Etapa 16: Agucadoura

I walked for the first part of the day with Fran’s brother Alfonso who is about to starting training to be a Firefighter in Pamplona. We talked quite a bit about firefighting and there really are a lot of exams and training in Spain that’s required in order to start one’s career as a Bombero. I also realized that Alfonso had good English for talking but less good English for understanding what I was saying, so I was always trying to be mindful of how fast I talked and the words that I used.

For lunch, Alfonso and I stopped at a restaurant that had outdoor seating next to a river and had the Menu del Dia which was fish. The waiter had apparently lived in California for a few years and we chatted a bit about American beers. I also had a cold pastry filled with cream that was truly excellent on a warm day. Just as we were finishing, we saw Fran crossing the river. The bridge was quite far so we were waving and motioning for him to join us. The waited saw what we were doing and joined in as well.

In the afternoon we met an American woman who had just moved to Portugal from New Mexico and she gave us a small Camino Scallop shell charm. She seemed to walk her dog all the time because we talked to another Pilgrim who also met her but at a completely different time.

We walked with Fran as well for the rest of the day and came to the Alburgue right after the sun had set. I cooked the 3 of us a Spanish dish that Fran and Alfonso recommended. I used no recipe book and Alfonso and Fran both explained it to me differently. I also forget the same of the dish. But essentially it is rice cooked with tomorrow sauce, any sugared vegetables you want, and then a fried egg and cheese on top. Was quite tasty! There was a girl from Taiwan and 2 guys from South Korea also in the Alburgue but none of them were super talkative.Read more