DAY 15: Sept 7 – Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

We had a good walk today through the last of the vineyards. It has been very tranquil walking in the wine country and we will miss it. Just outside of Najera we noticed that the fields were much less rock laden and the soil a rich rust colour–much like the red dirt of Kauai. The explanation was that the cliffs of rock here are red sandstone but just in a small geological area. By the bounty of the gardens it is obviously nutrient rich soil. This is a good time to mention that the tomatoes in Spain are so delicious—the best we have ever tasted. For an hour we shared the road with a tall, handsome French fellow, who is studying to be a professional opera singer. His walking partner is a young English girl who just completed her PhD. in philosophy. She was very nice but as you might expect, our conversation with her was not small talk:-)—we tackled democracy and prejudice. Her points of view were very interesting. Today we exercised our minds as well as our bodies:>) At last I am able to fit in one of my very favourite Spanish sayings: ” El mundo es un panuelo”–the world is a handkerchief, as this young woman has a friend who lives on Gabriola Island!!
Our hotel is fabulous—–very Spanish decor whereas most of the others had been renovated and ultra modern They have all been exceptionally clean:-)
Dad is back from his search for ice (successful). He also found a “lavanderia” (laundromat) down the street.We are excited! Laundry can be an issue. Many of the paths/roads are dusty and just walking you get very dirty.
Although almost everything we have is that wicky stuff, it does not all dry quite as quickly as we need it to—especially as we are trying to dry it in the bathroom. All our accommodation has been right by the town church—not a good place to be stringing laundry out the window. I have no problem tying damp socks to our backpacks, but I think Dad would draw the line if I started tying undies to the packs:>)