Today, Bro. William travels from Najera to Santo Domingo de Calzada.

The journey takes us through the villages of Azofra, Alsenanco, Canas and Cirinela. The 21km journey or 13 miles, is again a climb upwards to Ciruena at 730m.

The majority of this stage is on wonderful wide country tracks passing through remote and gently undulating farmland with only the last stretch into Santo Domingo is alongside the main road.

Beyond Azofra the camino crosses a secondary road (to Alesanco) where waymarks offer us the opportunity to join the busy N-120.

There is little shade and few drinking fonts on this stage so we fill up the bottle as we pass Azofra and Ciruena (both have fitentes).



Azofra - a small village that seems to exist to serve the pilgrims that pass through her tranquil streets.

The original parish hostel adjoining the Church of Our Lady of the Angels Nuestra Seirom de los Angeles which has a statue of Santiago Peregrino and usually has a pilgrim mass.

The church is situated at the top of the street, above the central fountain. This tranquil village with a population of barely 500 that owes its existence to the comino.

As we leave the village a small park is dedicated to the patroness of La Rioja Virgen de Valvanera and on the other side of the road (50m off route) the ruins of the medieval pilgrim's fountain Fuente de los Romeros adjoin a layby.




Ciruena - a small village, we continue out the other side veering left off the asphalt road (opposite the village of Cirinuela) onto a delightful farm track that follows the undulating contours of the surrounding fields.

Finally we reach the outskirts of St. Dominic of the roadway Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

Here we pass behind some industrial buildings before reaching the busy N-120, which we now follow until crossing over into the old town.

Santo Dominigo de la Calzada - the winding streets of this ancient town evoke a sense of history that is intimately linked with the camino.

It owes its inspiration to Saint Dominic of the Road, so called because he effectively dedicated his life to improving the physical route for pilgrims and was responsible for building many of the roads and bridges that we pass along.

This was in the 11th century, so they have been rebuilt several times since then but his spirit is as alive today as the cock in the coop.

A giant among men he was born in humble surroundings in Villamayor del Rio and, allegedly, turned away from the monastery at San Mi1Lan because of his illiteracy.

The loss to the intelligentsia has been the gain of pilgrims for the past millennia. He built a pilgrim hospital, now the Parador and a church which has evolved into the Cathedral - both are situated in the historic town square Plaza del Santo.

Like many other religious structures, they were built and rebuilt over many centuries and therefore combine different architectural styles.

The original church was consecrated in the 12th century, although the independent tower was not added until the 18th century.

The dark interior houses the tomb of Santo Domingo, the chapel of La Magdalena and a fine altarpiece.



So many miracles have been 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 museum is attached to the cathedral and on the opposite side of the square is the original pilgrim hospital, now the luxury Parador that still retains its medieval splendour.

The town has a wide variety of restaurants, bars and shops along both the c/Mayor and the busy Paseo and the narrow interconnecting streets all serving the inflow of tourists, pilgrims and the local population of 6.000.

Bro. Williams' thoughts of today - I am a believer that God is in the present moment. When I see the beauty of my surroundings I feel the presence of God.