The weather was beautiful today. Sunny, not too hot, a cool breeze diagonally in the back and the number of climbing kilometers was clear. In short, a nice day.
Practical monk
We passed the town of San Domingo, named after a monk of that name from the eleventh century. As a young man, Domingo wanted to become a learned clergyman, but in the end his heart wasn’t there. He was more practical minded and then decided to help the pilgrims who passed by his hometown in droves on their way to Santiago. From there we walk another six hundred kilometers.
At the counter of the cathedral in San Domingo you can of course get a stamp in your pilgrim pass, but strangely enough you can also buy eggs from chickens. In the church you can see live chickens in a beautiful, high-mounted coop. Domingo himself is buried in the cathedral, with silver chickens in his tomb. This turns out to be a commemoration of a miracle.
roast chicken
The story goes that after his death Domingo, like James, performed miracles. In the fourteenth century, a young man was wrongly sentenced to death. But after some time his parents saw that he was still alive on the gallows. They went to court and told that their son was alive. The judge shouted scornfully: “Sure, he’s just as alive as this chicken.” He pointed to the fried chicken on the table in front of him. Promptly, the chicken stood up and fluttered off the table. A miracle of Domingo.
A nice religious Droste effect. You help the pilgrims of a saint who does miracles, promptly you do miracles yourself, you become a saint and the pilgrims come for you too.
In San Juan de Ortega we have a nice accommodation. The hamlet consists of a large church and five accommodations for pilgrims. Would a future saint also be at work here for the pilgrims? For us?