Ahhhh Granon!!!
I knew this was a wonderful gem on the Camino but once again it exceeded all expectations. I walked with W from Canada a new college grad who has spent the past few months in retail in Europe. He looks like Justin Beeber with lighter hair and I really enjoyed our walk. Our destination was only about twelve kilometers, about seven miles and I felt really good. I enjoyed this companions worldly views and asked him to hold out getting married till one of my daughters was of age... He politely shared he was gay. That opened up some wonderful conversation about family and acceptance and of course politics. He shared his family was totally supportive and I was thrilled to hear that. I shared I always thought my family would be very much the same and what a fifty to allow our children not to have to hide from us. We arrived to Granon and I went straight for the bell tower where I would be sleeping tonight and W thought he needed a true bed and checked into the other auberge in town. We were done so early and it was great seeing some of the old group I had not seen in a few days, they urged me to go further but the Granon experience was tops on my list and I am so glad that I stayed. At Granon the parochial auberge is charming, you sleep in the bell tower and have a communal meal and can then attend mass and a special candle lighting in the church. We had to sing for bread...this was so special, down the stairs the volunteers came clanging pots and pans telling us we all needed to go and earn our bread from the local bakery. The two auberges in town met in the street and were greeted by the adorable bakery owner who dramatically said we must earn our bread for dinner. A guitar was brought out and they called the different countries up to sing. At first we all acted shy but soon we were like drunks in a karaoke bar... When they called for an American I hid as I know my limits, singing is one them. I told them I was Canadian with a smirk and they pulled me out. I was told I had to sing "Bye Bye Miss American Pie"...the words instantly came back to me several people stepped forward to assist. We had a blast, when I was done I think we had finally earned our bread and they picked four people to enter the bakery and they came back out in costume and wigs with our dinner. We danced back to the auberge and had to make room for the delightful overflow of pilgrims we had for the night. The energy was fabulous. I met a neat man R from Scotland and only share in that he told me of a wonderful experience he had had the day before. As he left Ventosa ( where I was throwing a camelback in the street) he passed stacks of rocks off to the side. These rock arrangements are very common place on the Camino and I will admit I have long had a mental disorder in bonding with rocks and picking them up. So others like myself will pick up a rock, carry it and find the perfect spot for it. These constructions are neat but we have passed thousands of them on the way. He said he passed these rocks and thirty meters past them he felt a calling to go back to them, he shared it was the only time he had walked back on this journey that calls us forward. He said the calling was so strong he started videoing it, there among the stacks of rocks he walked and was drawn to a stack where someone had placed a wooden cross, such things are common place here but he took the time to read this. This cross was a memorial to a lady from his town in Scotland (it gets better), it was a memorial to a teacher who died of cancer and his wife not only worked with her but took over her job upon her death. Having the church opened to us at night before going to bed was glorious, we passed around a candle and spoke (if we wanted to) about the Camino, I said how thankful I was to our loved ones at home who supported our efforts and were stepping in to allow us to do this. We slept on mats on the floor and the place was super quiet, I didn't sleep well but I suspect it was from eating late. Tomorrow would be another shorter walk for me as I hoped to stay at the parochial auberge in to santos, another gem from what I have been told. We had our first sprinkles tonight, I had to grab my hanging laundry before it was totally dry and threw on my fleece for the first time. It is getting cooler...
Today was a dreamy day!
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