Day 10: Najera to Santo Domingo

Today was a short day....only 20km. It was also a beautiful day with lots of sun shine. I was glad that left early, because by 9:30 the sun was out with a vengeance.

Once on the edge of Najera, I only had 582km until Santiago.

These markers were every kilometer. That does make for a long day. I just ended up counting down the kilometers until the next town. Hopefully, they will not be there tomorrow, or I will just have to learn to ignore them. 

The countryside was beautiful. The farmers' crops were nice and green. The hills were just fantastic to look at. 

(A beautiful sun rise to enhance the view)

After about 2 hours of hiking, I had stop to have a nibble of my chocolate bar and take my boots off. 

I was so glad to have my hat in the hot hot sun. As you can see, there are zero clouds in the sky. This just made the heat worse....nothing to block the sun.

The sun was just right for me to get a picture of my shadow. It looks funny with my backpack on.

I still haven't gotten tired of seeing the countryside.

There were a couple of cities that I entered, but they were nothing spectacular. The signage was a little confusing. I had to stop some folks from going to the wrong way. You have to keep your eyes peeled for those yellow arrows.

After doing 30km yesterday, my feet were happy to be stopping just after 20km.

After getting settled in at the hostel, I hade some coffee, tapas, and the rest of my chocolate bar. I did have a nice view of the city.

I was able to see almost everything that I wanted to before siesta time! Yay! First, I went to go see the Santo Domingo Cathedral, but I forgot to take my camera. Therefore, y'all will have to settle with outside pictures only. The inside was magnificent! They still have services inside too. Parts of it have been turned into a museum to show original paintings and church relics throughout the history of the church. I could have kicked myself for not taking my camera. They made me put my bag in a locker which contained my phone (I usually have it in my pocket...oopppssss).

I almost forgot....they had live chickens in the cathedral.

There was a small church area that is a part of the cathedral  that is used for everyday prayers. 

There are monestaries everywhere, but I think that this one is still functioning since no one was allowed inside. I was able to sneak some pictures of the temple area through the window.

I saw this neat fountain with a pilgrim theme.

Every town has several plazas where all the locals hangout. This particular plaza had a real neat building....I can't remember what it is called...it's important though.

I found it odd that there is not a "regular" church. I like to go inside not only to explore but also to meditate and pray. I guess I will have to go to plan b (I don't know what that is though).