After a busy day out and about it was good to take a quiet walk in Santo Domingo along the river and in the outskirts of this small town.
Read more: A quiet walk in Santo DomingoWalking out of the town
We walked down the Calle Mayor, the pilgrim route, towards the bridge over the River Oja, thinking about Santo Domingo and his works 1,000 years ago.
The River
The river has given its name to the region – ‘rio’+’Oja’ = La Rioja. And a very small area produces outstanding wines. The vineyards are divided into different areas and one could spend an interesting time investigating their different characteristics!
Back streets
Hormigones Valer is a construction company which has this site on the outskirts of the town to the south. There is a much larger industrial area on the eastern side of the town.
Between the factory and the town is a large open area, with the remains of walls and gateways. The work ‘molinos’ appears often and, together with water channels, suggests there were once mills in this area.
The New Town
There is a small section of new town on the south and another, larger new town to the north. As usual, housing takes the form of blocks of low-rise flats, and as usual, the streets are spotlessly clean.
The hospital and health centre is also in this part of the new town and an impressive building. From what I have experienced of health care in Spain it will offer an excellent service.
It was enjoyable to take a quiet walk of an hour around the outskirts of the town, away from the obvious tourist sights. As always there were tantalising sights which we couldn’t understand, and about which the internet is silent.