Day 12 Out of the Red Wine of Rioja

Our lovely añbergue..single rooms at Arzofa

Baroque interior of Los Archos Church

The Long and winding road...mmm this one is dead straight

The signs that tell you youre not lost just a little confused and so go this way. Most of the way has painted yellow arrows. The Rioja shell has a different style to it

There are many piles of pilgrim stones on the way. Usually I haven´t the energy to stoop but Betty found this enormous pile and coudn´t help it.

Into another village which is usually up because of the hilltop

A pilgrim today with most of his pack on the outside. The last of the Rioja vineyards

This town is further away than you think.. in fact it often seems to be further

Some of the younger pilgrims enjoyed the free flowing red wine at Azorfa great Albergue. We had clearer heads as we walked out soon leaving vineyards behind us.

It was a short 15km walk to Santo Dominigo de Calzado dedicated to the 11th century monk who heroically built pilgrim bridges, roads and refuges in a lifetime effort.

It is also the place of the fabulous myth of the miracle of the cock. If you have heard it before this is a potted version of the story.

Apparently a young handsome lad and his pilgrim parents stayed here. The young lad resisted the attentions of the comely barmaid who in revenge secreted a golden goblet. Unbeknown to this parents who had moved on the theft was discovered and the lad was summarily hanged.

On their pilgrimmage return the parents found their son hanging in the plaza but somehow miraculously alive.

They went to the sheriff as he ate his lunch of cooked chicken and he dismissed their news with the statement that this was as absurd as the chicken on his plate coming alive. At which his meal did become alive and started crowing. The lad was released and the miracle attributed to St Dominic.

Anyway his tomb is in the Church as well as two fowl in a coop at the back of the church and there are more fowl in the garden out the back. you can´t beat a good story and it does add to the mystique of the town...and there were more tourists here today than ever.

We leave La Rioja region tomorrow and enter Castilla y Leon. Just as well. We asked for a glass of wine at the restaurant last night and they brought out a bottle.

No , no" we said " just uno glass por fabor" There was much confusion and my spanish which has held up pretty well so far was no good. Until of course we realised that they just keep filling the bottles all the time and you don´t have to drink it all at all.

We did meet two entertaining Irishmen though who are about to go home and I think they really liked the bottle idea and religiously drank all before them.

Julie the South African lady has just come in after a side detour to a Cistercian Monastery. I would have liked to go but it seemed to me to be pushing our luck to get off the beaten track....hard beating the footsteps as it is.

This blog is pretty self focussed I realise and there is another world out there.

My thoughts were with St James college in going back to school today. Not in a " ha ha " way but in the many hours of quiet walking you get to think a lot and I thought about what the school was about and the people who work so hard for the students.

Then I thought today a lot about the spirit of St James , the school namesake,the one who started all this.

You may wish to stop reading now as this is just random thoughts but it was part of my original camino to look for the spirit of St James

I have begun to think that James was a pretty spirited fellow. He and his brother weren´t called the "sons of thunder"for no reason . Rather quick tempered, impetuous but in these days we could say he was pretty passionate about things.

On record he did journey to the then rather furtherest part of the Roman Empire to Northern Spain. Pretty adventurous I would think to go so far in those days.That´s right across the Mediterranean

Then to top it off he rushes back to jerusalem when he hears there is a bit of trouble there... he liked to be in the thick of it... and loses his head to boot... the first Christian Martyr... again this is a pretty potted version of history.

I thought today of all this and it seemed that he was a guy who was always prepared to have a go, maybe to do his best... and he seemed to throw himself into helping others.

So where is this spirit on the camino?

Is it in the many churches we have visited and religious ceremonies, masses, rosaries and even a beautiful rendition sung of " Regina Coeli" ( Queen of Heaven)

It definitely is in the symbols and rituals.

However, At this short stage of the journey I have probably found the spirit of St James in the fellow Pilgrims.

Don´t cringe please at this.

But you know, I thought, " They are all a bit like St james.. they are having a go...they have a purpose" Why else would you walk 800km across a country to a supposed tomb of a heroic figure? don´t answer that...

I know all pilgrims have different motives for the walk and that is Ok and there is no one reason...but they have all been drawn in some way by the James thing...whatever that is to everyone.

At the college there are " Spirit of St james Awards" given to students who have done their personal best in some area... it is really a very special award as I think of it now...

Anyway enough for the wandering thoughts. My best wishes to all at the coal face of St James and to all the pilgrims who walk this way.

BUEN CAMINO