Day 11 – Najera to Santa Domingo de la Calzada

Day 11 – April 13 Najera (Km 584) to Santo Domingo de la Calzada (Km 563) = 21 km Cumulative – 188 km

"Santo Domingo de la Calzada, La Rioja, España 08 04 13 18:08

Today I walked 22 km from Najera to Santo Domingo. Should have been an easy 22 km but it seemed quite long. Tonight I am staying in a hotel. Last night was in an alburgue, a hostel with about 60 beds in one room. Very nice but very crowded.

I am in wine country and there are vineyards everywhere. I am traveling approximately west southwest and there are ranges of mountains on both the north and the south. The ones to the south are snow capped. Most of these small towns and villages have a medieval centre and then modern suburbs. The weather has been for the most part quite cool. Spain generally is having a very cool and wet spring. My feet still hurt but not as much. I am very careful preparing them for the day and when I take my boots off. The two moments of truth each day are when you put your feet into your boots and when you hoist your pack onto your back. Today I left Najera at about 07:20 and arrived in Santo Domingo at around 14:00.

Today I did something I have never done before in my life. I am paying to have the hotel do my laundry. I have probably stayed in thousands of hotels and I HAVE NEVER PAID TO HAVE MY LAUNDRY DONE … BUT TODAY I AM. One reason is the laundry facilities in the alburgues can be quite limited. Last night there were none at all. And things have been so wet here that it has been hard to get my clothes dried out properly.

So far I have walked 14 days I think. I started on April 3 and I have walked 188 km. Tomorrow I go to Belorado.

I am going to send this as I may be running out of time

Len"