We started the day on a fresh, spring-like morning with our breath clouding in the air and followed the path through green fields and villages of a few small and simple houses clustered around old churches. It was a day when I tried to capture the beauty of a moment in a photo, the Camino heading off through the landscape to join the blue sky at the horizon, only to realise that this was the same photo - the same moment - I had taken on so many occasions previously and that day after day the Camino was a string of such moments.
We lunched on picnic benches in woods high above the surrounding valley. We walked a long and never ending forest track lined with purple heather and rested on the same track much later amid a hippy-like collection of tree trunk benches, painted trees and totem poles where the simple refreshments on offer required only a donation. And finally we made it to the tiny village of San Juan: a large and spacious white stone church, an albergue that was once a monastery, a small bar and enough houses to home the twenty people that make up its population. 
At this point I had planned to press on to the next village to join Greg and Rob but had received a message earlier in the day to say they had got lost and would not get there. So I decided to stay at San Juan with Robin and Janna and Myra (who joined us two days ago), tempted by an early meal and the chance of staying in an old monastery - and of course their company. Out of interest I attended the rather confusing multilingual Mass for pilgrims in the wonderful church and, with Rob and Greg having arrived at San Juan and joining us at the communal albergue dinner, felt their day warranted the opening of the emergency wine...
'Emergency' wine - love it!!
ReplyDeleteNot like the gentle snores in the mountain Hut prior to ascending Jebel Toubkal which I recall were of earthquake generating proportions!
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