We had given our laundry to the clerk at Hotel Duques de Nájera the night before and were supposed to pay 5 or 7€ (depending on the size of the load) for laundry service; but the laundry was not dried yet when we came down for breakfast. The girl as the desk (from Peru) said it would take 30 minutes and be ready after we ate. For breakfast, we had toast, fruit, yogurt, and pastries, and we made sandwiches and took pastries and an apple and peach for lunch. The buffet breakfast was supposed to be 7€ each, but in the confusion, we were never asked to pay for that or for the laundry. (We thought they might add it to our Capital One credit card charge for the room, but they did not.) We departed Nájera at 9:20, after getting the girl to look for one of Don’s liner socks that didn’t get into the dryer; she found it.
9:38 AM – After Nájera: MT at 582 km marker.
9:40 AM – After Nájera: MT on path ahead; vineyard on left.
9:43 AM – After Nájera: MT and other pilgrims on path; more vineyards ahead.
We met a man from Australia who had really traveled the world and was leaning toward Buddhism. He was funny. When taking our photo (at the 580 km marker), he said, “Say penis” to make us laugh.
10:01 AM – Between Nájera and Azofra: Don and MT at 580 km marker.
10:23 AM – Near Azofra: Azofra in distance.
We met an Australian man and talked with him a large part of the way to Azofra (pop 500 or 266), where he stopped for “tea.” (He had said he was traveling alone because he preferred that way.)
The name of Azofra may have come from the Arabic as-suxrta, meaning “tribute” or from the Hebrew zophar, meaning “beautiful, beauty.” The town is of Arab origins. A pilgrim hospital was founded there in 1168 and lasted until the 19th century.
10:53 AM – Near Azofra: roses at end or row in vineyard (note the red earth).
1 (or 1.5) km past Azofra, we saw the 16th-century stone column la picota (columna justicia) aka rollo de Azofra (a rollo with a crest on side, but no cross).
Such stone columns are associated with the times when groups of settlers set up their jurisdictions. The stone column depicts the sword of justice stuck in the ground as a message to dissuade potential criminals.
A rollo is a stone column, usually topped by a cross or ball. It is similar to a crucero (see note on September 3), but the meaning is different. A rollo jurisdiccional represented administrative authority of the place, being erected only in villazgos that had full jurisdiction, and indicating the regime to which they were subjected: royal, town council, ecclesiastical, or monastic. Besides marking the territorial limit, it was in some cases a memorial to the granting of villazgo (the quality or privilege of a villa; charter of a town). During the Reconquista, the Castilian kings granted to settlements that were consolidated by the Letters of Villazgo the privileges of a Villa Real; these were privileges such as holding fairs and markets, tax exemptions, or settling civil disputes among inhabitants (administering justice). The mayor or board of aldermen acted as justices, having civil and criminal jurisdiction. The villas that possessed this royal grant erected, on the entry or square, a stone monolith or column in order to inform their inhabitants and all who passed by there that they had the power to adjudicate the lawsuits arising in the region; they held judicial power. These legal monuments received the name rollo due to their cylindrical shape and the adjective jurisdiccional, referring to the court function. They are in the towns of the kingdoms of Castile and León that had a mayor and, therefore, jurisdiction to judge and condemn to death; sometimes they served as a scaffold for hangings. These rollos coexisted with other similar but usually less ornate structures, rollos de justicia, sometimes called picotas (pillories), whose purpose was to serve as pillories to punish common criminals, who after being whipped were exposed to public shame; sometimes they served as places of execution, and they could also be used to display the remains of the executed as a warning sign to others. Over the centuries, sometimes for economic reasons, to take advantage of using one structure for two different purposes, the two kinds of rollos became mixed. During the conquest of America, the first act of the Spanish in founding a city consisted of erecting a rollo as a symbol of royal jurisdiction and as a sign of coercive threat.
10:59 AM – Just (1.5 km) past Azofra: 16th-century la picota (columna justicia).
Between Azofra and Cirueña, we found 2 scattered patches or orangish-red poppies in wheat stubble and picked some seed pods.
12:16 PM - Between Azofra and Cirueña: Don picking poppy seed pods in field of wheat stubble.
We stopped for 20 minutes at Bar Jacobeo in Cirueña (pop 132), half a km off the Camino route, for baño and a large bottle of water and ate our packed lunch; MT also had a Russian salad sandwich. We shared a table with a man from near Basel in Switzerland, who said he was allowing himself 66 days for the 33 stages of the Camino. He said the mountains and valleys are so lovely, and the going up and down is like a beautiful dance. He said that 100,000 pilgrims walk the Camino yearly and have been doing it for over 1,000 years; so there is a power here that isn’t found elsewhere. He said, “Wow! All those souls!”
