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Spain Santa Colomba de Somoza

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  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    1
    Day 19

    Hospitalera Day 11

    April 26 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    Some of yesterday’s pilgrims were pigs. Usually people are quite tidy and considerate. Not so with a couple of the people from last night. It didn’t help that they spent the whole afternoon drinking. At least one fell out of bed in the night, and there was more snorers than we have had so far. And then there was the mess in the baños. Yikes!

    So most people did not get a very restful sleep. Unlike our other guests who commented on their excellent sleep. I’m glad I have a private room. Even so, the loud thumps were disturbing. Maybe he fell out of bed more than once.

    I do like cattle, and there were several grazing in a field by the rubbish bins. You can still see snow on the mountains.

    Apparently today is ladies only at Refugio Gaucelmo. (Just by chance) We had 6 women, all of them showed up individually. They were so happy with our ladies night ❤️. They had also been in some albergues with men who make excessive noise. Yes, I know that women can also make noise and be messy, but we all believe that tonight is likely to be muy tranquilo. 😌

    Llew was quite impressed to be the only man in the house, and just had to get a photo with all the girls.

    Tonight I went all the way down the hill to the start of town and had the advertised Pilgrim’s Big Meatball. With 🍷 vino tinto of course. It was very good. I spoke with a couple of American pilgrims. They each had a private room at the Posada.

    The sun was shining today but it felt a bit chilly with the breeze. Diego likes the fireplace.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    2
    Day 16

    Hospitalera Day 8

    April 23 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    Having a small group of pilgrims made the cleanup easier, and we were finished in record time.

    The sun is shining today so I hung the washing on the line in the garden. It dried very quickly.

    I went for a walk to the end of the village, that didn’t take very long. There are a couple more restaurants I could try. However, I would have to walk uphill to the albergue after eating, so I’m not sure if I want to do that.

    Llew and I cooked dinner for ourselves today with a beef stew, just adding what we found in the pantry to the beef we bought. Tasty! Homecooking was a welcome change.

    We have our youngest pilgrim to date; Helena is not quite two years old and traveling with Mom and Mom’s friend. She spends most of the walking time in the stroller but has been playing in the garden for much of the afternoon. Luckily we have a small room with two bunks that we can offer to families with small children. That keeps the baby out of the main dorm. Everyone is happy about that.    Read more

  • TravelerSpring 2025 Camino
    Day 28

    Molinaseca

    April 23 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    Well! Today we (me and my new crew of Morne’ and Alejandro) climbed up to Cruz de Ferro - the iron cross, where one traditionally leaves a stone to represent something you want to let go of. I was happy to do that! It was a lovely walk up and a much longer, more demanding walk down, but it was sunny and warm, and we had great conversations and took lovely food and drink breaks. During one of them two cats took turns snuggling up to my pack. So cute!

    The views were phenomenal today. I only wish I could do them justice.

    We are staying in a beautiful little town, Carbo-loaded with pasta at an outdoor cafe by a river, enjoyed a couple tinto de veranos, and now it’s time to sleep!    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    11
    Day 15

    Hospitalera Day 7

    April 22 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    It’s hard to believe that we have been here for a week now! Today the sun is shining and the temperature is up to a balmy high of 14 degrees today!

    Llew placed an order with our neighbouring tienda a few days ago, and today I picked up a Tarte de Santiago and fixings to make a beef stew. Yum!

    The monastery/chapel is vey quiet today, all the monks and priests have left. Maybe something to do with the pope’s passing? Last time I went on Camino, in 2022, the queen died. Is there significance?

    We have a small group today, just six pilgrims. Two young girls from USA offered to cook dinner for everyone ❤️. It was lovely, she even used some herbs from the garden. Which seems to be a friendly place for insects also.

    I was asked about the tea. This albergue is managed by the UK organization Confraternity of St James. They stock with plenty of English tea at the start of the season.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    2
    Day 14

    Hospitalera Day 6

    April 21 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    My family asked for more donkey 🫏 so I decided Diego could help with my chores today.

