9/26 Najera to Santa Domingo

Peloton – In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from the French for platoon) is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close to other riders – the reduction in energy needed by the riders following can be significant. Today was a pilgrim peloton! The winds were blowing, and there were more people out on the trail than we had seen in several days! We felt strangely at home…the steady winds, and frequent gusts felt a lot like what we’re used to! I tucked right in behind Pete, and just kept walking! Thanks, Pete! Other than walking, the main activity of the day involved chasing down the hats of the walkers who were ahead of us! The day started out with a rainbow and ended with the story of a chicken who sang AFTER it was roasted – an eventful day indeed!

Our walk today took us from Najera to Santa Domingo de la Calzada, a small town with a big story! Santa Domingo is the home of one of the best loved and most famous miracles or legends of the Camino de Santiago. Named after St. Dominic, a hermit who dedicated his life to improving the way of the pilgrim, Santa Domingo is the site of a beautiful cathedral, a former pilgrim’s hospital, an abbey, and many chapels. Our lodging tonight was part of a former monastery and our room would have been the room of a monk. Out of this setting comes the legend of the hen. Long story short, a young woman of the community took a fancy to a pilgrim traveling with his family. He rejected her, and to get revenge, she hid a silver cup in his bag. The young man was discovered and condemned to death. The young man’s parents came to say their final farewell to their son. To their surprise, he was still alive. Surprised by this, the parents went to the authorities and the sheriff replied that their son was as alive as the roasted hen and rooster he was about to eat! Imagine the sheriff’s shock as the hen immediately got up, grew back feathers, and started to sing!! The hen who sang after being roasted!! This story is reflected in much of the art (there are slight variations in the tale) and in the holy places of the city. In fact, there is a chicken coop in the choir loft of the Cathedral that houses a hen and a rooster, and there is hen and rooster art throughout the city in commemoration of this story!