This is a questioning romantic poem we found along this Etape “ What hidden force draws you?” It asks. I still don’t have an answer !
Another very hot day is forecast and so taxis were taken out of the city towards Navarette, in time for breakfast.
This town is famous for its red clay pottery.“Inspiration exists but it has to find you working” Pablo Picasso08.00 and getting warm as we climbed towards the Iglesia de Nuestra de la Asuncion.Downhill and out into the countryside I knew we were on the right path !Vineyards all the way Entrance to the cemetery- this gate was rescued recycled from the Romanesque-Gothic facade of the 12 th century Hospital de San Juan de Acre.A close look revealed St George spearing a dragon.Rolling hills and a tree whose fruit we could not identify.We came upon an inviting detour to Ventosa which was on the original Camino.Another of those “ if only we had the time” scenarios – I have not walked a Camino with so many inviting distractions.Ventosa “ a place in time”.One of several Bodegas en route.Is that our destination in the distant haze?A stone house typical of shepherds and farmers in Rioja.Here in Aleson are two boards with a Camino tale.An updated version of David and GoliathOn the outskirts of Najera – my favourite” English Cottage Garden” flower.Then this heartfelt poem written by a local priest in the 1980s.
The translation is as follows:
Dust , mud, sun and rain
It is Camino de Santiago.
thousands of pilgrims
and more than a thousand years.
Pilgrim Who calls you?
What hidden force draws you?
– Not even the field of stars
nor the great cathedrals.
It is not the bravery Navarra,
nor the wine of the Rioja
nor the Galician shellfish,
nor the Castilian fields.
Pilgrim Who calls you?
What hidden force draws you?
– Neither the people of the Way
nor rural customs.
It is not history and culture,
nor the rooster of the Calzada
nor Gaudí’s palace,
nor the Ponferrada castle.
I see everything as I pass,
and it’s a joy to see it all,
but the voice that calls me
I feel it much deeper.
The force that pushes me
the force that attracts me,
I don’t even know how to explain it.
Only He above knows!
This romance-poem won the second prize in the literary contest organized by the cultural recreational society “PEÑA EL SALERO”, from Santo Domingo de la Calzada, on September 19, 1987.
Entering Najera is not the most memorable of ways but the possibility of a cold drink overcame our disinterest.This was a warm welcome.No, coffee was not what was requiredAnd some shade was…Gaseosa and Claras were downed gratefully. It was only a ten minute walk to Hostel Hispano, our digs for tonight and sited just across from the park and River Najerilla.Wall in the Reception area of Hostal Hispano
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