Tea with the Padre - Day 28 (May 11)

Today we finally left early for once - actually as the sun was rising! It really is pretty neat to leave before the town has awoken.

Meson El Llar

Instead of eating breakfast right away, we decided we would stop at the first village, only 3 kilometres away. Boy, were we glad we did. The stop at Meson El Llar was so very memorable. Not only was the food spectacular, the best we have had yet, but the lady preparing the food was so full of life and vitality. She made the most amazing juice drink with carrots, lettuce, apple, orange juice, ginger and fennel. The whole time she made the drink, with arms flying she told us about the freshness of all the ingredients and how good it was for you. And the vegetarian empanada was exceptional as well.

A short time later we saw a couple that we had met earlier but didn't remember where, when or what their names were. This is not an uncommon happening on the camino. You meet so many people in a day and just as the days and places meld together, so do the people you meet. Anyway, we re-introduced ourselves (Jose and Bailey from Marin, CA) and walked with them for some distance. A very nice visit with some very nice people.

This part of Spain has made old rock walls telling tales of past lives that existed here. There is oftentimes new surrounding them but the old is still there acting as silent voices of their former existence.

Today's walk was on a path along a highway but it wasn't very busy so wasn't unpleasant at all. There was a gentle climb in sunny and hot weather. Many pilgrims expressed discomfort with the heat but we are really quite used to it so it didn't really bother us much. As we walked, there were several new flowers to discover. The most exciting was a wild red peony, at least I assume it was wild as it was not in an area where there were or had been homes.

I really liked having some variation to the terrain as it seemed to be helping my ankle. I also deviced a kind of splint using two heel pads on each side of my ankle which also seemed to help. That along with ibuprofen and Voltaren. Anti-inflammatories of all kinds are a staple of the camino, keeping painful joints, tendons and muscles from sabotaging the journey.

Crosses in Fence

Shortly before we arrived at our destination, the climb became a little more steep and rocky. But there was a small meadow where there were some white horses grazing making for a beautiful scene. A fence along this area was host of many ribbon and cloth wrapped crosses. I really wonder how these traditions get started - who and why did someone tie the first cross to the fence.

Our destination for the day was Rabanal and we chose to stay at the Albergue Guacelmo where there were two hospitaleros - Ann and Ron. When we arrived and they saw my JacoTrans sticker, they questioned us. It seems that they do not accept pilgrims who do not carry their own backpacks as they feel forwarding it each day turns a pilgrim into a tourist. When I explained that we simply sent a portion of my contents ahead at the recommendation of the physical therapist, along with seeing my swollen ankle, they said it was okay. In fact, they brought me an ice pack for my ankle and when we brought our clothes down to hand wash, Ann said she would wash them in the albergue washing machine so I didn't have to stand and wash them by hand.

We really liked this albergue as gardens near the entrance as well as a large outer yard provided a peacefulness and tranquility that we had not experienced previously. By the time we were done with our showers and such, it was time for tea which was held in their outer yard. Served with the tea was cookies and a delicious chocolate torte made by Ron and decorated with the camino cross. The few pilgrims that attended were joined by the hospitaleros as well as two of the monks from the church and monastery that adjoined the albergue. One of the hospitaleros, Daisy, was a nurse and she worked on my ankle, stretching out the tendons that were the culprits. I thought I was going to come out of my skin it hurt so bad. Hopefully, it was what I needed.

During the tea, the priest asked if I would consider reading the scripture in English during the evening vespers. I agreed. I feel like I am being singled out and wonder why. There was only a brief time between tea and vespers so we made a quick tour of the one street in town and enjoyed a glass of wine with Mel from Australia. We also went to the monastery gift shop where we got our credencias stamped and I purchased a necklace with the camino cross on it.

The vespers were really special as they were all done in Gregorian chanting. Daisy also sang with the priests, her voice lilting over the entire church like an angel. They provided translation for the Latin in English so we were thankfully able to follow along. In addition to my reading of the scripture in English, there were also other pilgrims that did the reading in Spanish, German and French. One of the monks provided a very very short message essentially saying that when fellow pilgrims wish us "Buen Camino" they are wishing us a good walk but we need to remember that in addition to our physical walk, there is also a spiritual walk going on inside. Such a great service and message.

Church in Rabanal

By this time we were more than hungry so we went to the recommended place for our peregrino dinner. Although most of our pilgrim friends were there eating, we chose instead to join Ann, the hospitalero from our albergue who wished our clothes. Ann was from England and had walked the camino two year previous. She provided such encouragement for the journey ahead as well as insight on the camino experience itself. We thoroughly enjoyed her company.

After dinner we went back to the church for the pilgrim blessing. Today has been another emotional day for me. I am wondering if my previous thoughtless days were preparing me to fill it with more spiritual thoughts. Tomorrow will be yet another emotional day when we arrive at the Iron Cross and we deposit the stones we have carried since the start of our journey.

Lesson of the Day: People are unbelievably kind.

 

 

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