April 15., 2022 ~ We leave the Casa do Campo somewhat reluctantly because it’s hard to leave behind generous people who we might not ever see again. Javier and. Sonia, coproprietors have left us with desires to stay, but the Camino is calling and they send us off with Sonia’s father as a driver to get us back to the Camino which lies around 7 miles (12 Km) away. It’s pea soup fog out this morning and our driver, who knows the ruts, turns, field and cross roads, gets lost. Too much fog. I’m so happy he’s driving and we didn’t decide to walk the extra kilometers to the Camino for we would still be wandering in those fields. He eventually sees a fellow farmer. They discuss how to get to Ligonde so we can pick up the trail. We are dropped off . Though it is difficult to understand Gallego, the warmth and well wishes of this older man are clearly understood.
Climbing out of the car with our backpacks into the cool fog, we don’t see another soul. The town of Ligonde doesn’t have a bar or restaurant. There are a few homes, a school. It has free lodging and food for donations run by a Christian group that will take in the weary traveller for free, offer a cup of coffee or singalong. All for free. This is a challenging concept, until I remember we are on the Camino de peregrines and it all makes sense.
Further up the road we leapfrog with a group of families. One of the nuclear families in this group has stroller with a one-year-old and another has a teenage boy who has a visual impairment. I’m touched by the group’s care for everyone and the happiness that I witness at the first café-bar we all stop at. I notice then that more pilgrims are on the road and the fog is starting to lift.
We have a nice quite walk and the scenery is on full view. The shade of green are ridiculously vibrant, almost impossibly green. There is a fuzzy moss that grows on every rock wall and on the rocks of the old homes. There is a yellow green on the tall grass. Then the sepia green on the trees. We pass little white flowers everywhere and miniature purple fox gloves. So much beauty that a car trip misses entirely. I’m glad we are walking and taking our time.
Up in the next town, Palas de Rei, we pass a municipal sports complex and a school of some kind. We pass a large structure that seemed to have been victim to an ancient fire. Just as we cross in front of the remains, two older women from the town are shaking their heads as they stare at the hull of the complex. The tell us the fire burned the cafeteria last night at 5AM. They sadly say it was a pretty place. Later we find out that it was also a pilgrim accommodation and some of our fellow walkers were left with having to walk much further then they’d planned to the next location.
We walk on and have plenty of time to begrudge the heat of the day now that the fog is gone, the clouds are nowhere near and the sun is bearing down. It’s hot. I’m thirsty, hungry, and wondering how much longer. We stop at a small bar-cafe called Campanillas and Luis chugs a coke. I use the restroom to take off my tights, splash my head with water and instantly I feel better. Not great, but better. I don’t know how much further to our arranged accommodations in the small crossroads, Leboreiro. We pass a trio of siblings from Ourense, Spain, who earlier were not happy, not too happy at all. They seem to have finished a meal with drinks and they are now laughing and talking. We call to them, “Ourenses, ¿cómo les va?” They answer all is well, and we exchange “buen caminos” and we don’t see them again. Just a little uphill from there we find ourselves crossing a highway and then realize we walked pass the entrance to Casa do Samoza. Nap time and then time for lots of food after another day of walking 10 miles. ~ RoMA
Ordinary Gente 