Patio Populorum!

Church of San Tirso, Palas de Rei.

The patio in front of the cabins at La Cabana is quite the hotpot!  No only did I work on my tan, but I also got to meet some great people.  You see, La Cabana was the first nice and open place after the forest trail.  In addition to the cabins, there were also two albergues attached.  So it was quite busy.

Pilgrims' Monument in Palas de Rei.
(Unfortunately St. James never showed up to give me directions!)

First I had met a couple from Iowa I had yet to see.  Even though Chris and Jessica left the same day as me from St. Jean I don't recall meeting them.  First, they did not go over the mountains in the snow;  second, I got the impression they were not using the albergues, but rather were staying at hotels and casas rural.  Nevertheless, they were good chat and we laughed a lot.

Eight year old Ramon gets some needed energy after 24K
while his grandfather holds court in several languages.

As they were leaving, Richard from London arrived and bought me a beer.  He is a half day in front of me so while I was done for the day he till had another 5-7K.  He hopes to get involved with the arts and film.  We chatted about that some.  I think he has a wonderful disposition and is so easy to talk to.

After Richard left a Spanish man and his grandson arrived.  I got an email from a friend who only did the last 100K of the Camino and said I was harsh on the latecomers.  If I was it was not intended.  Juan and his grandson are a perfect example.  Even though the Camino is packed with kids, it's also an opportunity for families.  Of course, it's easier for the Spanish - this is there backyard after all, but there are others a well.  Juan spoke perfect English and his grandson was not far behind.  They had a full day beginning at Portomarin as I did.  But Ramon is only 8 years old and his legs don't reach as far as the rest of us.   He was tired.  And so was grand-dad at 71.  But they both entertained us on the "Patio of the Peoples."  It was wonderful to watch how they interacted with so many.

I was there for the whole afternoon and so I met Francesco, a guy in his twenties, from Florence in addition to a mother and her daughter from Livorno in Italy.  We had a great time and they were most generous regarding my Italian.  In an hour or so we chatted about everything (Camino, Religion, New York, Italia, Laura Palsini {an Italian singer} and Berlusconi!).  I really had a great time in a great setting.  We all should arrive in Compostela on Friday.

It seems like there are more sheep in this area than in others

After a Burger for dinner (which I usually don't do), I left more people on the patio as mañana comes quickly on the Camino.