It’s hard to believe we have been away from home for 3 weeks now. It feels like a lifetime! We’ve seen and done so much in only 3 weeks and I’m glad I could experience it with my Dad.
We were so blessed to have an amazing communal dinner at our hostel last night, followed by a beautiful prayer service with all the other pilgrims. The hosts were incredibly loving and kind and made you feel at home.
We walked 11km today to our next destination, Navarrete. We are in the “Rioja” region of Spain, where the famous Rioja wine comes from. There are vineyards everywhere you look, so it’s no wonder they make so much wine haha.
When we got to town we immediately went to Sunday Mass in the most beautiful church we have seen yet: Iglesia Santa Maria de La Asunción. Although it isn’t the biggest, it is by far the most magnificent and awe inspiring. It was so lovely that we almost decided to stay another day just to attend Mass there again and spend more time in the church. I’ll be sure to post some photos!
Part of the Camino is travelling with your “Credentials”. This is a booklet that, like a passport, gets stamped every time you stay at a hostel. Lots of other places like churches, historic sites, or even some restaurants will offer stamps if you want one. It’s required to get a stamp at every hostel to prove you went through the towns and walked to the end destination. My Dad and I have loved including stamps from various churches and sites that have meaning to us, so today we received a stamp at what is now our favourite church so far. This then serves as a reminder of everywhere you went when you are back home!
Today we also had the pleasure of napping since we are arriving earlier each day, due to the shorter KM walks. Today I was able to get into bed at 8:45pm, the earliest yet! It’s amazing what a couple extra hours in a day can do for you. We are feeling much better with the shorter days. More relaxed, not so rushed, and able to get to bed earlier.
Tomorrow is a very short day due to trying to prevent too long of a walk, and also accommodation. This year we have heard (and experienced) that the Camino is far busier than ever before at this time. People are struggling for accommodation, when normally you wouldn’t even have to book and could just walk into any hostel and get a bed. Right now, you have to be booking constantly, well in advance, and even then you might struggle to find a place. So we are doing our best to work around that and stay in smaller towns where not many people stop. Tomorrow will be a very lovely day, I’m sure!
Pray for us as we continue our journey, and know we are praying for you always.
Buen Camino,
Hannah + Tony
Said rosary for you both once a week .thanks for taking me on your journey with you both. The church is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen thanks to you both love Tina ❤️
Thank you so much, we are so appreciative of the prayers! I am so glad you loved seeing the church, also. It’s magnificent!
Interesting thing about those fish…
Carp are usually covered in very tough scales which makes them difficult to eat. European monks bred the ability to grow the scales out of the fish, which made them easier to eat. More interestingly, when the fish were later released into the wild they began to grow scales again, BUT, this new growth of scales was because of another gene altogether and the original genes are still present in the fish. (Thank Google for that tidbit.)
I am always facinated by thes churches with what seems to be 50ft high ceilings. To think that these supporting pillers, and indeed, the entire church, was built by labourers without the benefit of powerful machines. Each stone was raised by hand after being cut by hand and then made to fit together perfectly.
Absolutely amazing!
Oh wow, I never knew that! So does that mean these gosh are carp?! We were wondering what they were…
It’s amazing, isn’t it?! I don’t understand how they ever managed to build such magnificent churches with so little. But I’m glad they did!
Yes, I believe they are Carp. Specifically, since thy don’t appear to have scales, they would be Mirror Carp. Because they appear to be quite shiny (no joke).
We have a cathedral in Saint John. it is small as cathedrals go but still impressive. See pictures and a bit of it’s history here https://mynewbrunswick.ca/cathedral-of-the-immaculate-conception-saint-john/