Pilgrims on the Way

And then, out of nowhere, we were buzzed by a small aircraft. It was flying so low that I thought it was trying to land in the nearby field. I mean, it’s not exactly flying monkeys, but I’m going to assume that it somehow fits into today’s Wizard of Oz theme. Date: 09 April 2016 Place: Between Cirueña and Santo […]

We continue our Oz theme from a couple of days ago in this absolutely gorgeous vista of endlessly rolling hills as we search for the fabled city of… Santo Domingo de la Calzada. This is a city where, so the legends go, “the streets are paved with chorizo and jamon, the fountains flow with vino tinto and the river is […]

You may recall that as you enter the village of Cirueña, there is a metal sculpture which is sort of an “inverse pilgrim”. Well, here’s where the scrap cut from that piece of art ended up: the roundabout as you leave Cirueña. I think I like this one better. Date: 09 April 2016 Place: Leaving Cirueña and heading for Ciriñuela […]

Following our second breakfast, we hastily sought to remove ourselves from Cirueña. A sign in the bar indicated that it was but 5km to the city of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. I had great memories of this city from my previous Camino, so we followed the yellow brick road out of town and on our way. Date: 09 April […]

We turn the corner and leave the empty modern housing projects behind. Instead, we wander through a collection of much older buildings. Eventually, this leads us to the old village center of Cirueña. Most (but not all!) of the buildings are much older and reflect a more eclectic architectural style. Away from the new and back into the old, suddenly […]

This is the lovely townhouse portion of Cirueña’s vast, but empty, housing developments. I’m sure this would actually be a pleasant place to live if you had neighbours. There were a couple of these townhouses that appeared to have owners, but no people were to be seen. Perhaps they are being used as holiday rentals? Date: 09 April 2016 Place: […]

We continue walking through Cirueña’s vast, but empty, housing developments. We finally spot somebody who isn’t a pilgrim! In an otherwise empty playground in front of several blocks of empty apartment buildings, a lone maintenance worker cuts the grass. Date: 09 April 2016 Place: Cirueña (La Rioja, Spain) Note: in all fairness, I should point out that just as you […]

As I mentioned yesterday, Cirueña’s housing developments stand nearly empty. We are here surrounded by apartments, and we are walking towards a street of townhouses. All are empty. Nobody lives here. The whole place is eerie. The only people you see on the streets are pilgrims passing through. Spooky. Date: 09 April 2016 Place: Cirueña (La Rioja, Spain) Map! Here’s […]

This brand of steel art is endemic along this portion of the Camino. On the other side of the village, the pilgrim cut out from this piece stands on his own. A neat trick: two sculptures for the price of one. As we will see in the next days, this village and the nearby village of Ciriñuela were the site […]

In the rest area at the top of the hill, we found this graffiti on the water fountain. It is an excerpt from a poem by Antonio Machado. In English, the lines may be rendered “Wayfarer, there is no way. / You make the way by walking.” For obvious reasons, this particular poetic fragment is often associated with the Camino. […]