Monday 2 October 2017

Santo Domingo in the morning - A less taxing Day


September 30, 2017

Santo Domingo in the morning
It was a relatively short walk from Cireuna - only about 7 km or so and really, to be honest,  if there was a town that I would vote as the place to take the bus by,  Cireuna would surely be in the top three.  For the reasons mentioned yesterday,  it was one of the most dismal places I've seen;  the owners of the albergue were wonderful, but the whole town is a barren blight.

I am here in a lavenderia( laundromat ) near the albergue where I am staying.   The albergue does not have a dryer and today, unlike yesterday is not a good day being cool and cloudy.  The albergue is huge and has a kitchen and vending machines.  Among other things, these vending machines offer such things as tiny vials of Virgin olive oil,  dry pasta, stuffed green olives and I think I saw tomato sauce.  This place does not offer meals however a trip to the vending machine or the super Mercado and you won't starve.  Either that or a visit to one of the many bars in the neighborhood will give you the "menu del dia"  which entails  a choice of 1 of 5 first courses, 1 of at least 4 2nd courses with dessert and wine or water thrown in for €12 or so. 

After my clothes have dried I plan to make a visit to the Cathedral to visit the famous  chickens: the story behind this is that a family from Cologne was on pilgrimage to Santiago.  While here in Santo Domingo the son of the family turned down the sinful advances of a local girl who, out of spite, hid a silver goblet in his baggage.  He was summarily hanged  and his sorrowing parents continued their journey.  While in Santiago,  the parents received a revelation that their son was still alive despite being hanged, and still on the gallows.   They rushed back to Santo Domingo and crashed in on the
magistrate who was enjoying a yummy chicken dinner.  He heard their tale and pronounced that their son was no more alive than the chicken on his plate.  Whereupon the chicken rose up, squawking and fluttered to the rafters.  The son was cut down (he must have been pretty ripe by then) and everyone lived happily ever after.  Apparently, the descendants of the chicken live in the Cathedral and if they crow at you while you visit it's good luck.
Top Photo goes back to Sept. 27th - just a great vista.
The pictures below are from my tour of the cathedral at Santo Domingo




No comments:

Post a Comment