Anarchism is alive and well

I woke up this morning to see that one weather app predicted 90% chance of rain in the morning, and the other had a low prediction of rain starting at 8 PM. And in the distance, I heard thunder.

But the rain held off. It was a pretty flat walk, with no more than 300 m elevation spread over 28 km. Just one stiff up and down to a Hill town in the middle of the stage. It was very humid, but thankfully the sun was behind a lot of cloud cover, because there was very little shade.

I’m in an albergue in the town of Ruesta. Or better said, the ruins of a town. When the Río Aragón was dammed to make a big reservoir, this was one of the several towns expropriated. But after all the residents had been relocated, the plans apparently changed, because the water does not reach up this far.

The Camino had to be rerouted when the reservoir was built, and this empty town became the perfect spot for an albergue. The government turned it over to the.CGT, an anarchist workers’ union. They reformed a few of the houses for the albergue and restaurant, but the rest is just falling down. I walked up to the 11th century tower, where the Moors were beaten back.There’s a nice view of the reservoir from that spot, and a good vantage point to see all the ruins of what used to be a lively village.

The albergue is the only game in town, so here I am. I’m in a room with one French woman, two Spanish men, and a French man. Two of the three men tell me they snore a lot. I guess I will try the earplugs, but I am resigned to a long night of little sleep.

The food is surprisingly good in the restaurant, and I have had a big three course meal.

There are three other rooms filled with pilgrims, but I am the only English speaker. Lots of French and Spanish, and one Argentine guy who works in Spain.Les mer