References to Cirueña date back to 960, when the King of Navarra won a fierce battle against Castilians there. In 972, the King of Navarra donated the town to the monastery of San Andrés in the same locality, which had been founded in 950. In 1350, it became depopulated due to repeated outrages of its neighbors, but residents returned to their homes in 1387.
1:59 PM – Cirueña: MT on way into town, approaching San Andrés church (across from Bar Jacobeo).
The present Iglesia San Andrés is a reconstruction dating from 1965, on the basis of a pre-Romanesque church dating to the 10th century, which adjoined the monastery of the same name founded in 950. The recently rebuilt church retains alabaster stones in the apse and other parts from the earlier church and has a Baroque altarpiece from the early 17th century.
2:24 PM – After Cirueña: MT on path through fields of wheat stubble.
Along the way we met a Frenchman who had been walking from Bordeaux, France—an extra 200 km. He looked about our age and said he did the same walk 11 years ago. There was also an Italian group of young people from Milan.
2:33 PM – Near Santo Domingo de la Calzada: MT on path through wheat stubble; our first view of Santo Domingo in the distance.
Our first sight of Santo Domingo de la Calzada (pop. 5,600) was at 2:30. The town has a beautifully preserved medieval quarter.
Santo Domingo de la Calzada (St. Dominic of the Road, 1019-1109) dedicated his life to improving the physical route for pilgrims and was responsible for building many of the roads and bridges we pass along, although many have be rebuilt since the 11th century. He was born Domingo García in 1019 in the village of Viloria (through which we would pass the next day). Turned away in his efforts to become a Benedictine monk, he became a hermit in the forests near the village of Ayuela, where he lived alone and cared for pilgrims, until the local bishop ordained him a priest. In Ayuela, he tended the sick, built a hospital (now a parador* hotel), built a bridge, and paved roads between Nájera and Redecilla del Camino. In 1044, he founded a small village around his hermitage that eventually became the town that now bears his name. After 1090, Dominic and his follower Juan de Ortega began constructing a church, which was consecrated in 1106. After his death in 1109, the village had grown in population, and his church was elevated to the rank of cathedral. He is buried in the cathedral. So many miracles were ascribed to the intervention of Santo Domingo that the town that came to carry his name was also referred to as the Compostela of Rioja.
*A parador [Spanish, from parar, to stop, from Latin parāre, to prepare; see parade] was originally a generic term for a wayside inn or hostelry. In Spain and Latin America, it is a government-run country hotel, usually in a scenic or historical area, that offers lodging and meals at reasonable prices [perhaps reasonable for a 4- or 5-star hotel].
On the way into town, we saw a parked semi with a picture of Jesus looking out the back window of the cab.
3:13 PM – Santo Domingo: MT “talking” with Jesus in semi cab.
3:12 PM – Santo Domingo: Jesus in semi cab.
On our way to look for lodging, we found the cutout standees of Santo Domingo pilgrim with chicken, which had been by the cathedral tower last year.
3:51 PM - Santo Domingo: Don in pilgrim standee with chicken.
3:51 PM - Santo Domingo: MT in pilgrim standee with chicken.
We tried Hotel Corregidor (double room 58€) where we had stayed last year, then Parador Santo Domingo (119€) where clerk told us the other parador might be less; Parador Fresneda was 110€. Hostal Rei Pedro was 53€.
6:01 PM – Santo Domingo: Parador de Santo Domingo (across Plaza del Santo square from cathedral); it is a former pilgrim hospital from the 14th century.
So we returned at 4:30 to the 2-star hostel Hospedería Cisterciense (aka Hostal Santa Teresita), run by Cistercian (Bernardine) sisters, where we got a nice double room for 58€. The lady at the front desk was very sweet and even showed us where to hang up our laundry. We got their sello: “Monasterio de N.S. de Anunciación Sto. Domingo de la Calzada de la Orden del Cister.” They had WiFi. Don showered; we washed clothes and hung them on a clothesline on a roof area across from our room.
5:50 PM – Santo Domingo: Hospedería Cisterciense exterior.
4:35 PM – Santo Domingo: Hospedería Cisterciense – MT in our room No. 212.
6:25 PM – Santo Domingo: Cathedral bell tower from Hospedería Cisterciense roof with our laundry on clothesline.
Don went out to take pictures. The high temperature for the day was 91˚ F (per MT’s iPhone). Don saw 31˚ C [88˚ F] on a time and temperature sign in Santo Domingo (we most often saw time and temperature on the green cross pharmacy signs.) There were many old houses (nicely identified with signs), parts of the old city wall, and of course the Cathedral.
