me. The route went mostly near a highway, it was foggy and cloudy. These are the roads where you get little distracted and develop the strangest thoughts. Anyway, I was too early in Belorado, a not very attractive town, and then I strolled to Villafranca Montes de Oca. The bones were still aching, but I was making faster progress. So also the breaks became more frequent. Food was rarely announced, mostly hunger came only in the evening.

Arriving in Villafranca, a small town, I quickly found the hostel. It was open, the young hospitalera came by in the evening. A Spanish lawyer, Miguel Angel, was there before me. He had started his pilgrimage in Belorado. Together we later looked for a shopping opportunity in the town. In a small bar there were a few things to buy in a back room. Miguel Angel spoke little English and so the conversation was limited. In the late afternoon Alfred and Jana and the two Frenchmen arrived. They cooked all together what, I can help with such things little and mostly kept away. I was always there when they talked about the coming routes and hostels. So I learned a lot for my own planning, because on hostel guides and opening times was here no reliance. After a fun evening I slept relatively well here, the big snorers I had first hung off.