Finding the Living Among the Dead!

Last night I stayed in the attic of the parish church in Grañon, Spain. I spent the day walking through acres and acres of vineyards at harvest time. 

The day began in Azofra and a side trip to Cañas, to visit a Cistercian Abbey de Santa María, founded in 1170. 

Very beautiful building with alabaster windows, but it was closed. After looking at the outside I took off to rejoin the Camino. The side trip took some time so I humped it to get back on track making it to Grañon by noon after walking 18 miles, 30 kilometers.

There are fountains for pilgrims to use for drinking water, many very old like this one  in Grañon.

I checked into the albergue and was shown to my bed.

The albergue is run by local people and the cost is "donativo", what you can.

I got cleaned up and washed and hung my hiking clothes up in the bell tower of the church and then had a quick lunch.

By 2 pm the albergue had 32 people registered and the fun began. 

We all worked together to prepare dinner,

then went to Mass in Spanish, where the priest blessed all the peregrinos on the way to Santiago.

After Mass and viewing some of the relics in the old church we all had dinner together: salad, pasta, bread, wine, and for me aqua, por favor!

Sitting with me were people from Italy, Japan, Denmark, Poland, Finland, England, and believe it or not a young woman from North Dakota.

Right before lights out at 10 o'clock, we all went back into the church for a candlelit prayer service led by the hospitalerios and translated by a peregrina. A spirit of unity filled the room as all of us took turns sharing our different reasons for being on the Camino.

After a good nights sleep among snorers of various tunes, I took of today for Villafranco Montes de Oca, another 18 miles. The afterglow of the international experience right in the midst of the ancient building gives me hope. The relics may or may not be sacred, but the spirit of the pilgrims traveling along the Camino as well as the genuine care and concern of the local hospitalerios was a sacred moment I won't forget. Tomorrow I push on toward Burgos, with 140 of the 500 miles behind me.

Olin from Denmark and his Camino tattoo.