I Met My Family

On the Camino. I was told that you will meet the same people in albergues every night and have meals with them, and stop in the same bars for breakfast with them - that they would become your Camino family.   I met my Camino family in Mos.

My first night in an albergue with other walkers was awful.  A German smoker and I talked while I tried to hurry my laundry drying.  He was doing 40-50 km a day and only had three more days to finish the walk.  We were the only ones without a family, he because of the distance he was walking, me because I had been along the coast.

The next day I stumbled into Mos and Jasmine gave me some food, Cate worried about my feet, the Spanish guys rearranged the laundry rack so I had space for my clothes.  My feet were again discussed at lunch the next day (they really are doing better, actually, than I had expected).  After lunch was the roughest climb of the walk, steep with boulders and sun.  When I made it to the top I immediately flopped down and pulled out my water, the Spanish guy went into the woods and Cate watched the trail.  Chala made it and was given water.  Cate headed back down the trail to find the second Spaniard (although I understand that he is actually Castillian).

Last.night I was like this outside the albergue-

When I heard, "I knew I recognized those feet!"  Jasmine, who had booked a hotel for the night, had come to find company for lunch.

Tonight we are all staying different places - Jasmine at the albergue in Padron, Chala and Cate at the albergue in Teo, and me at the albergue in Herbon - but tomorrow night we will meet in front of the cathedral and go out for dinner to celebrate.

This morning I heard distinctly American accents and met my first Americans, Erica and Aaron, who live on the outskirts of Ballard.

As soon as the route crosses into Spain you start seeing these markers:

The points on the scallop are the direction to walk, the numbers show the km left to Santiago.  It is about 20 km from Padron and Herbon is another one or two from Padron.

This is my home for the night - 

A Franciscan convent where they cook dinner and breakfast for you.  There are no more nuns here and the padre that used to do the special pilgrims blessing left last year.  So far it is me and five Germans waiting for the doors to open at 16:00.  We sit or sleep on the steps or on the grass.  We watch the swallows fly.  We wait, but we do not talk.

Tomorrow - Santiago.