Volunteer Warden on the Camino de Santiago

It's all over now

2011-10-17T16:16:00.000+02:00

It seems strange to have nothing to do!I left Rabanal and dropped Margaret off at the bus station in Astorga at about 11:30 then drove straight to Ciudad Rodrigo. What a boring drive!
Just a couple of things to tell:
A Dutch lady asked two Alaskan ladies if they knew her relations and they did!
How often does that happen?
We had FIVE cases of bedbugs on the last day, a record for us.
It's still hot!
The look on the faces of two French women when the meat course of a Cocido Maragato arrived was a picture. There's enough meat for four people, never mind two.
Margaret and I had a nice bottle of Protos Roble at dinner on Saturday and it only cost 13 euros.
I think I've made a new friend in Margaret; we got on like a house on fire, which was good, because it could be terrible to spend two weeks with someone you can't stand.
Now I just want to get home!

Fiesta Time

2011-10-13T12:34:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was El Día de la Hispanidad, which is a national holiday. It was uncannily quiet in Rabanal, but there was a party at El Pilar, with one of the best puppeteers I've ever seen. His puppet played the cello to a backing track; brilliant!
We had lunch there courtesy of Isabel which was very nice - tortilla and salad. We took her a bag of apples from the orchard, as well as another lot of pears.
We've had a few people with bedbugs, but we think we're in control.
Yesterday an American guy came. He was a bit strange, seeming spaced out all the time, but he left the most wonderful comment in our guest book. Just goes to show.
It's another lovely day here, again.

Starting a new week

2011-10-09T11:51:00.000+02:00

It´s Sunday today, and another beautiful day. We´re starting to get cold nights and the pilgrims are leaving in the cold and dark.
We´ve actually had a fire on in the salon for two nights running, and that´s very nice for all of us. It actually heats the dormitory, too, which is very welcome.
We had a couple of people with bedbug bites testerday, so that means a complete wash of their clothes and spraying of rucksacks etc. It´s a real pain, but it needs doing.
There are very few Spanish people staying. We´ve had Koreans and Slovenians and loads of Canadians and Scandinavians, but very few French and Spanish.
I had quite a bad fall in the dark the other night, my own fault. I badly sprained my left elbow and I think I cracked a rib or two. The arm´s gradually getting better, but every now and then I forget and try something very painful.
Yesterday we took a trip to have a look at a village nearby which used to be the centre of the wool industry here. There are still lots of people weaving on a craft basis, but some have big looms. We hada a look around one place and it was like a small factory. Very interesting.
Also nearby is the main village of the region, the Maragatería. There´s a big fiesta on there this week, culminating in the Spanish National Day on 12th October.
Since I was here last, Damian, who used to help with one of the other refugios has opened a little bar and shop. The main shop is closed at the moment for holidays, so he´s doing a good trade selling bits and pieces to the pilgrims. He sells a very drinkable Ribera del Duero for 3 euro! Crazy price. When I remarked on it he thought I was complaining it was too dear!
The relations between the village and the monks seem much better now. The monk who deals with the pilgrims is Xavier, and he´s really nice. We try to provide pilgrims who will read texts during the evening service in French, English, Spanish and German, but some nights we´ve struggled.
Well, I think I´ll have a beer now.

Been here a week

2011-10-07T12:53:00.000+02:00

Well, it's Friday so we'll soon have been heard a week.
It's been great so far. The weather has been perfect: blue skies, not too hot, lovely.
There hVe been more pilgrims than usual for September, so we've been full every day.
Very few Brits, lots of Canadians and Italians.
Met a really nice lady from Stockholm the other night, so we chatted about that, which was nice.
Two girls from Tenerife who we think weren't really walking but they gave us some beer and wine, so who cares?
A few people with bed bugs at the start but not for a few days now, thank goodness.
My companion, Margaret is a real laugh, so there'll be no murder done!
It's gone cold today so we may light the fire tonight which should be cosy.
The monks next door seem to have sorted out the problems with the village which makes for a more peaceful life.
Typing this on my iPod in Damian's bar because I forgot the charger for
my Mac. Dur!
Later!

Here again

2011-10-04T14:23:00.000+02:00

Well, I've been in Rabanal now since last Friday. The weather is fantastic, and all of the pilgrims have been great, even including the Scots!
Had a nice visit with Goyi and Bongilio in Anaya; it's always great to see them. Then a pleasant drive up the A6 to Astorga and thence to Rabanal. Took over the refugio on Saturday with Margaret, who is a new hospitalera. So far, we've got on really well.

Nothing much to report in the way of weird pilgrims; they've all been lovely people and very friendly.
Last night we had a Taiwanese lad, who was really nice. We've had a lot of Italians and Canadians, but few English and Spanish.

Just back from shopping in Astorga, which is a great place for an afternoon.
Blimey, it's hot today!!

Watch this space

2011-06-01T23:09:00.001+02:00

I'll be back in Rabanal the first two weeks in October, so watch for further exploits!

The Final Word

2009-09-20T12:39:00.003+02:00

I've been thinking over the last few days about the experience of being a hospitalero. You're really in a strange world, a bit cut off from things, even though you're seeing hundreds of people pass by.
I think the ideal hospitalero is someone who has the interests of the pilgrims as first priority. That doesn't mean that they are prepared to give way to every request, but to be a reasonable, calm presence.
When pilgrims arrive, they are usually hot and tired, and often anxious about whether there's a bed for them, what the refuge is like and how they'll be treated.
What we all tried to do, all of us, was to give a real welcome to everybody, in their own language where possible. You can see them start to relax straight away, and become more open and friendly. After all, most people respond positiviely to a friendly approach.
Also, it's important to be present. That is, to be available and open to their needs. I have a favourite phrase: attention to detail. This means that you are awake and aware all the time of what's going on, even trying to anticipate needs when you can.
It's also most important to insist that the rules of the refuge are obeyed strictly and by everyone.Every pilgrim must feel that he or she is being treated fairly and equally. You can, of course, relax the rules on very special occasions (like an important football match) but this should be the exception.
I also think it's a good thing if the person who greets a pilgrim says goodbye the next day. This leaves a really good impression in their minds and helps them start off in reasonably good heart.
Most important of all: the ideal hospitalero will have done all, or a substantial part, of a camino. So, they really understand what it's all about; how pilgrims feel about their camino and their accommodation and so on. I don't think it's a good thing to ask people about their reasons for walking and so on, but you should be ready to listen to what they may have to say, with sympathy and understanding. If you've been a pilgrim you can do this well.

