Day 2 - Grado to Bodenaya

I woke up to a "Bom Dia, Popi! Happy Father's Day!"

Bonnie and I were both grateful for a long night of sleep due in part to us sleeping in a private studio. Balancing the nights staying alone and the nights in an albergue full of pilgrims is an important aspect of a Camino.

Today was one of our longer days, with over 1400 meters in elevation gain, 800 meters in elevation loss, and 30 kilometers of distance. I've been nervous about this day ever since I planned this route. We basically are doing four stages in three days. Part of the reason for the long stage today is that we wanted to stay in the albergue in Bodenaya due to its reputation. This was the first private albergue on the Primitivo route and has been in existence for 17 years. The current owners are the third couple that have opened their home to pilgrims. It truly is like staying in a home with friends.

The albergue is decorated from items donated from pilgrims that have stayed here. They host a communal dinner each night and the 10 pilgrims have to agree on a wake time for the following morning. Bonnie and I were given one of the two rooms which means no bunk beds for us tonight, which is a bonus.

While long and difficult, today was beautiful. We loved our views, the animals, and our fellow pilgrims. A highlight was observing a shepherd giving orders to his dogs to move his flock of sheep. The large dog was there for protection while the Australian Sheperd guided the sheep to one side of the path so that we could pass by. It was fantastic to witness!

We are getting to know some of the other pilgrims. We walked the last seven kilometers with Steen from Denmark. This is his first Camino and he has a tattoo of a turtle on his wrist so Bonnie and I showed him our turtle tattoos as well.

An Australian named Gordon was walking in his worn down sandals (without socks) and that is all he hikes in.

A Spanish couple played leapfrog with us all day long and are also staying with us in Bodenaya.

The first pilgrim we met this morning told us he was from Greece. He took a photo of us once we got to the top of our first large incline. He told us his name but said it so fast I couldn't understand him. Then he spelled it. "Agapeosa."

"Oh, Agape!" I responded with recognition of the Greek word.

"Yes!" he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Do you know this?"

Yes, I truly do.

LOVE.

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