Yesterday, it took us ages to reach Rabanal del Camino, but that was a good thing. If we hadn’t taken our time and stopped for long breaks, we wouldn’t have met Luanne from Scotland, Kai from Germany, and Tatianna from Colombia. All were gregarious and fascinating, with Luanne and Kai being especially hilarious. I was completely mesmerized by Kai’s animated way of speaking, with his hands having a language of their own. Janine summed it up perfectly when she said that Luanne and Kai are “on the ‘far right’ of the extrovert scale.

Sadly, a fire had recently swept across the area before Santa Catalina last week that was caused by either an Austrian or German pilgrim, depending on who you talk to. I heard he might get fined and spend time in jail. One side of the trail was black but the other side was untouched. It made us wonder where to escape to other than the plowed field on the right side of the trail in case of a fire.

We stopped for lunch at the famous “Cowboy Bar” in El Gonso, which was closed during COVID but has recently reopened. After lunch, we continued on our way to Rabanal – another 6 kilometers. Temperatures climbed to 27°C and the lack of shade at first made the trek challenging. 

Then the pesky flies took over! We got an unexpected upper-body workout, constantly swatting away the relentless flies that buzzed around our faces and hoping not to inhale one! Janine swung her buff like a whip, while I used my trekking poles like windshield wipers. This reminded me of the time our daughter, Tania, had her own battle with flies on the Camino. She ended up smacking herself in the face with her pole and having one pole fly into a muddy ditch. She had to fish it out with the other pole. In the end, my best strategy was to simply let the flies hover while I pulled my buff up over my face, tucking it beneath my glasses.

We arrived at Refugio Guacelmo in Rabanal around 4:30 PM—our latest arrival since we began this journey. We met the outgoing hospitaleros (Carol, Catherine, and John) and joined them for tea at 5 PM. Three pilgrims from Germany, Sweden, and Spain joined us. It hasn’t been busy lately, but perhaps it will pick up in September.

Later, Nigel from the UK, who will be volunteering with us, arrived. He’s volunteered here before and says he absolutely loves it. After Janine and I showered, Nigel gave us a tour of the picturesque stone village. We sat down for a glass of wine and started planning our duties. The fun begins!