It's not easy to be calm and friendly all the time, but you have to remember that this is the first time they've met you, and first impressions are very important. If you're not up to the meeting and greeting one day, then hand it over to someone else. Don't ever greet the pilgrims in a bad mood!

So, there we are. It's all done and dusted.

I wish next years hospitaleros the best of luck; they're going to need it! Next year (2010) is a Holy Year, that is, St James' day lands on a Sunday, and there will be loads more pilgrims. Glad I'm not doing it! You'll need the patience of a saint.

That's all, folks!

2009-09-17T22:45:00.009+02:00

Well, I've finally got away! I'm now in Ciudad Rodrigo after a long drive from Lugo.

The last couple of days were interesting. We went from 4 pilgrims on Monday to 14 on Tuesday to 24 on Wednesday. We think it's always busy on Wednesday because it's only 4 days to Santiago, so many people plan to arrive on Sunday.

Over the fortnight we had over 200 pilgrims from 19 nationalities. The majority (about 45%) were Spanish, then about 25% were German, then the rest.

One day, a couple of Spanish guys arrived. One had only one arm, the other was carrying a very small rucksack. I enquired as to why they ony had one tiny bag and they said they had a car carrying the rest. Of course, I said they couldn't stay, and they said: 'Even though we've walked?' The answer's still no! Meanwhile, the one-armed guy swanned into the refuge, having a look round. Some people are really rude.

Anyway, a few minutes later up pulls this car with two burly blokes in it; it was their support car. I expect they'd have wanted to stay as well. Having a car means they can go where they like, so off they went. I later heard that they'd been staying in all the refuges along the way. There's no way people with a car should be taking up spaces for people who've got no choice.

I also had people ringing up saying they were organising a trip next year and could they reserve places? For goodness sake, it's not hard to buy a guide which will tell you that you can't reserve places in most refuges in Spain.

It was strange handing over. Colin arrived on Tuesday, which was OK because Tony was leaving on Wednesday. Then Maureen came on Wednesday, so the handover was quite protracted. One thing was that the money was 50 euros down. I think I misplaced a 50 euro note in the midst of selling T-shirts and caps. It's very annoying, but can't be helped.
The other thing is watching the new hospitaleros take over and do things in a totally different way, and thinking: 'I wouldn't do it like that.' But then, you have to give it up, don't you?

The last night, some Spanish guys arrived while we happened to be out on a stroll. One of them had a shower while we were out! This is really bad. The Spanish seem to think they have a right to enter any refugio at will!

Anyway, Jose Manuel took us to Friól, then I got the 10 o'clock bus to Lugo, walked to the car-hire place then to the car park where the car actually was. I had booked a small car, but they gave me a Citroen C4, which is brilliant!
I drove to Rabanal and had lunch at Antonio's. The drive is just spectacular. I was going to intoduce myself to the new hospitaleros, but they were booking in loads of people, so I gave it a miss.
There were loads of pilgrims on the camino from Astorga to Rabanal, so the numbers are obviously not dropping yet.
The road from Benavente, near León, goes south to Zamora and Salamanca along the Ruta de la Plata. This is another camino, which I would hate to do because it follows the road and it's not nice. Further south in Extremadura it's said to be beautiful, but the stretch from Salamanca to Astorga must be dreadful.

It's great to be back in Ciudad Rodrigo, where I can relax in a place that fits me like a glove.

In a couple of days I'll do a resumé of my thoughts on being a hospitalero in two very different places, when I've had a chance to sort myself out.

Dying for a ciggie

2009-09-14T12:15:00.002+02:00

We had a great night last night; it just seemed to gel, somehow and the atmosphere was the best we've had here. There was a real mix of nationalities: French, German, British, Spanish, Czech, Dutch. And we were full, so we had to use the overflow in the Social Centre. Just 4 Czech girls, who left the place spotless.
One amusing incident was this German guy was desperate for some cigarettes, and they don't sell them in the bar in Miraz. We lent him one of the bikes and he set off, supposedly 2 km down the road to Seixón, where there's another bar, and if they didn't have any, it's only 4 km to Parga where they definitely sell them.
Anyway, he was away ages, and we wondered what had happened. When he got back, it transpired that he'd not just gone down the road, like anyone sensible; he'd tried to retrace the camino and got lost, so goodness knows where he ended up! He had his ciggies, anyway, so I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.
One complaint we had was that there was a 'creepy-crawly' in the dorm. This from a lady, originally from Mangalore (correct spelling!), now married to a German. She's an A&E doctor, so you would have thought that given here history and present background a spider 3 inches long wouldn't worry her. I got shut of it with a broom and shovel.

A Dutch guy taught me a phrase: Neuken in de Keuken, which is apparently VERY rude in Dutch. Anyone help?

Well, it's nearly the end now. The first replacement hospitalero is arriving tomorrow, and the next on Wednesday. The other Tony is leaving on Wednesday, then me on Thursday.

I hope to be in contact from Ciudad Rodrigo, if not before I leave.

Hasta luego

Murder on the Camino del Norte

2009-09-11T11:42:00.003+02:00

Well, not quite murder, but nearly.
The other day, we were FULL. We had every space in the refugio filled (legally 16 beds and 5 mattresses in the library). Then we had 8 people on the floor in the village social centre. There's a maximum of 11 there.
I was in the bar about 10:15 checking to see if there were any pilgrims who might get locked out at 10:30 when I heard a conversation between these Spanish guys and Pilar, the bar owner. They were looking for beds. At 10:15 As the Spanish say, it's tomando el pelo (taking the p...). I said we wer full. They said would they have to sleep in the street. I said, we're full. then I went.
A few minutes later, I went over to the social centre to check everything was OK, and there were these 5 Spanish guys. I went off the deep end, and we had a stand-up row. One of them was tapping me on the chest and I kept saying (Pat'll like this): '¡No me toques!' Anyway, I calmed down a bit and we parted reasonably amicably. It wasn't till I got back to the refugio that Tony told me that Pilar had been to the Social Centre, so she must have told them to go there.
Now that's OK, but there were now 13 pilgrims in a place which legally holds 11. What would happen if there'd been a fire or something? Who's responsible?
We're obviously now not in the mood to use the Centre, but we'll see.

Then again, there are some good things
We had a pilgrim last night, from Portugal, or Brazil, I forget, whose name was Vasco da Gama! Can you believe it? He really played up to it as well. Mind you, he was first for breakfast, ate and drank tons, and left just before 8 am. Just like his plundering forebear.
We had 6 Spanish kids yesterday, and 2 German girls. They were fantastic! I congratulated them on being the best group of young people we'd had so far. They were cheerful, polite, helpful, tidy and everything. They didn't argue about being out by 8 am (not like some people). So, it just shows you, there's still hope.

