We checked out of our elegant pension in Praga. We got a cab back to Miraz, and we walked over to the albergue to thank the hospitaleros for inviting us to Praga. They really were a great pair of folk, bound in service to peregrinos for the love of Camino.
We set our sights 28K further on to the monastery of Sobrado des Mionxes. Both our guidebook and Jim our hospitalero said that the days walking would be even better than the day before, which we hac consider absolutely fabulous. We set out with very high spirits and great expectations. We crossed boulder strewn ground covered with gourse and scrubby pines. There were sections of clear cut pine forests, but we really were headed straight out to lands with absolutely no hamlets or villages. It was a lovely clear morning, but the clear sky also promised heat later in the day. The rest of Spain is sweltering in near 40C heat. The north has been spared thus far, but the heat seems to be moving this way.
There are some spectacular vistas along our route, but we seem to be spending more and more time on roads and less out in the woods. As the day heats up the roads are less and less appealing. They reflect the heat right back up at us. Our feet feel pounded by the asphalt. We move without much shade as the sun rises higher.
We keep hoping we'll get to the enchanting part of the walk, but now the Camino seems to endlessly follow the road. Our boredom (can you believe it, we are walking in Spain and complain of tedium) is relieved by a sign that points to a farmhouse and promises refreshment and food. Pete wants to give it a try so we duck in. A woman greets us a 4 young people leave. She invites us in to sit at her long granite topped table in the kitchen. We ask for coke, and she offers us home made bread, cheese, and sausage. The coke is cold, and the cheese is very good. It is a dairy farm after all. We sit and cool off a bit. She fills our water bottles as we depart. For 5€ we got a refreshing rest, and she made a bit of cash for the household . During our devotions, we included her among those we had been blessed to meet.
We trudge on and run into some kids we had met a few days back in Vilalba as they looked for the albergue in the morning. They were looking a little beat up: bad feet and sore shoulders. It was good to see them and they seemed happy to see us as well. We talked for a few minutes and moved on. Pete noted that now in our 6th week of walking, we are the Nordic types: we easily leave them in the dust.
The road walking is now getting downright oppressive. We pass a group of Germans who started walking in France 1500K back. They complain as well. It is getting miserable and probably approaching 30C. We cannot fathom why we had been told that this would be an excellent day of walking.
We eat some cereal bars, nuts and raisins, and drink water for lunch since we have not come to a town in hours. After our lunch, we do come to a town so/we stop for a cold drink and a seat in the shade. We have walked for about 5 hours, covered 22K, and 80% of it has been miserable. Luckily we are only 5K from our destination, and 3K of it is really lovely walking down quiet, tree shaded lanes on soft ground. Once in Sobrado we are back to street and side walk, but we soon see a fountain and the spires of the church. The fountain is gushing cool water. We drink. We fill our bandanas and soak ourselves. We wash our faces. We squeeze it from bandana to arms and legs. It is a luxurious coolness on a blistering day. "Thank you for fountains" joins "feet, legs, lungs, knees, shoulders" in our daily litany of thanks.
We walk onto the cathedral and monastery grounds. It is stunning. The facade of the church is magnificant (finished in 1706 our guidebook says). The grounds are elegantly manicured and feature two huge pines. Sprawled under the pines are the 4 young people we had seen earlier in the day at the woman's kitchen refreshment bar. It turns out they are Latvians. They started in Bilbao and had quite a few physical problems: severe blisters, twisted ankles, and sore knees. Several times they could not make it to an albergue and were forced to sleep in the open. Yet their spirits were good as they know Santiago is close. It turns out they are devout Christians, among the few we've met on Camino. After we check into the monastery, we go to the supermarcado and make dinner together in the monastery kitchen. They are as full of stories of blessings and grace in tight spots as Pete and I. They have traveled, in summers past, to the Taize community in France. Now our paths cross on Camino to Santiago de Compostela.
The monastery is absolutely fantastic. The monks make wine and cheese for sale, and only charge 5€ for the night, showers and blanket included. As we get closer to Santiago, the number of pilgrims has increased. There look to be 40 of us here tonight. It is very satisfying to be in a place were since 1000CE monks have proclaimed the gospel, tried to live a kingdom life, and to this day offer hospitality ('remember you were strangers once in Egypt') to all who come. Even though the walking wasn't all we had thought it would be, the day has been full, and I sleep tonight yet again safe, warm, and secure because a Jewish carpenter from years ago and far away still invites folks like these monks to open their doors and hearts. Buen Camino.
Over the last three days I have gratefully shared prayers with Kitty H., Kathy H., Fonda H., Renette B., Bruce U. And Beverly B. I am sorry that I did not record that in my blog in a more timely fashion. I have been lifted up each time I open a new day's prayer. As I wrote in an earlier entry, one of my discoveries on this Camino has been that I live not by my own inner resources, but my the strength of my connections with my wife, children, family, church, friends, and yes very crucially those I have not yet, and may never, meet. (I should note here, when my pastor laid hands on me to send me forth from Stony Creek so many weeks ago, he prayed for just such a discovery.) These prayers I have carried so far, so many miles, and share with such a hopeful heart have been crucial to my Camino, and I thank all who took the time and look forward to the prayers to be offered in these final days.
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