Samos

(Triacastela to Samos: 9.8 km, 2 1/2 hours; 14,500 steps, plus 9,370 later)

Hebrews 11:13-16
v. 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth.

Strangers and pilgrims indeed. Every town is new, every day is a challenge, yet in eating establishments and albergues we are generally received graciously wherever we stop. We have imagined the end of our long walk from afar for a long time now, wondering at the glories of Santiago de Compostela. I am tired and would welcome the goal right now. But we will get there in God’s time, just as we live out our earthly life according to his plans. Strengthen us, Lord, for the remainder of the distance. Help us to be faithful pilgrims.

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Breakfast with our expensive room was pitiful: three tiny slices of bread, plain yogurt, slivers of cheese, two transparent slices of jamon and a small glass of orange juice, perked up with coffee con leche and Cola Cao. Maurice spilled the OJ on his iphone.

We had decided to take an alternate Camino route, making the first day of our detour into a semi-rest day with a shorter walk. We were out at 9:20. A few kilometers up the road we turned into a lovely woodland track just as the sun came out. Adorable tiny stone villages seemed to be growing out of the soft green hills.

One hamlet was having a cow parade from pasture to barn; the local cowherds must be tired of giggling pilgrims taking pictures.

Up and up we went on our beautiful walk in the hills. Just before we got to Samos an opening in the woods gave us a sunlit view of the enormous monastery.

Soon we were out of the trees, passing the monastic orchard and crossing the little river.

There were no facilities until we arrived in Samos about noon. We popped into the first bar we saw for a chocolate croissant and a coke; the WC unfortunately smelled like a bar, then the light went off after thirty seconds, and I couldn’t reach the switch, and I couldn’t find the tp….

We stopped in the Casa Lucerio B&B where the Ohio girls were staying. Though there was no room for us, Ashleigh the proprietor welcomed us in for a cup of tea before sending us down the street to the Hotel A Veiga at the edge of town, our best accommodation yet: a fine double room with two upholstered chairs, a spacious bathroom, window rolladen and heat to assist in drying the laundry, all for only 35€.

Tea with Ashleigh

Later in the afternoon Maurice went out to draw and I took a tour of the monastery, San Xulian de Samos. It was founded in the sixth century, grew very powerful, ousted the monks a couple times, burned down occasionally (most recently in the 1950s) and now only houses a handful of monks. Upstairs around the cloister were wonderful contemporary murals of the life of St. Benedict as well as fascinating old photographs of life in the monastery from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

In the evening as Maurice and I hurried down the street for vespers at the monastery, I thought I heard someone calling his name. Couldn’t be. Who knows us here? As we kept walking it sounded like someone was calling my name. We turned and looked around. Ashleigh from the B&B was running up the road after us. She had a proposal for Maurice: if he would do a watercolor of her B&B for her, she would give us a free overnight. Wow! Maurice was taken aback. What a compliment of his work. We pondered her generous offer as we continued toward the monastery; ultimately we turned it down. Maurice had planned the rest of our walk so we would get to Santiago in time for the Friday evening botafumeiro-swinging at the pilgrim mass. The only extra day we had was the half-rest day we were currently taking in Samos. But Maurice told Ashleigh he would do a watercolor for her when he got home and mail it to her, and that maybe we’d be back in a few years to take her up on the overnight.

Pilgrims far outnumbered the few monks in the ornate church at vespers. Even with microphones the Gregorian chant was weak. But all was peaceful and serene as the service moved right into the mass and we all lined up for the Eucharist, except for the young woman who received the communion wafer but would not consume it; eventually the acolyte chased her down and came back with the uneaten wafer on his silver paten. After the mass we spotted Regular Canadian Tom and his girls; they had taken a taxi over from the main Camino route just to hear the Gregorian chant.

We had a late dinner in the hotel dining room, late for us but not for the Spanish, as the dining room didn’t open until 8:30. I started with caldo gallego, the traditional Galician thick cabbage soup with potatoes and beans; the waiter brought me a whole tureen of it. Then for my second course I had another first, jamon and mushrooms, well-seasoned and fried crispy. Maurice had spaghetti, then a chicken cutlet with zucchini. For dessert I selected creamy and rich chestnut mousse; it seemed appropriate, as we had tripped over chestnuts all along the path that day. When we finished, the maître d’ brought us a plate of warm roasted chestnuts. It was an elegant and delicious dinner, a cut above the standard pilgrim meal.

Back in our room the heat came on and dried our laundry. And we think we have a room in Santiago. I had emailed a church organist in Santiago who had responded to a Camino forum question I had posted in August before we left, asking him if he had any leads on a hotel room for our dates. He had a connection that sounds like just what we need. Thanks be to God! We’re still walking by faith, “still living by faith.”