In contrast, we had a Spanish girl who reckoned to have walked from Le Puy en Velay, which is a hell of a long way. She fancied herself as Queen of the Camino, and tried to take over the refuge. When she found it didn't wash, she turne on the charm: 'Oh, I'll wash up for you. Oh, it's such a lovely refuge.' Blah, blah.
Then she wanted to stay out after 10:30. Could they sit in the garden, could they sit outside. What part of 'NO, we close at 10:30' don't you understand? Anyway, she wasn't so pleasant when she realised it wasn't working with either of us. I could spot her type a mile away - I've known too many of them to be taken in any more.

How about this! I rang a plumber yesterday about a problem with the gas. I called at 4 pm and he turned up at 9 am today. We were flabbergasted, to say the least.

All the people round here are great: friendly, helpful and charming. ¡Viva Galicia!

Eeeuuu! What's that?

2009-09-11T11:30:00.002+02:00

One of the less delightful parts of being a hospitalero is the cleaning.
What's the most disgusting thing? For me, it's cleaning hairs off everything! I don'e mind cleaning the toilets etc, but hairs in the washbasins - yeeuch!!
Even worse, the other day, my fellow hospitalero, Tony, decided to clear away all the dead flies and replace the flypapers. For the young amongst you, a flypaper is a long strip of sticky paper, which attracts flies to land on it, they stick and are killed with an impregnated poison. As you can imagine, it's a pretty ugly sight, long strips of paper with dead flies adhering. He was a hero to do it, because it's a nasty job.
It's surprising sometimes how dirty the place has been left. We have a shower for pilgrims, which had a rather trendy coffee-coloured base. One day I took a fit and cleaned it with Cif (used to be Jif). To my surprise and horror, it turned out to be white! When was the last time that was cleaned? If I were a pilgrim, I wouldn't have wanted to be in that shower in my bare feet, I can tell you.
Another tell-tale is dust balls under the beds. After all, it's no big deal to sweep under a bed on a tiled floor, is it? And dust piles behind doors that are usually open. And, and, and...
The easiest way to keep flies to a minimum (you can't get rid of them) is to keep the bloody place clean! It's not exactly Quantum Physics, is it?
So, every day we:

sweep every floor
empty all the wastepaper bins
fold all the blankets
check all sheets for cleanliness and change any that are dirty
change some sheets on a regular basis
clean the showers, toilets, kitchen thoroughly
put new toilet paper in the toilets
mop the floors throughout the whole refugio with bleach and tile cleaner

Then, if we've any time, we have a rest, some lunch and then open up again.

What fun!

The Halt and the Lame

2009-09-07T11:00:00.002+02:00

The weather here is different. The last few nights have been clear, with the full moon very bright. We're up at 6 to do breakfast, and it's dark then, but the eastern sky is just starting to go pale. It's also very cold. Just as the sun starts to come up, we get a mist which comes in from the east, from the little river nearby, I expect, then after 10 minutes or so, it clears and we have a fabulously sunny day. At least so far!
The pilgrims are different, too. They are much more like real pilgrims, it's a serious business for them, by and large. The only thing is, I've never seen so many injuries: blisters galore, tendonitis, cramp in the leg, even shin splints. Why are there so many injuries?
There seem to be many reasons: many, if not most, of the pilgrims are young, and I don't think they've done much walking before, and since the distances on this camino are quite long, they overstretch themselves and suffer the consequences; the vast majority of the pilgrims, especially the young ones, are wearing trainers! Trainers!! They have to be mad. I expect the sales of Compeed (special plasters for blisters and a must-have) are huge on this route.
Last evening, the phone rang and it was a girl speaking Spanish. In fact, I thought she was Spanish. She was asking if we had room for 8 people. I said there would be room on mattresses in the Village Social Centre. That was fine, and some time later they all arrived, just as we were having our dinner. (Sod's Law applies here, too). Anyway, it turned out that they were Belgian, and the girl calling had spent a year in Costa Rica. Her Spanish was flawless, drat her! I was quite jealous.
Very late, 2 cyclists arrived. They appeared to be so tired they could hardly speak. Since it was so late, I let them use the tumble-drier, since if they hung stuff out it would get saturated by the dew. I also let them cook in the kitchen, even though it's supposed to close at 9:30.
What thanks did I get? None, of course. They were'nt too tired to speak, they just didn't speak at all. They never managed to crack a smile and disappeared without saying goodbye.
There's something about bicycle pilgrims: they seem to be doing huge distances and not enjoying the experience at all. Why bother? The exception was the lovely Spanish couple who I met at Rabanal. They were taking it easy and enjoying the experience. Most of the other bicigrinos seem to want to get it over with.
We've discovered the Galician white wines again! The bar in the village sells a lovely Ribeiro white for 5 euro. That's dear for Spain, but it's a beling little wine, very refreshing. You can keep your cabernet sauvignon, matey, it's Galician white every time for me.
We've got a small problem with our gas supply, very similar to the one we had in Rabanal. this time, it's the valve in the tube from one of the cylinders that's not working, so we're on one cylinder at a time. That's OK, but it means the pressure varies a bit too much when the gas is getting low. I've rung the plumber several times, but just get a message from Orange saying call later. Plumbers, eh!

It's really quiet here

2009-09-05T10:43:00.002+02:00

Well, I arrived at Miraz after a short bus trip from Lugo to Friol, where I found José Manuel waiting in his taxi. It's only 15 minutes then to this tiny village. The refugio is in a fairly modern bungalow, refurbished by the Confraternity, and 20 metres from the bar! The refugio has 2 dormitories: one with 4 bunks and one with 12. We can also accommodate 5 people on the floor of the dining room/library and then another 11 in the village hall, which is beautifully appointed.
So far, we've had no more than 16 pilgrims at a time. The numbers are falling off along the Camino del Norte as they did at Rabanal.
Most of the pilgrims have been great, except for one Spanish idiot who was with his sister and girlfriend. He rang to try to resereve 3 beds, and was told what to do about it. They had walked from Vilalba, which is a long way, and the girls had done very little walking before, so his sister was crying withe the pain in her legs. We offered him Ibuprofen, which he refused as it was out of date, so he got paracetomol, which he gracefully accepted. In the morning he came complaining that the shower wasn't working, so I went and turned the taps for hime. He'd been pushing instead of turning and couldn't work it out for himself! They had cooked in the kitchen after it was closed, and had to be almost thrown out at 8:30, though we close at 8.

It's lovely country round here, very similar to the Dordogne, apart from the eucalyptus trees. There are lots of lovely walks, too. Today, the other Tony and I walked into Parga (where there is free Internet access, hence this blog). It's a tiny town with just a few shops, but this bar with 6 computers attached to the net. And FREE!

