Day 12 – Santo Domingo to Viloria de la Rioja

May 18th – Last night I saw fellow pilgrim Pauline from Austrailia who I haven’t seen since Akerreta.  We were having a glass of wine when two others from Akerreta came by, Sue and Kim also from Austrailia,  who I last saw in Pamplona.  We all had dinner together along with another pilgrim, Wendy from Zambia/Africa, and it was a lovely time together as we shared Camino stories and got to know each other better as individuals.  Six women came by who are Spanish sisters all doing a portion of the Camino together, one of whom – Mayte – lives in a nearby town to me back home!  What a very small world to meet people here from over over the globe including neighbors.

I leave this lovely city later than normal – 9 am, because today is another short 10 mile day.  A few months ago I could never have imagined saying those words.  Our bodies are so magnificent, capable I am finding of far more than we often use them.  My legs have carried me over 200 kilameters and I have not been in a vehicle since my train ride from Bayonne to the start of the Camino in St. Jean. Yes, my right ankle is still sore, but other than being attentive to it and not over doing, I continue on my journey.

The prior days hillsides of La Rioja’s region vineyards, are now giving way to wheat fields.

I pass mile after mile of many shades of green countryside with varying crops and know I could never tire of this experience.  How fast the days are rolling by – too fast – so slowing things down to smaller segments is a blessing.

Planning to stop at the top of a hill ahead of me to roll up my shirt sleeves and remove the bottom of my pants turning them into shorts, who do I see taking a break also but Pauline.  We walk together from that point on.

At a lovely viewpoint outside the village of Castildelgado we pause to breathe in and absorb the beauty, taking turns photographing each other.

Entering the sweet village of Viloria de la Rioja, the birthplace of Saint Dominic, we run into Sue and Kim, and Mayte and her sisters.  Such wonderful connections have been made through the common bond of the Camino and each sighting of each other a mini reunion.

Pauline and I have a delicious lunch paid for with whatever donation we choose to offer at the Albergue.  Fresh eggs quickly become omelettes served with bread.  This town will be my home for the night and Pauline continues on to her final stop of the day, Belorado, which is several more kilometers down the path.

Note:  When I joined Pauline today I paused my RunTracker and forgot to turn it back on for quite some time so it does not show the just over 9 miles walked.  The normal graph therefore is a bit off and I’ve included my Apple watch stats which were not paused.

The elevation chart is off also and is not included today.  We had mild ups and downs and it was an overall easy walking day with many stops making it a lovely slow moving day in Spain.