Hornillos to Castrojeriz

Today I had the most extraordinary Camino experience and not because I spent some time praying in a beautiful church, and lingering at the ancient ruins of a monestrary, but because I met Marguarite who owns this home/hotel in the centre of Castrojeriz. I am her guest tonight.

She and her husband purchased this ruined home of the early 19th century in the town of Castrojeriz which during the medieval ages was a capital city. They have renovated this home retaining the original structures and the essential “being” of the home. The home begins 3 stories down where originally the cattle and the horses were kept, and continues down another story to a series of tunnels that connect the houses along this street and are purported to travel to the castle on the hill ( which fell to an earthquake in the 18th century). On the upper levels are the main dining hall and kitchens ( yes…two kitchens!), and continuing up 2 more levels of bedrooms.

Marguarite, the owner and manager, struggles to maintain this home and hotel because she works as a paediatrician in Barcelona and is now divorced, so she opens her home in May and September only. Marguarite along with a housekeeper manage the entire home and the guests. She serves breakfast, does the laundry, greets new guests and cooks an evening meal. She is 63.

The challenge in Spain to hire workers is a problem because no one wants to work Saturday or Sunday, or during the siesta. Foreign workers do not have the requisite paper work, and the authorities routinely visit monthly for their inspections.

I am so smitten with this place, I may abandon the next leg of the Camino and stay an extra day in this very sleepy little town in the middle of metesa. I am learning the Camino is not a hike — it may be difficult like a hike, and God knows I have the battered feet to prove it —the Camino is about “arriving”.

“Arriving” where? That remains a mystery, but one thing about pilgrims is that they are motivated to “arrive”…the ones who are looking, the one’s whose quest is greater than themselves. The Camino every day becomes a filling of our “lostness”, a filling of a deep need to find the centre again.

The odd thing about today is that yesterday because I focused on the “hike” and enjoyed a vigourous walk without my feet hurting any more than normal, I neglected a small stone church at the side of the Camino. If I had stopped at the stone church, a lovely nun would have given me a small necklace with a golden heart and blessed both the necklace and myself for a safe Camino.

Today, I did not make that mistake. I slowed down, walked alone, and chose not to leave this house once I arrived. I had a lovely afternoon on a patio practicing silence and reflection and enjoying quiet conversation with a woman named Marguerite who may have changed me. Reminded me.Read more