Sleeping at the Feet of Saints

On a day that found us at our most "unsaintly," we find ourselves lodged at the feet of saints - our mattresses on the floor beneath the altar at the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Granon.  I am, quite frankly, afraid to close my eyes lest someone discover the heathens in the midst of the pilgrims and decide to burn us at the stake.

The day began with a glorious sunrise as we climbed up and out of the city of Najera.  After nearly 15 hours of sleep, the kids were ready to roll this morning.  We were all anxious to outpace the sun for as long as possible in an effort to avoid yesterday's late afternoon meltdown.  The vineyards and wheat fields rolled out under an overcast sky with a cool breeze, and we were all content to enjoy the early morning weather and walk. Also, for the first time, we started to see kilometer markers counting down the distance to Santiago.  For me, this is a welcome relief.  Like a marathon runner who thinks she has passed mile 20 only to see that the next mile marker says 19, it has been driving me crazy to see approximate distances marked and then changed with no respect for the walking we have just done. This is probably another indicator that I am not on the right spiritual path. Oy.

Our breakfast stop in Alzofra was a short 6 km into our travels today, so it was a quick pause to stuff ourselves with chocolate croissants before moving on.  Our next stop, in a suburb with a golf course and an oddly empty town of apartment blocks, felt extremely out of context.  We sat on a bench in a well-manicured, but empty, park and snacked on chocolate before shouldering our packs en route to our lunch destination, Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

This ancient city is strongly tied to el Camino because of Saint Dominic's dedication to improving the route for pilgrims in the 11th century. The city's historic square houses many religious structures, including the famous cathedral with its cathedral chicken coop.  It is the story of Santo Domingo and his legendary cock that led to so many of today's inappropriate comments and giggles.  In an effort to educate my children, I made the mistake of reading them the "Miracle of the Cock," from the guidebook.  What was I thinking?  The innocent story of a young maiden, a handsome man, a pilgrimage, a hanging, and a miraculous fowl was all but lost on them, but I guarantee you that a decade from now, if someone mentions Santo Domingo, they will remember that he had a legendary cock and will double over in laughter. Ugh.

Predictably, we opted out of the cathedral tour when we discovered that it cost more than our daily food budget. That, however, did not prevent us from taking lots of silly photos posing as the Saint with his magical bird.

After our obnoxious teenage giggling session was over, we attempted to put ourselves on the right path and headed out of town.  As usual, the post-lunch walk was challenging, but at least the sun stayed away.  We made good time and landed in Granon at 2:00, ready to retire our walking shoes for the day.  It's here that we have found our most "authentic" pilgrim experience to date. I suppose you can't get much more authentic than sleeping at the feet of saints (I just pray one of them is not Sainto Domingo). In addition to our mattresses on the floor in the church, we will share a common meal tonight and participate in a time of reflection.  I'm just praying there will be no spontaneous combustion of sinners (and no chicken for dinner).