Very dark at 7:18 when we left VillaFranca, walking along a winding path that follows the main road up and around the mountains. We heard the birds and the river running beside us, but without Sara’s headlamp we would have been in total darkness. Four or five miles down the road, it was light again, and we were ready for first breakfast. While breakfasting, we met Carrie again – she’s from Canada but has a son in New Smyrna Beach.
Brierley’s quote for today was from the Peace Pilgrim: “This is the way of peace: overcome hatred with love.” This reminded Sara of Marianne Williamson’s remarks in the Democratic Debate.
On the road again, through the mountain passes for another three or four miles. We stop at the bar in another tiny mountain town for second breakfast. Here we see Fernanda and Susanna (mother & daughter) now joined by Susanna’s brother. We run into Garth and Martha, from Wisconsin, but Garth, another retired academic, grew up in Troy, NY. Carrie is here for her second breakfast too. And we meet Tom and Vivian who now live in Ocean Walk at New Smyrna beach. They’re neighbors, but we met them in Spain. This is all great fun.
We sit at a table on a sidewalk across the road from the bar/café. It’s only about 10:00 or 10:30, but we see another pilgrim drinking his white wine. We remember what we’ve been told about wine etiquette here in Spain. In this area, if you drink in the morning, you drink white wine. After noon, it should be red. There are rooms above the bar, and the full-length windows are open. A young man sits looking out over the street, drinking his coffee. Then another young man appears, first with only a towel around himself. Deciding that this was a bit too risqué, he left and then returned in his skin-tight boxer/briefs. It’s fun to sit at cafes and watch people.
Then, just as we start walking again, we hear heavy metal music getting louder. Along comes a younger pilgrim wearing a formal black top hat. He and his young lady make an entrance strolling down the street with their own music background, greeting others as they go. We smile but let them get far ahead of us, since the music – likely the perfect choice for their Camino — seems out of place for ours.
An older man (we later learn that his name is Graham), stopped to take a picture of a particularly run-down and abandoned building – there are many such in these nearly abandoned towns. When we greeted him, he said he was sending this back to his wife to announce his next “renovation project.” We noticed that his backpack looked like a relic from years gone by. Evan said he could not imagine carrying such a pack: a large green canvass sack on an external frame with only two wide leather straps over the shoulders.
Finally, we reached Las Herrerias and found our hostal, like many of hm, over a bar/café. The baman sent us upstairs, and sent his wife upstairs sent us back down; the rooms were not ready yet; the floors needed to dry. But she had a great suggestion pitcher of Sangria. How could we reject such a great suggestion? We were done walking, the day was warm and pleasant, and the Sangria was delicious.
We were especially excited to learn that we could have our dinner any time – no closed kitchen until 7:00 or 8:00. Dinner was delicious, as was the wine, and others joined us as the evening progressed. Nicki & Andrew (New Zealand) are staying at the same hostal, so they began their dinner just about as we finished ours. Graham happened along and dined with us. He offered his justification for that great backpack he carries. And then along comes Karen with her son, Riley, who just arrived today to join his mom on the final stages of her Camino.
Just to add to the entertainment, someone pulled up a truck right near us with a bull in a trailer. The bull kicked and bucked against the walls of the trailer, and loudly complained. Six cows that ere grazing quietly in the field across from us came quickly when he called, and they joined their voices with him in complaint. It was almost to the point where we felt uncomfortable, but when the truck finally pulled away we shared a good laugh overt it.
We realized that we had not let our hostal since we arrived, no visit to the local church, no walk around the village – just Sangria, a good meal, and lots of Camino friends to share the evening.
We hope for a great day tomorrow with a scheduled horse ride up to O’Cebreiro. But the forecast is for rain. We will deal with whatever comes.