5:51 PM – Santo Domingo: small section of old city wall, around corner just E of Hospedería Cisterciense, on E end of town.
5:57 PM – Santo Domingo: Casa de los Salcedo y Palacio de Marqués de Fuerte Hijar (18th century).
5:57 PM – Santo Domingo: sign for Casa de los Salcedo y Palacio del Marqués de Fuerte Hijar (18th century) – English part: “It is a Baroque civil building with an interior patio dating from the middle of the 18th [century]. Three projecting balconies made of flagstone with moulding and two coat[s] of arm in alabaster with marquis crown, that correspond to the Salcedo and Somodevilla families, can be observed in the façade of the first floor. The one placed to the left belongs to the Marquis of ‘La Ensenada’, a remarkable politician native of La Rioja and born in Hervías in the year 1702. He is remembered because of being the promoter of the called ‘Register of the cove’ and Councillor of the State during three reigns, those of Felipe V, Fernando VI and Carlos III. Actually, the marquis spent here some periods but who lived there was his sister, Sixta de Somodevilla and Bengoechea, married to José Antonio de Salcedo y Salcedo, a noble landowner of this region who ordered to build the palace. They were the parents of Mister Germano de Salcedo y Somodevilla, the first Marquis of Fuerte Hijar. The house belonged to his successors until the beginning of the last century.”
The Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral, begun in 1158 replacing the first modest church of 1106, houses the 11th-century tomb of Santo Domingo and a Renaissance walnut altarpiece carved in 1541. A live hen and rooster in a Plateresque chicken coop (El Gallinero) commemorate a legendary local miracle in which a pair of roasted fowl came to life to protest the innocence of a pilgrim hanged for theft.
6:00 PM – Santo Domingo: Cathedral façade and main door (although entrance for tour was around corner to left).
The 18th-century south (main) portal features 3 niches in which Santo Domingo de la Calzada appears flanked by the holy martyrs Emeterio and Celedonio. The Cathedral was begun in 1158 to guard the remains of Santo Domingo who died in 1109. Originally planned as a late Romanesque church, a few Romanesque vestiges remain, but it became one of the earliest Gothic constructions in Spain. At the beginning of the 12th century, it was converted into a fortified church, the only example of this type in La Rioja. The cathedral was not completed until the 16th century.
6:01 PM – Santo Domingo: Cathedral façade and base of separate Baroque bell tower.
6:01 PM – Santo Domingo: separate bell tower.
Although the original church was consecrated in the 12th century, the independent bell tower, known as “la moza de la Rioja” (the girl of La Rioja), was not added until the 18th century. Initially, the cathedral had two attached towers, but one was destroyed by lightning and the other collapsed due to erosion from a rising stream; so it was decided to build a separate tower on more solid ground. Built in 1767-69), it is 69 m tall, the tallest tower in La Rioja.
6:02 PM – Santo Domingo: cathedral portal near tour entrance, to left of main façade.
Don continued westward past the Cathedral to see more of the old town.
6:06 PM – Santo Domingo: Casa de Alcalde Martinez de Pisón (17th century) with “se vende” (for sale) sign.
6:06 PM – Santo Domingo: sign for Casa de Alcalde Mantinez de Pisón (17th century) – English part: “Its construction was ordered around 1633 by the Mayor, Juan Martinez de Pisón, whose coat of arms is engraved on the façade. After crossing the entrance hall, access to the first floor is via a broad staircase, formerly covered with a dome which was destroyed in a fire. The grand part of the house is made up of a beautiful hall which runs along the whole façade and has three balconies overlooking the street. Around 1643, the mayor constructed his own chapel in the cathedral, which was dedicated to the martyred saints, Emeterio and Celedonio, and a family pantheon. One of the most interesting features in the chapel is a classical dome in the shape of half an orange with pendenthes [spelling? Spanish word looks like pechinas = scallops].”
At the far west end of the town was a large section of the old city wall and the Parador Bernardo de Fresneda.
The wall is the largest one preserved in La Rioja, completed in 1369. It had a length of 1,670 m with a thickness of 8 feet.
6:09 PM – Santo Domingo: old city wall at NW end of town.
6:09 PM – Santo Domingo: next section of wall to left (E), with cathedral bell tower in background.
6:10 PM – Santo Domingo: portal in right (W) section of wall, showing thickness of wall.
6:12 PM – Santo Domingo: Convento de San Francisco with Parador Bernardo de Fresneda.
