Camino de Santiago: Pilgrim Hospital

Today I decided to take the bus from Logrono to Santo Domingo de la Calzada. There are two reasons for this. First, my original schedule had me here by June 2. Second, I have an infected blister that needs to be babied for two days and this looked like a good place to rest. Ironically I am staying in a beautiful 4-star hotel built by Saint Dominic in the 12th century as a hospital for pilgrims. The hotel gives a great discount to pilgrims to continue the tradition of care.

I've met many "injured" pilgrims in the past two days. A young man who tore his knee cap; a woman who broke her leg; another who fell off her bunk bed and got a concussion. All of these pilgrims were taking the bus to Madrid and then flying home - their pilgrimage ended. Each admitted they had pushed themselves too hard, had walked too fast or gone too far each day. Their sad stories helped to affirm my decision to take a break and to refresh before the next phase of my journey.