5/23 A Stone's Throw Away

We had the best meal last night at Casa Tia Teresa Bar.  Annie and Polly had pork knuckle...I had roasted chicken...I had seen a pilgrim with a plate of it and that sealed the deal for me.  Delicioso...more protein than I need for a week, but so very good.  The server/owner was a middle-aged man and after the meal we expressed our delight.  His son was working the bar and Polly asked if he was the cook.  He smiled sheepishly...no, my grandmother.  Those Spanish abuelas know how to cook!  We had no room for dessert, but the owner had told his son something in Spanish.  As we were paying, a small plate appeared with three small pieces of a yellow cake.  A bite...coconut...and so delicious...so we stood there raving about the dessert too and the owner and his son smiled broadly.

We had an extra gal in our room for the night.  Camile is from Russia and doing the Camino Norte...she walks into Santiago tomorrow.  I loved her.  She is 20-something, very fit, married with a loving, supportive husband, and mama to a 6-year old.  She was very helpful to us getting the online information ready for the Pilgrim Office in Santiago.  

We left this morning in the dark and for a couple of hours we're walking in quiet...very few pilgrims.  But the closer we got to Santiago, more and more people joined us and again...I had to fight the urge to hurry.  Annie, Polly and I had decided on an albergue and I wasn't worried about finding it, so I just walked my own pace.

However...when we got to Santiago...I lost them...they were where the albergue was "supposed" to be but couldn't find it.  I was about 5 blocks behind them and we had a plan B...a second albergue, so by phone, we decided to meet at Albergue Seminario Menor.  Haha...meanwhile, I walked by the first albergue.

We had not made a reservation...we were counting on our fairly early arrival into Santiago and the grace of God.  About 15 minutes later I walked into the Albergue Seminario Menor and found both Polly and Annie registering for their room.  The receptionist was a bubbly, positive gal who set us up in dormitory B.  There are over 200 beds here and the building sits atop a hill overlooking the spires of the cathedral.  The cathedral...and Pilgrim's Office where we'll get our compestelas is a short, 10 minute walk.  This sets us up for an easy first day to Finisterre...23 or so kilometers to Negreira.

We are heading out to celebrate.