6:13 PM – Santo Domingo: Convento de San Francisco façade with entrance to Parador Bernardo de Fresneda and pilgrim monument.
6:14 PM – Santo Domingo: pilgrim monument near Convento de San Francisco with Parador Bernardo de Fresneda.
6:14 PM – Santo Domingo: sign for pilgrim monument (20th century) – English part: “The work of Vincente Ochoa, a sculptor from La Rioja, the monument was inaugurated in 1971 In the middle stands a statue depicting a pilgrim wearing typical costumes from the medieval period, holding a staff ending in the shape of a cross, a hollowed out pumpkin [gourd] for storing drinking water, a pouch, and the traditional esclavina (cape) decorated with vieras (seashells). Behind is Saint James’ cross flanked by two scenes featuring the life of the saint Santo Domingo de la Calzada. To the left is a pilgrim asking for help and to the right, the Saint appears carrying a pilgrim. To the rear are two coats of arms – one of the autonomous region of La Rioja, the other of the city of Santo Domingo de la Calzada.”
6:14 PM – Santo Domingo: Convento de San Francisco close up.
6:15 PM – Santo Domingo: sign for "Convento de San Francisco" (17th and 18th centuries) – English part: “In the Herreriano* style, the construction of the convent was ordered by the Archbishop of Saragosa, Friar Bernardo de Fresneda, who was a confessor of Carlos V and Felipe II, to be used by the Order of Observant Franciscans. He also wanted the building to house a university. Inside the church is the friar’s sepulchre which was made around 1605 and is in a Romanist [Romanesque] style. Dating from the same year is the classical altarpiece. Of special interest are the cloister, which was built during the first half of the 17th century, and the sacristy.
*The Herrerian (Spanish Herreriano, Arquitectura herreriana) was developed in Spain during the last third of the 16th century under the reign of Philip II (1556-1598), and continued in force in the 17th century, but transformed by the Baroque current of the time. It corresponds to the third and final stage of the Spanish Renaissance architecture, which evolved into a progressive purification of the ornamental, from the initial Plateresque to Classical purism of the second third of the 16th century and the geometric rigor and the almost absence of decoration that introduced the Herrerian style.
“The building has been refurbished and converted to house a parador (the Parador de Turismo ‘Bernardo de Fresneda[’], a diocesan workshop for the restoration of works of art, and the Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño Diocese Museum.”
In 1840, after the confiscation of Mendizábal, the convent was converted into a hospital for the poor and sick called Hospital del Santo. Currently part of it is the diocesan workshop for restoration of works of art, part of it is the parador, an another part is a hospital.
At 7 pm, we went to mass at Abadía Cisterciense. The elderly priest on crutches had to sit on a stool behind the altar and did a pilgrim prayer at the end of mass.
In 1610, the nuns of the monastery of Santa María de los Barrios in the village of Ábia de Torres were moved to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, where they were temporarily settled in a house until they took possession of the newly built Abadía de Nuestra Señora de la Anuncación in 1621. The Cistercian sisters now operate the Hospedería Cisterciense as well an albergue in the 18th-century former home of the chaplain of the abbey.
5:54 PM – Santo Domingo: Abadía Cisterciense, entrance on left (bicycle sculpture in courtyard on right).
7:37 PM – Santo Domingo: Abadía Cisterciense – view of nave toward main altar (a magnificent example of Rioja Baroque, dated to middle of 18th century).
7:39 PM – Santo Domingo: bicycle pilgrim sculpture in courtyard by Abadía Cisterciense.
After mass, we bought fruit, rosco (cookies), and anchovy-stuffed olives at a supermercado.
7:52 PM – Santo Domingo: small (1100-ml) and very large (5-liter) bottles of sunflower oil, large (5-liter) bottle of olive oil, and small (500-ml) bottles of wine vinegar in supermercado.
At 9 pm, we went to the repostería (dining room) at the Hospedería Cisterciense for 11€ dinner: 1st course: we shared a mixed salad; 2nd course: chicken soup with alphabet noodles (with some “accent marks” floating among the letters); 3rd course: ternera (veal steak) [we asked for no fries and got warm caponata-like vegetables, but the black nun later brought us fries anyway, and we got them because we couldn’t explain in time.]; dessert: crème caramel and ice cream; bottle of red wine with Cistercian label; bottle of water; and bread. It was very good!
9:07 PM – Santo Domingo: Hospedería Cisterciense – MT with house wine and salad we shared.
9:23 PM – Santo Domingo: Hospedería Cisterciense –house wine “Nuestra Señora de la Anunciación – Hospedería Cisterciense ‘Ora et labora’.”
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