I was worried that Rabanal de Camino wouldn’t be as wonderful as I remember it to be. 

I needn’t have worried — it’s actually so much better than I remember.  Simply lovely and completely charming in fact. (Please read this in a British accent…).

So much to describe and so little time. But I’m determined to get a few things written down as this blog is the Camino archive for my sieve of a brain. I’ve been so happy to be able to look back at what I wrote when I did my Camino two years ago — the places I stayed, the people I met, the songs I sang.  If I hadn’t written it down when it happened I’d only have one big happy blur of a Camino memory.

I’ve been here in the little town of Rabanal del Camino for nearly a week. When I arrived I spent the first two days learning the ropes of how to run an albergue in Spain…the English way… aka the proper way. 

 Since Monday, Peter, my co-hospitalero, and I have been on our own, running every aspect of this albergue, from welcoming pilgrims and checking them in & getting them settled, to shopping and dealing with the townsfolk (only 30 year-round residents!)  and local merchants, to washing, cleaning & setting out breakfasts in the morning. And, of course, hosting a proper tea at 5pm.

Tea time is important here as Refugio Gaucelmo is operated by the Confraternity of St James out of London. So of course tea and biscuits should be served on the Camino. 

I’ve wanted to come back to the Camino and decided that volunteering at a donativo albergue would be a great way to do so. And what more brilliant place (see how British I’m sounding already?) than Gaucelmo, which made such a wonderful impression on me when I stayed here two years ago.  I was thrilled when I was accepted as a volunteer hospitalera for a two week assignment.

So here I am, settling in and finally coming up for air.  I read back on my list of hospitalera fears and I see that they have all come to pass in some way or another. All except for having a weirdo as a volunteer partner assigned to my shift.  (Fun stories on the other items on the list to follow.) 

Peter is a retired British naval officer who speaks at least five languages. This is very helpful of course in dealing with the international tribe who comes through our doors. But the main reason I feel I have hit the hospitalero lottery with Peter is that he gets up really early (as a good officer should) and feeds the pilgrims and makes the coffee. Makes the coffee!! That’s solid voluntario gold. 

All I have to do in the early morning is to stand at the doorway with my coffee(s) and wave off the pilgrims with a hug and a buen camino. Jolly good!

So busy – only key words..

Busy! Wonderful. Beautiful. Hard. Peregrinos. Vino tinto. Pan. More pan. 

Español. Vespers. Latin. Tea time. Cleaning. Listening. Laundry. Bed bugs.
How about a couple of photos until I have some time?

What a difference a day makes!

Running a hostel is amazingly busy. More to follow!



The advice always offered to peregrinos is “don’t pack your fears and take them with you on your Camino”. 

But Hospitaleros don’t seem to be given such warnings. As I was packing for this trip I seem to have filled the backpack  full of worries about my job ahead. 

Some of the fears I seem to have brought along — bedbugs, difficult pilgrims, old buildings with old plumbing & older wiring, my inadequate español, a strange co-hospitalero, sick pilgrims, Rabanal del Camino won’t be as wonderful as I remember …

But I hadn’t anticipated the one thing that happened today, my first day as an official hospitalera — a snowstorm! 

The winds came howling and the storm blew in. Even though Rabanal is in the foothills of the Montes de León this was a big surprise to all. 


No wee-fee at Gaucelmo but the coffee shops and bars to the rescue!

 

Now the real adventure begins!

My home for the next two weeks

A nice walk from Astorga to Rabanal. I had (another) leisurely morning and therefore had the path to myself for much of the day. 

It is a couple weeks earlier in the season than when I was here last time and there are definitely fewer peregrinos on the path. 

So my advice if you’re planning on doing the Camino and want a little elbow room on the trail is to come early in the season but don’t be in a rush to leave too early in the mornings. I think summertime with it’s crowds must be an entirely different experience.

Until I met up with Ed &  Bunny for dinner yesterday I hadn’t really heard any English at all during the day. That is until the bar where I had my comida was playing a steady rotation of old Motown artists. — Al Green, the Tem0tations, Isaac Hays, etc. 

So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I found myself singing the theme song to “Shaft’ all afternoon 

🎶 he’s a complicated man but no one understands him but his woman, John Shaft  🎶

I don’t know why I’m including this.

It was 26 degrees when I got up this morning so I was in no rush to head outside. I dawdled, had another cafe con leche and ventured out when the sun was a little higher in the sky. So this meant there were very few other peregrinos sharing the path with me. 

I walked alone for quite some time but soon fell into step with a Bavarian fellow who spoke no English and no Spanish. Since I speak no German it seems the few words we had in common were French. He introduced himself as something like ” Adult” and when I looked puzzled, he enacted a nazi salute. Ah, “Adolf”  as in Adolf Hitler. He then shrugged and rolled his eyes, I think as an indictment of his parents’ poor choice in first names.

The walk to Astorga was beautiful and quiet.  Adolf and I got tired of trying to communicate with spoken language and soon just walked in companionable silence. One of the great things about the Camino is this kind of connection with random strangers. In everyday life, this would be a very strange thing but it’s the norm on the Camino.

Astorga is a fascinating town and I had time to explore its squares and cathedrals but just missed seeing their Museo Del Chocolate.  Next time! To cap off a wonderful day I met up with my aunt and uncle who are vacationing in Northern Spain and on their way to Santiago. 

It was clear and chilly as I left León this morning so I wore all my layers. This was not an easy thing to do as somehow my hiking pants seem to have shrunk this winter (!) and left little room for my tights underneath. So I opted for warmth and just left the top buttons open. 

I bid a fond adiós to lovely León and it’s spooky Parador San Marcos. 

 

It’s so good to be on the Camino again. I jumped back into the westward migration towards Santiago as if I’d never left. Not that there’s much to it — just follow the signs & arrows and just keep walking.

The medieval bridge leading into the town of Hospital de Órbigo is famous for the jousting tournaments held here in the Middle Ages and speculation has it that the accompanying chivalrous acts may have been an inspiration for Don Quixote. So in honor of Cervantes, I have been singing all the songs from The Man of La Mancha. It’s probably good that I am walking alone.

It’s time to shake the dust off this blog and start writing again.

I’m thrilled to be back in España, back in León and back on the Camino.

My new Camino adventure is off to an exciting start, at least accommodation-wise.

My one true gift in life is the ability to rationalize pretty much anything I decide I want to do. And so I decided to stay at the Hostal de San Marcos, the Parador de León, for my first official night back in España.

After all, it’s a long way from Seattle, involving planes, trains and automobiles to get here. And haven’t I been awake for twenty-four hours? And I probably won’t be back here anytime soon.

I’ve never stayed in one of Spain’s paradores which were described by my Iberian Airlines seat mate as the crown jewels of Spain’s hotels. And the one in León is considered one of the finest. 

Besides, this is the hotel that was festured in the movie “The Way” – the one in which Martin Sheen’s character treats his Camino gang to a luxury night’s stay. 

And so I stayed, soaking in the history of this 16th century building and exploring its halls and (often creepy) art.

I’m guessing Martin Sheen didn’t stay in a budget single as my room wasn’t anything like the one in the movie. But it did come with a bathtub, my true measure of a luxury room.