Day 13 - Santo Domingo de la Calzada - Belorado - 14 September, 2014

Time Departed: 7.35am
Time Arrived: 1:30pm
Distance: 23 kms
Cumulative Distance: 239
Percentage Completed: 30%
Weather: Sunny and hot
Accommodation: Casa Rural Verdeancho
Feelings: Henk - OK, Neil - Positive, Di - Good

As we had an earlier breakfast of 7.00am we were able to start walking whilst it was still pre-dawn. It was lovely seeing the sun rise over Santo Domingo de la Calzada as we walked away from it.  

It was good to get some kilometres covered before the sun got too hot. The path was a gentle climb of 200 metres passing through three small, very old villages. Half of today's walk was parallel to the busy main road (N120) with no shelter and no water spots. The other half of the walk was once again alongside farmland but this time there were acres of sunflowers which were just past their flowering stage.

The signage for the Camino is clear and easy to follow. The trademark colour of blue with a yellow arrow can be seen everywhere. Today we saw some amusing ones including sunflowers with the arrows on them and others with smiley faces.

Today's little villages had many buildings which seemed to be hundreds of years old with combinations of old brick and large beams. Many were surprisingly still in use.

We passed from the autonomous community of La Rioja to Castilla y Leon.

At eleven thirty we had early lunch on a bench in the small main square (Calle Mayor) at Viloria de la Rioja. The tiny church had an impressive gold altar and we took the opportunity to have our Credentials stamped.

As it was a Sunday we decided to have an afternoon rest. We tried to use the hotel's wifi but to no avail. Our hotel has huge low beams and it also looks like it was built during the Middle Ages. The thick walls with little windows make the rooms very cool.

We emerged at five thirty to find a place for a drink. Belarado is a small, pleasant town with a main plaza and a bandstand with lovely trees in the centre. It has a local church which has three bells and four large storks' nests.

Neil had had a look-around whilst we were resting and we were soon sitting under an umbrella at the main plaza with two fellow Aussie walkers, Denise and Gary. We spent a pleasant time together before we moved onto a nearby restaurant serving Menu de Peregrino. At a mere ten Euro we had three courses including bread and drinks. We don't do it for the cost but for the timing as the Pilgrim Menu is served much earlier than meals served to the locals. Tonight we had  a variety of dishes including Paella, Hake, chicken, red beans and chirozo, icecream and fruit salad. We were hungry as we had eaten little during the day. When we had emerged from dinner a storm had gone over and it was lightly raining. The temperature had dropped significantly which we enjoyed.

And finally, I have had several requests to see my lime green Keen sandals. Well, here they are and here is me eating chocolate whilst changing socks.

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