Praia de Labruge

I confess. I was smitten with Elisabete, the owner and host of at my pension, the moment I laid eyes on her. Kindness and good cheer are a sort of pheromone for some people. She is one of them. I had been with her less than 15 minutes before I was compelled to hug her, and her hug in return confirmed all.

A former corporate sales executive, she left her job to turn her former, first, home into Smiling Places Guest House, essentially a B &B for pilgrims. She and her husband opened the doors in January of 2020, just in time for Covid.

Bad luck.

But Elisabete says not so. She, her husband and daughter moved back into the Labruge house to weather the pandemic together. Mornings were spent updating the home. Afternoons at the beach with their daughter. When they did open in April of 2020, the reservations poured in.

Now, she spends her days pouring coffee and wine and collecting stories, and “love.” Any cynicism at the use of that word would evaporate if you were in her company. She clearly adores her job and says owning this place has made her a better human. Camino pilgrims share with her unique tales that are a combination of past tragedy and future dreams. She respects the privilege of her witness to their tales. She relishes it.

I spent my afternoon on the back patio under an umbrella with Elisabete. We shared our stories and others’ stories. We laughed a lot. Hugged a little more. We even cried. She brought me wine and walnuts. She offered some sage advice that was a little difficult to hear. Then she whisked me off for a quick look at the local church and the stubbiest statue of a saint I’ve ever seen. When I left, she walked me to her gate, and we clung to each other like old friends reluctant to part.

So much laughter. I am happy to have had the courage to break the barrier of formality, and to beg a hug from a stranger.

This is what I had hoped for when I planned my Camino - connection with the people who live here. The rule-follower in me was worried the the first stamp in my Camino ‘credentialed’ is not a church, which is the norm. Instead, the first recorded stop on my walk will be a stamp that reminds me of an intimate, silly, sometime moving and inspirational afternoon with a total stranger.

Hallelujah.Read more