👣 Noire Pilgrim: Almost Family | wood•life•studio

Will it be Orense or Astorga?

Granja de Moreruela

The stages or distances between towns are quite long on camino Via de la Plata. There are not a lot of albergues and hostels that host pilgrims making their way north. There is a family-owned hotel in Granja de Moreruela or Granja, for short, on the camino Mozárabe that is quite nice. I had an opportunity to spend a night there while on the trail to Santiago.

A complicated bed race

Consider the dreaded race to find a bed in an albergue or hotel during weekends. Along with other pilgrims, there is competition from local Spanish citizens. They use the time to dress up and enjoy a fancy day or evening out. The children are dressed up too, sometimes in traditional or cultural outfits. The father picks out an expensive bottle of wine to accompany the prix fix meal. It is a sweet thing to see.

The problem is this: restaurants and hotels remain closed to everyone except those that have reservations for dinner or rooms. A handful of weekends, I secured a reservation in a private albergue or restaurant hotel, ate an extraordinary meal, and absorbed the surreal feel of family.

*Another private albergue that was closed to the public for the weekend except for reserved guests. Luckily, I contacted the proprietress earlier in the week and she made room for me.*

There are no strangers, only friends you have not met yet.
— W.B.Yeats

Surely on camino Mozárabe, by Wednesday or Thursday, I was worried about where I might stay on Saturday. Typically, beds in albergues cannot be reserved. The capacity of most is quite small. Since I was still walking a little slower than I might if my feet were healthier, I tried to find a place through a popular room reservation site. It delivered the bad news that no rooms were available in the town. So what is a girl to do?

I thought that maybe, just maybe, I would be successful if I emailed the proprietor of the local hotel. It seemed to be a very nice one from the description on its website. I asked if a room was available for Saturday. I included that I was a sole peregrina on the trail and needed a room for just one night.

Surprisingly, the owner answered back and said, “yes, of course, we have a room for you”. That made the rest of the walk to get to Granja a relaxing one, free of tension.

Understanding

Sometimes other pilgrims think you don’t want to stay with them in the albergue. On the trail we are alone and together, one and many, but each person makes her or his own decisions. Most of these decisions must be timely, that is, made without undue hesitation. Feelings do get hurt and misunderstandings may arise. These moments can be personal tests of independence or opportunities for more balanced bonding.

I finally arrived at the town late in the afternoon. I had arranged to meet the owner at a cafe next to the albergue. As I waited, several fellow pilgrims were relaxing and drinking cold beverages, you know, just chilling. This is my experience since I usually arrive late. They were already registered and wanted to know if I was also staying at the albergue. I said that I had made other arrangements.

A moment like that can be difficult to navigate but liberating in its own way.

A nice room in the family hotel in Granja.

After a few minutes, the owner of the hotel entered the cafe and told me that we had to leave quickly. The hotel was the subject of a magazine photo shoot and they needed to photograph my room first.

Afterwards, I settled in. They were also having a barbecue (no sauce!) for family and friends. I was invited to join the party. One of the interesting things I found out was that the hotel is solidly booked every weekend through the end of the year.

I also learned that the proprietor’s wife walked the camino Frances recently. She was wearing a blue and yellow ribbon bracelet. I asked if she had walked the trail. Her face lit up when she said yes! And she immediately pulled out her phone and proudly showed me the pictures on the trail and at Santiago.

Our understanding of each other deepened at this moment in spite of the fact that we struggled a bit to communicate because of the language barrier. We kept trying though and our peregrina sisterhood secured our connection. The evening was just what I needed before getting back on the camino.

All roads lead to Santiago

A sign pointing out the split on the camino Via de la Plata. — Leaving Granja de Moreruela, this marker could be easy to miss at sunrise. It advises that the camino trail continues left toward Orense and camino Sanabres. Walk on the right if you want to go to Astorga and continue on Via de la Plata til it meets camino Frances.

One part of the trail veers westward onto camino Sanabres. It manages to follow and stay just north of the border between Spain and Portugal through Orense* and Cea upward to Santiago. The other direction continues northward to the city of Astorga where it connects with the camino Frances to reach Santiago.

*Orense is also spelled Ourense on signs and maps.

The plaque in front of the church . — *That is my walking stick leaning against the crossroads plaque.*

The plaque on the stone pillar in front of the local church informs pilgrims that they are at a “bifurca de camino” or crossroad on Via de la Plata!

A peregrina on the Via de la Plata in Granja.

The choice to go one way or the other is an emotional one for pilgrims who want to stay with their adopted “camino family” and arrive in Santiago together. Others want the opportunity to stay on camino Via de la Plata to Astorga and explore the cathedral and other historical and cultural elements there. Some like me, want to avoid the more frenetic camino Frances and quietly walk to Santiago on camino Sanabres.