Everything begins to blur together (Part one - Logrono and Santo Domingo)

Everything is getting blurred together.  We've travelled from Estella to Logrono to Santo Domingo to Burgos to Carrion de Los Condes.  Approximately 250 kilometers of riding.  It hasn't been easy riding.  Estella to Logrono was a beautiful day.  We followed a stage one of the 2017 Vuelta de Espana routes with lots of up and downs - including hills covered with painted names of the riders on that stage - Chris Froome, Alberto Contador and more.  There were picturesque communities along the way.

When we arrived in Logrono we landed in a city in full party mode.  We began to wonder what we'd gotten ourselves into.  First Pamplona celebrating their Marathon.  In Logrono the celebrations were somehow more substantial.  If I understood the translation correctly it was the intersection of two holidays - the feast day of Saint Barnabbas, and the celebration of the cities' successful defense during a seige by an obscure French Lord in 1521.  Either way it was a holiday, and it was to be celebrated in style.

My initial thought was that we'd arrived on the cities market day.  Our hotel was in the old city not far from the Camino pathway.  We'd seen the vendors as we arrived.  The hotel clerk set us right and we went out to explore the festivities.  There were vendors selling food and drink.  There were Spices, leather goods, candies, and all the usual items you might find at the Farmer's markets in Strathcona or on 104th Street.  We bought some Sangria and walked through the stalls.

The party continued through the night - parades, singing, dancing, fireworks and more.  It was fascinating to see the people of all ages, the medieval costumes, the sense of celebration in the air.  It was not so good trying to get a nights sleep when it sounded like a Stanley Cup Celebration on Whyte Avenue outside our hotel.  The Parade was of particular interest as most of the groups that we saw included were groups with some sort of religious affiliation.

We'd hoped to pick up a couple of things for the bikes in Logrono, but the festivities meant that most of the stores were closed...200 kilometers later we still don't have what we'd intended to seek - we probably don't need them.  Leon, and our first rest day is another two days riding away...we'll see what happens there.

From Logrono we set out shortly after breakfast for Santo Domingo some 52 kilometers away.  The weather had cooled about 10 degrees.  There were a further couple of climbs to complete taking us from the Basque region into the Roija wineries and region best known for the wine that it produces.  We'd planned our stop in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a smaller town along the route.  It turned into one of the highlights of the trip thus far.  2019 is the millennium of the birth of Santo Domingo in 1019.  Domingo sought to live out a religious calling but was rejected as a priest, becoming a hermit in the area of his birth between Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Burgos (our next stop).  He became concerned for the pilgrims of the Camino in the 11th Century and built a bridge, a hospital and a small church in what is now Santo Domingo de la Calzada.  What is there now is whole community surrounding the small church - which eventually became a cathedral; a hotel that replaced and renovated the hospital and a bell/clock tower that stand around the old city square.  

We spent a few Euros (6) to visit the museum of the Cathdral where the art of the past 1000 years is displayed.  Alongside relics of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, were medieval paintings of the stories of the bible; crafts from Mexico and the Philippines (both part of the Spanish Empire at it's fullest); and modern paintings around themes of the current day.  It is in places such as this that I come to feel most in touch with our Christian heritage realizing the incredible effort individuals have made to express their faith through the ages.  Sandy and I have delved into the conversations about the art.  The Protestant reformation led to the destruction of so much of it during the 16th and 17th centuries - a protest against the idolatry of the images as they became representative of the times and places in which they were created.  And, yet, in so many ways we Protestants threw out the baby with the bathwater by discouraging people from expressing their faith in so many ways.  You can decide for yourselves; here are a few of the images from Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

Silver items from the Cathedrals collections

A 17th Century Pascal Candle

Mosaic of Madonna and Child

Finally, the story of the chickens in the sanctuary of Santo Domingo Cathedral.  It seems that a German family following the Camino stopped in Santo Domingo in the early 1500's where the inn keepers daughter fell in love with son.  When her affections went unreturned she hid in his bag a silver cup and accused him of theft.  The punishment at the time was hanging, and accordingly the son was sent to the gallows.  His parents completed the pilgrimage and returned to Santo Domingo to visit their sons grave.  When they arrived they discovered their son alive in his noose, excited and proclaiming that Santo Domingo had saved him.  The parents proceeded to the house of the mayor to seek the liberation of their son.  The mayor, who was preparing to entertain guests for dinner, responded to their request saying, "That boy is as alive as these two roasted chickens that we are about to eat for dinner."  The words were no longer out of his mouth than the chickens came back to life growing beaks and spouting feathers.  Since the time of the miracle two chickens have been kept continuously in the choir loft of the cathedral.  It is understood that the chickens there today are direct descendants of the two chickens that came back to life.