The Way to Land's End

• Beginning Point: Azofra 
• Ending Point: Grañon
• Daily distance: 13.86 miles (22.3 km)
• Total distance: 138.86 miles (223.47 km)

Our hike today takes us down gravel country roads to a kind of modern ghost town on the edges of a golf course. Row upon row of townhouses sit eerily empty, evidence of Spain’s housing bubble. We stop at the golf course for a cup of cafe con leche and to rest our feet. 

Our next stop is Santo Domingo de Calzada where an interesting legend is set. A pilgrim family (father, mother and son) from Germany were walking the Camino when they decided to rest at an inn in Santo Domingo de Calzada. The inn keeper’s daughter fell in love with the son and tried to seduce him. The son rejected her advances as he had his mind set on going all the way to Santiago. The girl was angered and hid some silver in his sack. After the family left, the girl claimed the son stole from the inn and when the authorities caught up with the family, the poor son was found with the silver on him and hanged. The distraught parents continued on to Santiago. On their return trip home, the parents again stopped at Santo Dominigo to visit their son’s body, which was left hanging as a warning to other thieves. Upon seeing their son, he called down saying that he was still alive, claiming that St Dominic had held up his body the entire time. The parents set off to see the magistrate to proclaim this demonstrated their son’s innocence. The parents happened upon the magistrate while he was in the middle of dinner,  the main course of which was chicken. In disbelief the magistrate exclaimed that their son was no more alive than the chicken on his plate, whereupon the chicken came alive, feathers and all!

We stopped in the Cathedral and the attached museum. In the Cathedral is a Gothic chicken run with what are said to be two descendants of chicken from the legend – the  Lazarus of chickens, so to speak. Above the chicken run is a piece of the gallows. The church and museum also contained other beautiful works of religious art. On our way out of town, we spot a bakery and try one of the local specialties, ahorcaditos, which means “little hanged man”. 

We then made our way into Ganon. Sitting outside the local cafe are many of our friends we’ve met along the way. We enjoy some wine and almonds while catching up with them. The albergue tonight is on a donation basis. It is in the bell tower of the church and we sleep on mats in a upper loft.

We attend Mass and afterwards the priest invited pilgrims into a small museum behind the altar and tells us a little history about all the items. Most fascinating are books that are over 1400 years old made from calf skin and sculpted arms which are purported to contain bone fragments from 3 of Jesus’s disciplines. 
After Mass, we have a communal meal in our albergue. I sit in wonder as I listen to Spanish, English, French and Italian conversations going on all around me.  Following dinner, we were invited to a walk into a secret passageway that connected into the upper back area of the church sanctuary. The retablo is lit in the darkened sanctuary and it is magnificent. As the retablo shines back at us, we are invited into a moment of silence to reflect on our journey. We then retire to bed (or rather, mat!)

More pics to follow when wifi is better…