It’s Groundhog Day again. By 8 AM, we had wished “Buen Camino” to all our pilgrims, or so we thought. Somehow, we’d missed Edwin, who was still sound asleep in his tent out in the backyard. A ring of the bell got him up and he made his getaway after a simple breakfast of coffee, bread, jam, and leftover cake from yesterday’s tea. It’s always interesting to see the variety of departures each morning—some with leisurely goodbyes after wrapping toes…
The 17 pilgrims who stayed with us last night left this morning with big smiles, warm hugs, and heartfelt “thank you’s.” They took the time to write beautiful messages in our guest book. Yesterday, Ilaria from Italy told us how she had lost her wallet. She retraced her steps for an hour, hoping to find it, but she didn’t. Despite this setback, the “Camino provided” – a phrase often used on the Camino. Fellow pilgrims generously offered Ilaria money to…
This morning, Gabriela was our “star” pilgrim. She is a 32-year-old from Brazil who could easily be mistaken for someone ten years younger. She was such a delight—bright-eyed and full of energy and gratitude. She ran nearly 40 kilometers yesterday and was the first to arrive in the early afternoon. Gabriela’s goal is ambitious in spite of the blisters she got when training at home in Brazil. She needs to reach Santiago in just seven days and get to Paris…
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…
Sergei from Germany and Kevin from Taiwan were the last to leave this morning. Both young men left lasting impressions. Kevin showed us his two journals filled with precious memories which include pictures and writings of his own and from people he met along the Way, as well as us. Like most pilgrims, Sergei is on his way to Santiago, but Kevin already reached Santiago from Lisbon. He is now proudly carrying his Compostela in his side pocket and is walking…
Three of our friendly Brazilian pilgrims set out before dawn this morning when the stars were still shining brightly. We’ve been lucky with the weather, except for a downpour Janine and I were caught in last week in Astorga. Yesterday, during afternoon tea, a pilgrim described a hail storm the previous day in Astorga as having “cherry-sized” hailstones, and then corrected himself, saying “maybe more like blueberries.” 😂 After the pilgrims had all left, we began our morning jobs. Janine…
There were big hugs and heartfelt farewells once again this morning. I jokingly told Michael, the talented German musician who had entertained us so beautifully last night, that we considered locking him in the barn just to keep him here for another evening of music. He mentioned that he’s planning to write a book. If his writing is anything like his singing and guitar playing, it’s sure to be a bestseller. It was rewarding to read their comments in the…
Before I came downstairs at 6:30 this morning to open the kitchen and put on the coffee, I could already smell it brewing. At first, I thought Nigel had beaten me to it, but it was probably a self-sufficient pilgrim who wanted to leave early and had his own coffee maker. Four pairs of boots had already disappeared from the shelf, which wasn’t surprising. Some pilgrims leave Rabanal very early to catch the sunrise from Cruz de Ferro, nearly eight…
This day seemed like a week but it had only 24 hours! My head is buzzing, mostly in a good way but not entirely. Maybe a good night’s sleep is in order. 😴 The energy here at Guacelmo is incredible. Janine was easily the busiest of all of us. She managed to clean the beds, wash nine loads of laundry, hang them on the clothes lines to dry in the warm sun. She got everything folded and put away, but…
Today was “Handover Day” at Refugio Guacelmo in Rabanal. The outgoing hospitaleros (Carole, Catherine, and John) showed us (Nigel, Janine, and I) the duties we’ll be doing for the first half of September. Each of us shadowed the person we would be replacing: Nigel shadowed John, Janine shadowed Carole, and I shadowed Catherine. My primary duty in the morning will be to clean the kitchen, though I’ll also lend a hand to Nigel and Janine until all the work is…