Monday, April 10, 2017

Palm Sunday in Albergueria

From Campobecerros to Albergueria was a hard day of 28 km of walking. I left the earliest of any of my camino days, trying to avoid the afternoon extreme heat, when I would be doing the 12 km uphill, that would take me to Albergueria. In this 12 km you gain 500 m of slope elevation. The trail is steep, no shade, very rocky. I did not see any other pilgrims. In two occasions I questioned myself if I was on the right trail. Fortunately I was !!

It took all my strength to walk this 12 km up hill, with very few slope breaks.
The first part of my morning was the opposite. 16 km of downhill, also steep and losing 400 m of slope elevation. My legs were tired. I am looking at my feet, keeping my ankles from turning.
Just as I am writing now, Luis the hospitalero from the albergue in Albergueria, shows up here in Xunqueira de Ambia ( my next albergue) where I am now. To my surprise, he is bringing me my pair of coral earings, that I forgotten this morning next to my bed. Wow !!!
He is so kind to have driven 20 km each way to bring my earrings to me !!! I am in admiration for his gesture.
Yesterday, arriving in the Albergue was fantastic, a great relief.



Albergueria is a very small village on top of a hill. Most houses are stone, incredibly beautiful big stone. It has 27 habitants, mostly old persons and no children.

Luis, came to Albergueria in 2004, fell in love with the village, fixed two stone houses, that are now the albergue and the only bar. He loves music, has set up outside and inside speakers in the front of the albergue, that is across the street, from the bar.
As I arrived, the music of Leonard Cohen is playing. I love Leonard Cohen, know most of his songs and listen to it at home over and over.
My afternoon and evening is spent listening to beautiful music, having Albariño wine, and enjoying the company of five other piligrims and the people that live in the village.

Luis's bar is completely covered with shells, that he gives to each piligrim, who has arrived here. We each write our name, date and country of origin. Incredible to see all of these shells on the walls and ceilings.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, and at 7 pm there was a Mass in the little stone church in the middle of town. Three of us piligrims attended the Mass and held the branches of bay leaves, that a woman in the village gave me, to be blessed.



I gave my blessed bay leaves branches to Luis, for his bar to use them in the caldo gallego soup, that they eat here almost every day.

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