Yesterday we went by taxi with José Manuel to Friol to shop. We'd allowed nearly 2 hours, but you can see the town in 15 minutes. We shopped at the Dia% supermarket, and then José picked us up with all the stuff and back we went. Very efficient.

Ok, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll get back to Parga in the next couple of days.

Hasta luego.

Lugo

2009-09-01T22:17:00.002+02:00

It's a nice town inside the walls. There are lots of little streets (called ruas) and plenty of bars. There don't seem to be many restaurants as such, at least not in this part of town, but all the bars do raciones and so you can eat quite well.
Outside the walls, it's a normal, big, Spanish city, with heavy traffic.
I walked up the Avenida de Coruña to find the place where I'm picking up my car in two weeks. It's a bit of a way out, and I missed it at first because the street signs are nearly always hidden by trees or scaffolding; that's when there IS a sign!
Anyway, I'm pleased I came here, because it's a pleasant surprise.
Tomorrow I'm off to Friol, then by taxi to Miraz.

It may be some time before the next post to this blog, so please be patient.

Hasta entonces

Goodbye to Rabanal

2009-09-01T17:05:00.002+02:00

I was up this morning quite late, at 7:30. Since I didn't know any of the pilgrims, it didn't seem worth it to be up earlier to see them go.
One of the incomers had said she'd bank the money today, and this morning asked if she should bank 'your money'. I said she could do what she liked, since it wasn't my money any more, and she took a huff about that, and made a point of not saying goodbye to me. Well, that's just tough, see if I care!
When you take over, it's your place and you make the decisions, so it's a bit heavy to try to dump on the outgoing hospitaleros. We didn't.
Off to Astorga at 9:30 then on the bus at 11:00, 10 minutes late (it is Spain, after all). The trip from Astorga to Lugo is just spectacular; the motorway runs over many bridges and viaducts through the most amazing valleys.
It actually runs alongside the camino from Villafranca to Tribadelo, so it was great to see that again, quite nostalgic.
Lugo is a nice city, another one founded by Augustus (like Astorga). Inside the walls it's really interesting, so I'm looking forward to exploring a bit more when I've had a rest.

The Last Day

2009-09-01T16:54:00.003+02:00

Last night was strange, because I had not welcomed the pilgrims, so I felt a bit out of it. I did the money: paid at Gaspar's and Antonio's for all our meals, then agreed the cash at handover with Trevor and Gilberte. After that, I was free!
Just as we were setting off for dinner at Gaspar's, Angelina, from across the road, invited the outgoing hospitaleros for coffee. Of course it was more than that: biscuits, cake and orujo, the home-made aguardiente that's delicious, but very strong.
We chatted about this and that, and obviously got onto the subject of the relationship between the village and the monks. She is very pro-monk, and is devastated by the trouble. Anyway, she also insisted on showing us this DVD of a fiesta in the village that she'd organised to celebrate the local guardia civil captain who apparently saved her husband when he was lost in the snow some years ago. We thought we'd never get away. She's a lovely lady and very hospitable, so it was quite tricky to get away without offending her. I think we managed it. She thanked us profusely for the work we do, 'out of charity', for the pilgrims. A lovely thought.
At Gaspar's, finally, Peter and I decided to buy a bottle of decent wine. It was a Ribera del Duero, called 'Prado Rey', and it was excellent. I think you can get it in good supermarkets, so give it a try, it's gorgeous. (Idon't get any commission for this, more's the pity!)
Then it was over to Antonio's to say goodbye, and finally to El Pilar to say goodbye to Isabel. They all seemed sad to see us go, but I doubt it really.
And so to bed...

Damn Yankees!

2009-08-31T17:18:00.003+02:00

Yesterday, two Yanks signed in (that's American citizens for the young among you). They were cousins, and from Atlanta, Georgia. One was an Episcopalian priest. The other was a rude and unpleasant man, but, hey, you get all sorts on the camino.
At 10:50, 20 minutes after closing time, Gillian, one of the new hospitaleras, sleeping in the room next to me, knocked on my door and said that someone had pushed her window (ground floor) open and demanded to be let in. She didn't recognise these guys, so I went to the door and opened it, and lo and behold, it was these two Yanks. I pointed out that we close at 10:30 (they read the rules on entry, so it's no surprise). the priest said something like: 'Oh, we deidn't realise how late it was.' The other just abrged in. To his back I said: 'You nearly frightened Gillian to death!' His reply was: 'She'll get over it!' I said: 'She may well do, but it's extremely impolite.' I received no reply.
They didn't show up for breakfast, which is just as well, since Peter had heard about this and was spitting tacks.
It's a great pity that things like this happen, because the same night we had a guy from Seattle who was as charming and well-mannered as can be. This is actually our experience of the vast majority of US citizens: charming, well-mannered and considerate. All it needs is one pillock to spoil your day.
The consolation we have is that they will complete the walk, but the camino will have passed them by.

I went into Astorga this morning to deposit some money. On the way I dropped Anne and Gillian off at Castrillo de los Polvazares, which is a beautiful, restored Maragata village. (The Maragata is the ancient region we are in). I said I'd be back in an hour, since it's only 10 minutes to Astorga from there. I got to the bank and stood for nearly 15 minutes in the queue, which never moved, so I gave up and walked out. Remember how I said that the electronic system would be slow? Well ....
Then I went to look for a shop which sold large coffee filters. The address in the Hospitalero's handbook is now a building site, so I asked in a few shops, to no avail. I had to give up and go to get Anne and Gillian. That was rather a wasted journey!
Not wholly, because Anne remembered a huge old oak tree near Rabanal, so we stopped and had a look before we got back. It's a lovely clearing with a huge old oak in the centre, and with seats for pilgrims to shelter. That was lovely.
Well, this is my last post from Rabanal. Tomorrow I'm off to Astorga for the bus to Lugo. After a luxurious night in Lugo I go to Miraz, arriving sometime on Wednesday.

Watch this space.

Hasta luego.

It's not all sweetness and light

2009-08-30T12:08:00.002+02:00

Well, I've got my ticket to Lugo for Tuesday and a hotel booked there for Tuesday night. I got a 100 euro room for 50 euro. Must be because there won't be any businessmen there so early in September, since they're all going back to work tomorrow.
We've got couple staying over, because the lad is ill. It's the Argentinian lady and her Catalan partner. He is too ill to continue, so I said he should stay at least until this afternoon. We'll see how it works out later.

