Day 26, Rabanal del Camino

9:00 am, I am sitting with Suzanne from Gatineau in Susana's bar in Santa Catalina de Somoza about 10k into today's walk. No free internet here, but a quick hello. I have set up the power monkey to be charging, so we'll see how that goes.

I walked with Suzanne all the way to Rabanal del Camino this morning, arriving about noon. Suzanne has carried on for another 6k, but this spot is perfect for me.

I have checked in to the albergue, the first person to arrive today. Incidentally, yesterday, the first person to arrive was also Canadian. I have had a lovely shower in a full bathroom, my clothes are drying on the line in the very hot sun (there have been heat wave warnings), and I have found a nice nest to while away an hour or so in the shade.

From my comfy spot I can hear the music from the bar attached to the albergue, I can see my clothes (and ensure the breeze is not dislodging them from the line), and the wifi appears to be working. I have a bottle of water and a snack. What more could a person want? Hmm. Well, the 60 minute massage for 20€ is tempting. But there's no qualifications and some people have found they have ended up feeling more injured after Camino cheap massages. So I decided not to take a chance. I massage my own feet and I'm not having any problems. It does sound good, though, but I want to be cautious.

Marta from a day or so ago has just decided with another new friend, Isabella, to also stay at my albergue and, once they are showered and ready, we'll all walk into town to find lunch. I think my comfortable, relaxed demeanor convinced them to stop walking in the heat.

Marta, Isabella & I are at the albergue bar. We've had a nice lunch. I had spaghetti & meat sauce with mushrooms added. We're enjoying each other's company and are going to walk into town to take a look.

There is an advertised Gregorian chant at 7 tonight for the pilgrims, which sounds interesting. We walked from one end of town to another, taking a look at the other albergues, which also look very nice and saying hello to David, who is staying at the monastery as he'd planned.

Partway up the hill, there is a small chapel filled with gold altarpieces on every side. This strikes me as if these were moved from the church to this new location. Then, there is the church attached to the Benedictine monastery, which has no trace of gold and very little ornamentation inside or out. The inside was very cool, a welcome change from the heat. And it was so quiet, the silence was quite deafening. My ears felt full of the silence; it was like having ear plugs in. This will be the location of the Gregorian chants tonight. I am looking forward to that.

With the chanting from 7 to 7:30, I thought it wise to have a quick meal and I noticed they have craft beers. So I've ordered a simple sandwich with a banana and a cerveza Kadabra - red ale. Good flavor and an armadillo on the label.

The church was packed with about 40 people at the Gregorian Chant, which was nice. There were also pilgrims who read a prayer in their own language - English, French, German.

Then, there was a mass in English presided by David, the Priest from ND. I asked him before the mass if he needed any help and so I did the reading and the psalm (I elected not to sing the psalm). There were only 5 of us who stayed for the english mass, so it was very intimate and informal. David did a good job of it.

Also, tomorrow we will arrive at the Cruz de Ferro, where we traditionally leave the stones representing our troubles and worldly cares. This spot is one of the highest elevation points and leaving the stone is meant to be a token of love and blessing and symbolizes leaving burdens at the foot of Christ to ask for relief and aid. I have 3 stones to leave, one for myself and my family and two others given to me by friends for their families. I am looking forward to that.

We've been talking about the weather tomorrow. The next section has some steep up and even steeper down sections and we have thunderstorms likely at some point. I don't want to be going down the slippery steep section in the pouring rain. Staying here means arriving at 9am or so. Walking to the next town will mean arriving at this important symbolic place in the early morning dark. It also means the difficult climb is left for the cooler morning when we are fresh.

Suzanne and I

Marta, Isabella and I

Medieval dressed person with bird and credential stamp

Chapel

Church

Church

Rabanal