Last night in Casteneda we stayed in Albergue Santiago, a small family-run place with an attached cafe. The owners took a liking to us and treated us very well. Supper was a feast of ribs and when we were finishing dessert, out came the "special" drinks. One tasted like Kahlua and the other like Ricola cough drops--as designated walker, Betty made sure we got home safely.
We have been waking up at 5:00 since about the second day of our journey and it has always been dark, but only for a short while. However, Spain is almost big enough to accommodate three time zones and has only one. The net result of this geography and our westward journey is that the sun rises later and later each day. Today we spent our first hour in the dark and stopped for breakfast in Ribadiso--the cafes and bars are opening earlier now to accommodate the traffic of us dark walkers.
It was a cool misty morning and we started above the clouds. As the sun rose we descended through the fog into forests of eucalyptus. The sights, smells and even the sounds of roosters were reminiscent of our years in Hlatikulu, Swaziland.
The walk was marked by unusual sights: pilgrims sleeping on the side of the trail, a pilgrim with a donkey, a pilgrim on crutches, a carver selling walking sticks, a bar offering free foot baths, and the largest pan of paella that I have ever seen. We also saw our first pig of the trek, which is strange because pork is the most common item on any menu. Laurel calculates that the three of us combined have eaten enough bacon, jamon, Serrano ham, lomo, and chorizo to have put one swine herder's kid through college.
Today, we solved a mystery lasting over a week. Since entering Galicia, we had noticed small elevated rectangular buildings in many of the yards we passed. Theories abounded. First, they were crypts--a place to keep your family skeletons; then they were ham curing sheds (the pigs are hiding somewhere?); finally, we checked Google and found out that they are granaries or corn cribs. Google take the fun out of everything!
Tomorrow we will arrive at our destination and in many ways we don't want it to end. First imagined then experienced and soon to be a wonderful memory, the Camino has been a great way to spend the summer with two good friends.