This morning I went for a walk along the camino to try to calm myself down. Yesterday at lunch one of the other hospitaleros was so rude I just walked out and didn't come back until well after 3. It's the first time I haven't been there to greet the pilgrims, but my head was completely wrong for that, and it would have been unfair to greet them in a bad mood. I'm still feeling pretty annoyed, and I don't like it; it takes a lot to upset me so badly, but this person succeeded. Anyway, I expect I'll live.

We've now got 2 hospitaleros extra, ready for the takeover. They are both really nice. We're expecting the third sometime today.

I guess that now I've got my ticket and hotel booked, I'm in demob mood, ready to move on. I've still got today and Monday, so let's make the most of it.

Ciaou!

Where have all the pilgrims gone?

2009-08-29T13:34:00.004+02:00

Last night we had 10 pilgrims. That's the fewest I've ever known and it was a bit strange. They were all nice people and we had a good time with them, but so few is a new experience. There was a lovely girl from Brazil, living in Dublin and our first Estonian lass.
Very late, after 10 o'clock, an Austrian cyclist came in after pretty well everyone else was in bed. He was a bit odd, and sat outside eating his supper, and managed to get himself to bed by 11, after I'd told him off for smoking. He was all right about that. I saw him getting ready in the morning, but he's the first pilgrim ever to go without saying goodbye.
Since we're getting two of the new hospitaleros tonight, TWO DAYS EARLY, Peter thought it would be an opportunity to leave early to visit his grandchildren in Lisboa, and since I wanted to book my bus ticket to Lugo, we went in to Astorga this morning to see if we could change his ticket to today, or even tomorrow. The guy at the Alsa (bus company) counter tried his best but couldn't do it, so Peter's staying until Tuesday, as am I. The problem will be that Terry and Anne have suddenly decided to leave a day early and so Peter and I won't have a lift to Astorga. This could be a problem...

After my blog yesterday complaining about the weather I thought that someone up there was reading it because it was cool and cloudy this morning. That didn't last long, however, and it's back to boring old blue skies and hot sun. Just like Colorado, I'm informed. thank God I don't live there!

That's it for today, unless anything crops up. I'm going to spend some time looking for a hotel in Lugo now, so I can spend a night on my own before heading to Miraz.

Blue Bore

2009-08-28T17:10:00.002+02:00

I never thought I'd say this: I'm bored with this weather. It's blue sky every day, bright sun, hot, EVERY DAY. When's it going to change?
I'm starting to look forward to moving on to Miraz. A couple of the new hospitaleros are coming tomorrow, which is two days early. So I'm getting into moving-on mode.
Today I thought I'd try my second trial balance of the money. It's a disaster; every time I count it up, it's different. At least we seem to have more cash than I calculate we should, so that's better than the other way round. I think...
As I write this we have only 8 pilgrims. That's one Spaniard, one Estonian, one Brazilian (who lives in Dublin) and the rest German. It's easily the quietest day so far. There's still time for people who've been sheltering from the hot sun (yawn!) to get here.
The Spanish guy asked me straight off if I'd let him stay out after 10:30, because Barça are playing tonight. Of course, I said yes. After all, you have to get your priorities right.

Today we went to El Pilar at the invitation of Isabel, the owner. It was lovely; we had tortilla (very good) and emapanada de atún (tuna pastries) and salad, also with tuna. Unfortunately, being violently allergic to tuna I had to just have the tortilla, but it was great. She's a really nice person, Isabel, and her staff are very friendly. I seem to be getting on much more with the villagers this time. I suppose it's because I speak Spanish and when I get started I never stop!

Tomorrow I'm going to Astorga to book my ticket to Lugo - I'd do it on this computer, but there's no printer. Peter wants to try to change his ticket to Santiago, because, since the others are coming so early, it's a great opportunity for hime to leave early. He's going via Santiago to Lisbon to see his grandchildren. Lucky b...

How far did he say?

2009-08-27T19:02:00.004+02:00

Ok, ok, so I missed a day. I do have other things to do besides blogging, you know!
This morning I went to Astorga, just to do a bit of business; I went to the Post Office to buy some more stamps and then to the bank to get some paying-in slips. Apparently they don't use them any more! Also I needed some of these stupid plastic tubes that you put coins in to deposit in the bank, and it appears they don't use them any more, either! Everything is electronic, but it still takes ages to do anything. After all, this is Spain!
The gas went out on the hot-water boiler, so the pilgrims had cold showers for a while. It looks like one of the valves on the gas bottles is shot, so we're only getting gas from one of them. I rang the plumber, but got an answering machine, as usual. Maybe he'll come .....
It's another great group of pilgrims today. We are really lucky to meet such a wonderful cross-section of people from everywhere. After all, as Peter says: 'Every pilgrim gives us pleasure. Some when they arrive, some when they leave!'
There's a French guy in the place tonight. His name is Olivier Pieczonka and he is doing one hell of a pilgimage.
He lives in Nice, but started from le Puy en Velay (where the lentils come from) and is walking to Santiago. From there he goes to Fatima in Portugal, then via Lourdes in the French Pyrenees to Rome, Athens, Rzewow (wow!) in Poland where his family comes from, and then back somehow to Santiago. A total of 20,000 km. That's right, twenty-thousand!! He's taking 2 years and has no money. He's trying for sponsors, since he's writing a book. This is a serious undertaking, I can tell you. Just to blow my own trumpet, he paid me a wonderful compliment. He said: 'You are a sympathetic listener, and it's only because of you that I decided to stay here.' That's a lovely thing to say, isn't it? I took his photo, and when I get a chance to upload some pics, I'll put it on the blog.

As I'm writing this at El Pilar, the hospitalera, Isabel, just invited us all over tomorrow for tortilla. That'll be great.

In the other bar, Antonio's place, one of the bar staff, Fidel, is a real laugh. He has a great sense of humour, but has a big fault: he's far too generous with the brandies. He just doesn't seem to know when to stop pouring. On second thoughts ....
Last night, Peter and I were at Gaspar's for dinner and we decided to forgo the house wine, which is just about drinkable, and indulge in a bottle of Protos, a Ribera del Duero wine. It's a super wine, very smooth and palatable and usually costs over 30GBP in England. Here, in a restaurant, it was 12.80 euro. That's cheaper than the house wine in the Robin Hood in Cragg Vale (which is pretty good, but not in the same league.)

Tending to pilgrims can seriously affect your vocabulary. Today I learned 'gasa' for 'lint' and 'tiritos' for sticking plasters. These are words that go together well.

There's another pilgrim tonight who's actually going the other way. He's staying away from Italy 'until Berlusconi dies'. That's dedication for you!

Well, now I've posted this, maybe Gloria will stop complaining.

