It was mostly a lovely walk today but it was definitely shortened by almost 5km. There was no way to get a taxi at 7:00am on a Sunday morning back to where we stopped walking yesterday. We have done enough long cuts on this Camino that I am not worried about that even though we have never missed a Camino step in Spain before.
The walk today from our hostal to Camponaraya and our first breakfast was along the mostly well lit Calle Real (King’ Road). The local customers were having a dog convention. We had some tostadas and tortilla in the Clock Tower bar, a place we have stopped on all our French Caminos. We have been reminiscing a lot this walk.
Cacabelos was the town where we had our breakfast #2 but ir was more of a toilet break, two Aquarius and a lovely fresh croissant. It was one of those croissants that it would be considered a sin to add butter or jam to it. I don’t get many of those in Singapore. Just before we left, Melanie recognized where we were and the barman. Last year, at the same place, there were many people in his bar because of the rain. I helped him out mostly by bussing the tables. He was so grateful, he refused to let me pay for my bill for our drinks. Melanie stayed back and we made sure every table was clear of used plates, glasses, etc.
Tomorrow is a tough day and I’m running out of time but I have one story about checking in to our accommodations for tonight. We have the privilege of staying in the Hostal San Nicolas Real. It’s a gorgeous old monastery. When we arrived, there was no one at the desk but a woman came in quickly after us. She looked like the nuns in Catholic grade schools back home. She was stern and spoke to me only in Spanish. She demanded to know if we had reservation. I said we did. Then she demanded our passports she then had us pay and I swear I was worried that if I made any mistake, she was going to whack a ruler over my knuckles. Then, she came out from behind the desk with two keys, then mimed and spoke Spanish to explain that after 7:00pm, the front door is locked and that pilgrims would be sleeping. Then she repeated herself. I knew I was in trouble. When she repeated herself a third time, a Spanish couple came in and accessed the situation quickly. They started to translate to me at the same time it hit me. The tyrant was telling us that we had to be inside and sleeping by 7:00pm!!! What?!? There is no place to eat before 7:00pm and maybe even 8:00 or 9:00pm for that matter. I started a little freak out, thinking how wrong it was that she collected our money before dropping this surprise. The couple looked embarrassed. Melanie was thinking, she’s not missing dinner but what do we do. Just then, I saw the corners of her lips turn up just a bit and it hit me. She was pulling our legs. I just pointed at her and said “YOU!!!” too loudly but we all started laughing. She got us real good.
Tomorrow’s walk is long and ends with a challenging 700m climb. We are also staying in our third communal dormitory so we have a lot to prepare for an early start.
Peace y’all.
Goodnight George, Leo and Stella. We will see you in a month.
