Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
Cofradia del Santo
photos taken February 22, 2006
Historic cold
This post discusses an old albergue space of the local confraternity ,
Cofradia del Santo.
First established in the 12th c. to help/host pilgrims the confraternity continues today.
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Walking 16 km in February from Najera to
Santo Domingo de la Calzada was exhausting. At the Cofradia del Santo headquarters the door on the left was open; a poster inside read "telephone to stay"; I called and was told to wait for the
hospitalero.
When the young seminarian/
hospitalero arrived we climbed an historic staircase to this simple albergue space; he tried unsuccessfully to turn on the heater.
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Facilities included beds for 20 plus extra blankets, a simple hot plate, kettle and one shower/ toilet combo.
An Irish guy arrived; shivering we shared tea, biscuits and conversation. We chose bunks along the interior partition, not against an exterior wall, since old walls are often uninsulated and frigid; a 'sandwich' for sleeping was made by folding a blanket in half the long way, placing the sleeping bag on top of the bottom half and pulling the top half over all.
Nevertheless at dawn the albergue was truly freezing; I could see my white breath. Leaving when the famous garden coop chickens crowed, I was relatively warm in a nearby cafe eating a hot breakfast.
If you stay at the multi-story 211 bed extremely comfortable Cofradia albergue which opened 2013 adjacent to the medieval headquarters do recollect how simple their facility once was.