Bedbugs and Broomsticks

2009-08-26T11:45:00.003+02:00

A lad from the Chech Republic arrived yesterday afternoon. He was covered in bedbug bites: all down his legs and over his back. He thought he got them in León. What a mess!
Well, being the sort of hospitaleros we are, we agreed to let him stay. Since Anne is a trained nurse, she took charge, with Peter's help. All of his clothes went in the washer at a high temperature and everything else was sprayed within an inch of its life.
Initially, we said he could sleep in the garden, but relented and let him sleep on the floor of the library. I gave his some antihistamine because it looked as if he was having an allergic reaction. That ensured he had a good night's sleep!
He was a really nice lad and extremely grateful; many places would have told him to go away, or, what's worse, let him stay and propagate the pest even further. Hopefully, he's all clear now.

Broomsticks, eh? Two girls and their mother, all from the Basque country, checked in. What a sour bunch they were! They could have turned milk, and broomsticks would have been appropriate. At least for the girls; the mother actually smiled once.

Peter and I were interviewed by an itinerant English reporter, so you never know, we may become famous. Or not.

We were full again last night, the first time for a week, so maybe a new wave of pilgrims is washing along the hot, dusty way.
The group really gelled this time, and there was a lot of good crack. There was a Spanish family from Cádiz with a boy of 13. He looked about 16 to me, and spoke excellent English, as did his parents. It turned out that he plays Rugby League for a club in Cádiz. That was a bit of a surprise - I didn't think that it was played in Spain.

Hurray! The gas man arrived this morning to my great relief. I was getting really worried that the gas would run out and it would be cold showers for the pilgrims. Luckily for us, our shower runs off butane, of which we have plenty, while the other showers run off propane.

As I write this, Peter and Terry are clearing out and rearranging the tool cupboard. It's like an Aladdin's cave in there!

Another lovely, sunny day in prospect. What a bore!

Market day

2009-08-25T16:54:00.002+02:00

Tuesday is market day in Astorga, so Peter and I drove there this morning to do some shopping. I wanted some stamps and to make sure that our gas order was coming.
We spent some time finding the gas place, only to find that the whole system had changed; REPSOL had closed the depot and the place we finally found was just a guy who sold gas - he makes no deliveries. He was quite voluble about the new system, saying that it just didn't work, and many people were complaining about it. Anyway, he can supply us if necessary, but we need to go personally. What a nuisance!
Astorga on market day is great. There's a great street market, selling fruit and vegetables and clothes and stuff. We bought some food for our dinner tonight, then went to the El Árbol Supermarket for stuff for the pilgrims. We spent some time looking for tea, which we assumed was next to the coffee. Unfortunately, the logic of Spanish Supermarkets escapes me, so we must have walked around the place five times.
The good thing was that there was a promotion on coffee, so we got bags of free cakes with every two bags of coffee. The pilgrims really enjoyed their English Tea (Tetley) and cakes and biscuits.
Terry was cheered up this morning, as was I, by the news that Liverpool lost 3-1 at home. It almost makes up for the dismal start that Everton have made.

We're eating in tonight, for a change, so that should be nice.

It's a funny thing

2009-08-25T16:46:00.002+02:00

A very strange thing happened yesterday (Monday 24th). Peter and Terry had been cleaning out the cupboards and 'hoying' out everything that had been there for years without being used. They came upon a little plaque saying 'To Jim, a friend of the Camino' and signed 'MS Ireland'. We didn't know what to do with it, so it just lay around on the table we use to check in the pilgrims.
A guy called Tomás from near Cork in Ireland arrived and saw the plaque. He asked if it was to do with an Irishman called Jim Blewitt who was very attached to the camino, and had recently died. Of course, we knew nothing about it.
Some time later, he showed us a little phot he'd got from the Internet showing a stained-glass plaque commemorating Jim Blewitt and giving his dates of birth and death. Would you believe it, but that very plaque is on the wall in my bedroom!
Tomás was gobsmacked as were we all. He actually had not intended to stay in our refugio, but for some reason changed his mind. And it was purely by chance that he saw the other plaque and started talking about it.
Is that weird, or what?
'It's a funny old world' (Margaret Thatcher)

Sackcloth and (the) Ashes

2009-08-24T15:16:00.002+02:00

A rather mixed weekend. The worst thing that happened was Everton losing 1 - 0 to Burnley in their first league match for over 30 years. Thanks a bunch to Gloria in Hebden Bridge for the unsympathetic text. Make the most of it, lass!
The best thing was England stuffing the Aussies and winning the Ashes. It's impossible to explain to the Spanish about the Ashes, but it certainly lifted my mood after the bad news.
It's been very quiet. All the refugios report the same, pilgrim numbers are down. Apparently this is usual at the end of August, and it makes our lives a lot easier, although we have to sit around a lot longer in case any more pilgrims turn up. They've been coming in dribs and drabs from about 1 o'clock to after 8.
Some of the cyclists are obviously not enjoying it. We had three stagger in the other day having done the best part of 140 km from Terradillos, the other side of León. It's a long way in the heat we've been having.
Then again, today is our first cloudy day. It's warm, but not hot, and we're only seeing the sun from time to time, and it's windy. It should be much more pleasant for walking today.
We're getting more Brits now: we had a nice guy from Dolgellau yesterday (originally from Manchester), and today we've got 4 so far. Two of them are from St Asaph, and are attached to the cathedral (the gentleman is the Dean).
Terry and Anne's friend Michael went today. They took him to Astorga for the bus this morning. He seemed to have a good time here and we enjoyed meeting him. He developed a taste for the local liqueur called orujo, which is powerful stuff.
It's market day in Astorga tomorrow, so I'm going to the Post Office for more stamps and to the Repsol gas depot to find out why they didn't send us any gas last week. Should be interesting