    Most of our pilgrims were European today, but we did have one from Mexico 🇲🇽 and two bicigrinos from Argentina 🇦🇷. We also have a wheelchair pilgrim from the Netherlands. She has wheeled all the way from home over about 10 years (in stages).Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    Day 13

    Hospitalera Day 5

    April 20 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    Happy Easter Sunday! The sky is much more clear today and we can see plenty of snow on the nearby mountains.

    How many can say they have been to Easter Sunday service in a 12th century Benedictine Monastery? I can now claim that experience!

    Today we had our first Canadian pilgrims, from Ontario. Also Spanish, French, Brazilian, American, Italian, United Kingdom, and Portuguese.
    🇪🇸🇨🇦🇫🇷🇮🇹🇧🇷🇺🇸🇵🇹🇬🇧

    If you are interested in our albergue, we have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/share/1FX8m8EVVS/?mibe…    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    1
    11
    Day 11

    Hospitalera Day 3

    April 18 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Today started out with decent weather, then around 11:30 it started to rain and the temperature has dropped since then. There is more snow forecast tonight.

    When we opened at 1:00 we had eight chilly pilgrims waiting at the gate, then only three more since then.

    The weather in Rabanal is cold but the fireplace and the company is warm. Pilgrims from España, Switzerland, USA, Ireland, and Korea joined our tea party. ☕️🍪

    I went out for a pilgrim meal this evening, very filling and tasty. 😋    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    4
    4
    Day 10

    Hospitalera Day 2

    April 17 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    I won’t bore you with the same details every day. Today the clean up was a bit quicker though, so I had time to walk around the village.

    Also, the weather is much more pleasant today, so I can show you our garden. It is quite large and would be a wonderful place to relax later in the season.

    During my walk about I did a bit of shopping at two of the three small tiendas in town. I found peanut butter (which is rare in Spain) and a thermal shirt (which I have been desiring). They say the Camino provides. Happily, it is true.

    Here’s some history. In about 1990, a couple of British friends were walking the Camino and there was nowhere to stay between Astorga and Ponferrada. That is about 50 km! So they had the idea to build an albergue in Rabanal del Camino (not quite half way, but a great stopping point). Together with the Confraternity of St James (UK pilgrim group) and the bishopric of Astorga, a building was renovated. Gaucelmo is named after a hermit from the area.

    Now there are at least ten places for pilgrims to sleep, from tents in the public garden to private rooms in the Posada. There are at least two churches, three tiendas (shops) and several bars/restaurants. And it started with Refugio Gaucelmo!    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    22
    Day 8

    Hospitalera Day 1

    April 15 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    Fiona and Peter left this morning so it is just Llew and me to run the show now. We had 14 pilgrims last night.

    I get to clean the upstairs and Llew does the downstairs. My part includes the dormitorio (20 beds) 🛏️and the servicios (showers and toilets) 🚽

    Also I do floors upstairs and laundry.

    Meanwhile Llew cleans the kitchen, office, entryway, and the lounge, including floors. Then he takes out the rubbish and gets the fire started in the fireplace.

    Together we count the money in the donativo boxes and do some minor record keeping.

    Tea is served at 5:00 pm, and breakfast at 7:00 am.

    That will be my routine for the next two and a bit weeks. The photos today are mostly a tour of the albergue.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Mixto
    21
    Day 8

    Hospitalera Training Day

    April 15 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    Peter and Fiona, the outgoing volunteers, trained us for our duties today and introduced us to Susanna at the tienda (shop).

    It was snowing when the first pilgrim left before light, and continues to be cold with alternating snow, rain and sun. Even inside it is cold but we do have a fireplace and some space heaters. 🌨️❄️🌧️🌦️🥶 I should have brought more clothes☺️.

    I have added some photos of Refugio Gaucelmo, my temporary home.    Read more

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