Convento de San Anton 2

Here are the pictures from yesterday afternoon and evening at the Convento de San Antón.

By the end of the day we were 1 Brit (me), a Belgian lady (not French or Spanish), 2 Australian sisters and the husband of one, another Australian lady, a Czech man and a couple from California (the lady is half Mexican). And of course our 2 Spanish hospitaleros.

The Belgian lady (and her dog) were walking in opposite direction to the others. She’s already been to Santiago, Muxia and Finsterre, and was now walking back to France and then home.

We shared a delicious meal of garlic soup and then a vegetable stew and rice, washed down with some red wine. After eating, we were each encouraged to tell our stories of why we were on the Camino, many of which were very moving.

We then asked the quieter of our hosts, who spoke only Spanish and who I’d heard speak about 6 words at most all afternoon, to tell us his story. With the help of translation from the Californian couple, he spoke for about 25 minutes! He told us about his former life as a professional mountaineer and the lessons he’s learned both in the mountains and on the Camino, and assimilating what he’d learnt once back home again afterwards. Very profound and challenging.

Once night fell, the starry sky was beautiful, with no lights nearby.

In the morning, breakfast was by candlelight from about 7.30.Read more