Time to take a breath

2009-08-22T11:07:00.003+02:00

It's been really quiet these last two days. We've only been half-full and the other refugios report the same or worse. Any way, it means we've got time to stand and stare a bit.
This morning I stood on the balcony overlooking the barn and the garden and watched the swallows and martins wheeling overhead against a deep blue sky. In the background, on the hills a few km away, the sails of the wind farm were standing completely still, as though Quijote's giants were sleeping in the morning sun. To the east I could see the flatter regions of León, which I walked across 4 years ago.
This village is one of the prettiest on the Camino. As you enter from the west, the main road goes left, leading to the main square and on to Ponferrada. To the left is the Calle Real, the Royal Road, which was the old road through the town and is now the Camino. This rises gently westwards, passing Angela's refugio and a small hostal. Further up, on the right, is the main church, then on the left is Meribel's shop, which sells most things, and dispenses cheer and friendship free. Then you reach the monastery church in a small square. We are to the left, next door to the monastery. On the right is Antonio's place, a small posada (hotel) and bar-restaurant, then further up the hill is a bigger hotel, Gaspar's, with a nice restaurant and bar. Then, just past the rubbish bins, you're out of the village and heading into the country.
The view from here is gorgeous, and gives just a hint of how beautiful the next day's walk is going to be. The other day, Peter told me to go and look at this view, early doors, and it was worth it. The hills were covered with low cloud and the sails of the wind farm were sticking out above them like some sort of kitchen implement. It was stunningly beautiful.
From here, on a clear day, you can see the Montes de León which form a formidable barrier between Castilla y León and Galicia; we are just in the foothills. It just gets better and better from here on.
The village has only about 40 inhabitants at the most, and they are all extremely friendly. That is, they respond very well to conversation, but like most country people here and everywhere in the world, they're not forthcoming themselves. The only thing is, once the conversation starts, it's often hard to break away, but I'm getting better at it by observing how they do it. It's a valuable skill in Spain.
Last night, just before I went to bed, I sat out in the garden under the stars. And what stars! We in England are forgetting what a starry night looks like. The constellations here are much easier to make out, and the Milky Way is a fascinating sight. At first, you'd think it was a strip of cloud, stretching from horizon to horizon from north to south directly above your head. But then you realise it's behind the clouds! Last night was the brightest I've ever seen the Milky Way, even brighter than it was in Argentina 3 years ago, and that was a sight, I can tell you!
We had another Mass in the refugio last night. A young Italian priest was looking for somewhere to celebrate his Mass, so I offered him our room, so long as the pilgrims could attend. It all went very nicely, although I avoid Mass like the plague, and he came back later on for a chat and thanked us politely. Just shows you that they're not all arrogant.
Just one thing, which I missed, unfortunately. A German woman, probably in her thirties, came in and after sighing in, just stripped off her walking shorts down to her lime-green knickers and then put on a pair of boxer shorts. I believe Terry's eyes were like chapel hat-pegs. I know his daughter is following this blog, at home with a bad leg, so I'm sorry to be the bearer of such shocking news about her Dad, but the truth will out, won't it?
This lady (!) was probably the mouthiest yet. She's been everywhere and done everything on the Camino, and knew it all. But really knew nothing. Funny how some people forget that the object of the exercise isn't ticking off the refuges and cities, but learning something about yourself and the world. I think that, sadly for her, she'll never achieve that. Poor girl.

'The finger points at the moon, but you should never mistake the finger for the moon.' (Zen Buddhist saying)

It's too quiet ...

2009-08-21T18:08:00.003+02:00

Yesterday Rabanal was like a ghost town. When we opened, we got 7 people in, then 3 and then none for another THREE hours! We ended up with 18. This is the fewest I've ever known at this refuge. It's really quiet today, too.
The weather was odd; it was bright and sunny, with a very strong, cold wind. Sheltered from the wind it was hot, but in the wind it was quite cold.

It looks like we are taking over as the village church. Last night a German priest came and asked if he could celebrate Mass in the refuge, so we let him do it in the common room. Many pilgrims went to Mass, and that was great. The only thing was that when he left he never said 'Thanks' and I thought that was rude.
Today, an Italian man came asking about the church, and it turned out he's an Italian priest walking the camino, and needed somewhere to celebrate Mass. So, we offered him the use of the common room, and Mass is at 7 tonight, if you're interested.

Breakfast today was very relaxed, since there were so few in, and most of them didn't appear until 6:45, so it was a nice easy start to the day.

Peter and I set off in the car to Molinaseca, about 25 km further on the camino. On the way, at the Cruz de Ferro, the highest point on the camino, we stopped and had a look around, for old times' sake. There we met again two of the nicest pilgrims we've had, a Spanish couple from Madrid, who were just delightful. They were biking it, and taking their time, which is very wise.

Yesterday I got a phone call from Telefonica on our public phone, offering discounted calls if we paid something or other. I managed to convince them that there was no-one able to deal with this, and they rang off, rather irritated, but who cares? You can't escape telesales wherever you go ....

It really can get better

2009-08-20T11:35:00.003+02:00

Best news of the week - Man U 0, Burnley 1! Bloody Hell, It really can get better!
Anyway, apart from that, Terry and Anne's friend, Michael, arrived the other day, so the Geordies are here in force. Not that they have things their own way, of course, since I'm a real scouser and Peter's wants to be one, so the crack is pretty sharp. It's great!
They're off in the car to Molinaseca today, about 35 km further on, over the hill. You actually reach the highest point on the whole camino a few miles from here, at the Cruz de Ferro, where everyone casts a stone they've carried all the way from home onto a HUGE pile surrounding the cross. When I did it in 2005, I threw one of the clam shells that my niece, Helen, gave me as a pilgrim badge, onto the top of the heap.
The Geordies will probably pass all of our pilgrims on the way, and it's really nice to see them in another place, when they've managed what is quite a hard walk today, although very beautiful.
Molinaseca is worth the walk; it's a pretty little town, on a river, surrounded by mountains. The refuge is nice (but not as good as ours, of course.)
It's a lovely day, but there's a strong, rather cold westerly wind, which will keep them cool, but make it a bit harder. Can't have everything, I suppose.

The Italians are coming!

2009-08-20T11:25:00.003+02:00

We've had a great few days. We were full to bursting the first few nights, but it's quietened down a bit just now. At least, we're not getting a big rush of people; they're coming in dribs and drabs.
Yesterday was like that.
We opened at 2 as usual, and had a rush of 7 people. Then no-one until an hour later! from then on, it was continuous, but only a few at a time.
At one point, there were 4 Italians checking in, and they asked if there would be room for the rest of their group, 11 in total. Now, since we're not meant to take in large groups, I was about to send them away when they said they were just friends who'd met along the way! So, I apologised for the mistake and the guy said it was his poor English, so that was fine.
In the end, we were three-quarters full and 60% were Italians, mostly young people.
These kids are a credit to their country. For the most part they were polite, cheerful and very generous. I sat with some of them at the dinner table and was plied with wine and great conversation. They were great!
We also had an Aussie, a Japanese girl who seemed to be joined at the hip with one of the Italian lads, and a Spanish guy who was on his 5th camino and reckoned he always stayed here. He was unusual, because he was doing the Ruta de la Plata, which starts at Sevilla. He'd actually started at Zamora, futher north.
Italy must be empty of young people, because they're all here!

And then again ...

