As usual, we had breakfast set up the night before, so that in the morning all we need to do is boil water for tea, switch on the coffee maker, and welcome pilgrims into the kitchen for breakfast at 7 AM. The lovely family of four from Taiwan – mom and three boys aged 10, 9, and 5 – were among the last to join us. We are amazed to think that these young boys have walked over 500 kilometres of the Camino so far! Normally, we wash the dishes, but the boys insisted on washing their own, just as they do at home. Before they left, their mom shared something that made us so happy—the boys told her that this albergue is the “kindest one” they’ve been to so far. 🥰 ♥️ Moments like these make everything worthwhile.

Once our cleaning was done, I chopped up some imperfect apples collected from a tree in the garden and Janine baked an apple cake using the lemon cake recipe that has been a hit with the pilgrims. It’s delicious and calls for olive oil instead of butter. By the time we open our doors to new pilgrims at 12:30 PM, the aroma of fresh baking is irresistible.

We have eight pilgrims from six different countries staying here tonight: two each from France and the USA and one each from Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and Spain. The first to arrive was a young woman (Gabrielle) from Brazil, who ran forty kilometres to get here! She had sent her backpack ahead to Santiago and arrived with just the clothes on her back and her passport and credential in a zippered pocket on the back of her jacket. She washed everything she was wearing except for shorts and a tank top and was so cold! Thankfully she could borrow clothes from the stash we keep for pilgrims dealing with bedbugs. She was grateful for the cozy leggings and big housecoat which would tide her over until her clothes were dry.

Thankfully, Nigel lit the fire in the salon for afternoon tea as it was so cold! That’s where the three of us ate the chook (Australian chicken) with roasted veggies for dinner. We sure hope it warms up again soon!