The catch(es)

The communal meal was delayed because, being the last day of the month, there was a change of hospitaleros: 2 volunteers running the albergue were leaving, and 2 new ones had to be inducted.
Once everything was ready, we (the 25 or so guests) were invited to go to the kitchen and prepare food for 30 people. There was no direction, we could prepare anything we wanted with the ingredients available.
Since no one was 'in charge' there was a lot of talking before any action started. And I was tired and hungry!
There was a majority of Italians in the group, so you guessed it: there was going to be pasta. I called for lentils as a complement, for some plant-based protein. So there was that, plus salad.
I helped chopping veggies, and the Italians did the cooking.
When everything was ready we took tables and chairs down to the plaza, and ate there. It was nice in the shade with a light breeze, sadly I didn't take photos of the table (all my attention was on the eating!).
The meal was satisfying, and then I just wanted to go to sleep. But here was catch #1: we all had to help with the dishes 🤦🏻‍♀️
They brought plastic containers with water to the tables, which were set up as washing and rinsing stations, with a drying station at the end. There were 3 sets: one for dishes, one for glasses and one for cuttlery, etc.
When all was clean and tidy, all I wanted to do was sleep. But there was one more thing to do: the 'optional' gathering of the pilgrims, to be held at the church choir. The hospitalera mentioned 'prayer' in relation to the gathering and, as I am not religious, I wasn't keen. But then she came to me and the other couple of people who were just hanging around the bedroom and encouraged us to go, saying it's a very special moment, very emotional and moving. So, I made the effort, as it was probably going to be my only chance to experience that special moment in the whole Camino - though it felt a bit like catch #2.
The sat in a circle, and religious content was kept to a minimum. There was a bit of history about the albergue, then we went around the room to hear from everyone what they were hoping to get out of the Camino. Then we got up and held hands, and went around again, everyone saying a wish for the person on their right. Finally, we released hands, mixed up and gave hugs (I think this made an already existing covid risk even worse, but no one seemed to care).
Finally, after that I could go to sleep. It was after 10pm and not the most comfortable sleep (there was no pillow). While I wasn't in a rush to get up early in the morning, others had an alarm at 5am and started packing up, meaning I couldn't sleep as much as I needed.Read more