2009-08-20T11:14:00.004+02:00

Then on the same day, there arrived this little French woman, hot, sweaty and tired. She came in and plonked herself down and I went to talk to her. She waved me away, rather brusquely I thought, but then she was tired, so what the hell? Two of us helped her off with her rucksack, which weighed nearly as much as she did, and had really poor straps so her shoulders were very sore. No thanks was forthcoming. Anyway, off she went to the dormitory, with Terry to show her everything; she demanded a bottom bunk, near the bathroom and near a Frenchman, all of which she got. Then she changed her mind and took a top bunk, without telling Terry who was trying to keep track of which beds were available.
All evening I never saw her smile.
Next morning at breakfast she dragooned Anne into translating a note into English. It appears she had lost something a LONG way back and was asking along the way for anyone who had found it to post it to Santiago for her. At least she left a mobile number. I tried making suggestions as to the translation, but she just waved me away very rudely, so being the kind and even-tempered guy I am, I walked out of the kitchen before I said something I'd regret. What she ended up with was a French note translated poorly into English because she wouldn't listen to either of us.
She left without a thank-you or a smile.

Peter says: 'All pilgrims give you pleasure; some when they arrive, some when they leave.' Guess which this was .....

Just when you thought it could't get better!

2009-08-19T10:28:00.003+02:00

Tuesday was an extraordinary day. It was very hot, and pilgrims were arriving very tired.
A Dutch couple arrived (you know who you are) very happy and elated. She had been to Rabanal 9 years ago and had had a real spiritual experience in the church then, so much so that now she's a deacon of a Gnostic church. Anyway, when she found out that the church was closed, she wept.
What a disappointment for her, after all these years! She had actually brought a beautiful white rose to place on the altar, and couldn't do it. We were all dreadfully sorry for her, but could only offer our sympathy and as much help as she needed.
Later in the afternoon, I helped her translate a little note into Spanish, which she then attached to the stem of the rose and threw it through the railings so that it landed right in front of the church door. The message asked the priest, whenever he comes back, to put the rose on the altar for her.
She seemed a lot happier after that.
A while later, a party arrived, not to book in, but to ask if they could celebrate Mass somewhere. There was a young Italian priest with them. We said they could use the garden, and when the Dutch lass heard about it, it was like a miracle. She was absolutely delighted! What a turn round.
I had said to her earlier that even though she hadn't managed to do what she wanted, the action would be noted somewhere and lo and behold! a small miracle happened.
She left this morning looking like the happiest person in the world.

That sort of thing is what this volunteering is all about. It made my day.

It's like I've never been away

2009-08-18T10:21:00.005+02:00

It's been really busy. And HOT. But who's complaining?

The monks at the monastery next door have been having some sort of problem with the villagers, or at least a section of the villagers. I've not yet been able to find out what's been going on, but on Sunday there was a demonstration against them, mostly young people shouting 'Monks out!' Everyone I ask has a different tale, so maybe by the time we leave I'll have got to the bottom of it.
Someone actually superglued the lock of the monastery and they had the Guardia Civil round, and a locksmith. Great stuff!
I also met a lady who lives opposite whose husband runs a taxi. I think he's retired from driving in Madrid, so he's setting up here. We actually had two lads who needed a taxi today, because their feet were really bad, so now we've a new friend, Angelina, in the village.
Over the weekend there's been a festival for the Assumption. Sunday night, there were fireworks and a loud disco in the main square. I wouldn't have minded being kept awake if the music had bee any good, but it was deadful. So, earplugs to the rescue!

So far, the pilgrims have been great. Lots of Spanish this year, but we've had them from Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Poland as well as France, Holland and Northern Ireland.
We open the refuge at 2pm, which is quite late in this hot weather, but we feel that the other refuges need the money more than we do, and they open quite early. That means we get either the people who really want to be here, or latecomers. Whatever, we've been full to bursting every night so far.
We've been told of a 'wave' of pilgrims, about 2000, who all started over the weekend before last from St Jean in France, so we're expecting huge numbers comming through later this week. That should be good.
This morning, we had a lovely surprise. As a group of very nice French people from Orange were leaving, they sang to us in 4-part harmony and in medieval Latin. It was absolutely gorgeous and brought tears to our eyes. What a lovely parting gift that was.
Terry and Anne have a friend of theirs arriving today, so the Geordie Mafia will be in strength.
I'm not feeling too well this morning, so I hope I haven't got the flu...

Daft question of the day: 'Have you a swimming pool?'

We're here

2009-08-17T11:45:00.004+02:00

Saturday 15th August.
I arrived at Terry and Anne´s place last night, with only a little problem on the Metro - the train had been held 'awaiting police'. Anyway we were up at 4:30 am (!) and out on the first train to the airport at 5:30.
Newcastle Airport is really nice, much nicer than Liverpool. Everything went well and we arrived at Stansted on time. That's not such a nice place. Anyway, we left a few minutes late.
On the plane, I asked the cabin staff to page Peter, our fellow hospitalero, and we had a long chat, me blocking the aisle.
Asturias Aiport is tiny, so we were out through baggage etc pretty quick. Then it was picking up the car. This took AGES!! It was the slowest I've ever experienced; it must have taken half an hour. The car was nice, a Mercedes 160. I drove down the motorway to León and then to Astorga. The heavens opened! Rain like you´ve never seen.
So, we arrived at Rabanal and dashed from the car into the refuge. We were greeted by David, Cathie and Pat, and the handover went pretty well.

Terry, Anne and Peter

We ate at Antonio's place, and they remembered us all (well, they said they did) and we had a nice meal, drank far too much and went to bed.
There was a fiesta in the village for the Assumption, of which much more later.
It's great to be back, nothing's changed at all.
OK, my euro's almost out, so more later.
Hasta luego, y buen camino.

Before we go

2009-08-11T17:18:00.005+02:00

I'm Tony Green, ex-scouser, now of Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire. I walked the French Route of the Camino de Santiago from St Jean Pied de Porte in France to Santiago from 1 April to 7 May 2005, a distance of just on 500 miles. It was one of the best times of my life. I decided in 2007 to become a volunteer warden in the Refugio Gaucelmo (pictured) in Rabanal del Camino, León, Spain, partly owned and administered by the Confraternity of St James.
I was there for two weeks, and had a great time, meeting the people of the village and pilgrims from literally all over the world.
After two years, the urge came on me to do this again, so I'm going back there on 15th August for two weeks, and to my great happiness, I shall be with the other two hospitaleros who were there with me.
Not only that, but I'm going straight from there to another refugio, this time on the Northern route, in a tiny place called Miraz, near Friol, again for two weeks.
This blog is going to be about the things that happen, the people I meet, and the places I get to.
Hope you enjoy it.