The breakfast surprise this morning was a Pilgrims Egg. It was a glass jar with about a half inch of highly mashed potato with bits of onion, and a poached egg on top. Also apparently with truffle oil, but I didn’t get that taste.
It was to be only an 8 km walk today, so even including a late breakfast chatting with other pilgrims, coffee stops chatting with other pilgrims, we still arrived at our lodgings around noon.
Vic had significant apprehensions about this establishment as it was in (near) a very small village, not on our agent’s normal route, and the picture provided was, well, unassuming at best. It turned out to be a super, newish resort that would sit well in Arizona.
We spent the afternoon on the patio chatting with new pilgrim friends (from Canada) and having a three course meal with the customary bottle of wine.
Our room is spacious with a good bathroom. The walls are three feet thick stone, but, as we found out when the people upstairs moved in, the ceiling is one inch thick. It is going to be a noisy night if they don’t stop rearranging the furniture. They have been at it for an hour.
After the heat of the day reduced we walked into the next town, Leboreiro, about a half km away to see the Church of Santa Maria. It was locked of course, but peering through a small back window I could see that it was stacked with cardboard boxes of wine glasses. They must hold a fun communion there.
There is a legend attached to the church. Apparently a spring that glowed at night suddenly emerged. In digging for the source of the spring the villagers came across a statue of the Virgin which they placed in the chapel. Each night the statue returned to the spring, and the villagers had to move it back. They finally discovered that she wished to be outside, so they carved her image on the tympanum where you can see it today, and the statue remained at the altar, where it is said, she has the satisfied smile of someone who has gotten what she wants.
The town is one I remember as it has a large arrow made of yellow scallop shells on the wall of one of the houses pointing the way to Santiago.
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