Day 18: Fromista - Carrion de los Condes, 21 km.
Such a cast of cool characters today. Our first encounter happened on our way out of Fromista. We heard a sheep "baaaaa"ing extremely loud yet the sound kept moving and we couldn't tell where it was coming from. I rounded a corner and the sheep and we saw each other at the same time. He became even louder and came running towards us from on top of a field. It took us quite some time to convince him he wasn't our new Camino buddy. He was far too demanding, needy, just a bit scary, and so talkative!
Outside of Villivieco, about 7 km in, a white van pulled head on and stopped directly in front of us. There was no one else around in any direction. I was completely unsure of what the drivers intentions were, given the driving felt a bit erratic. Once parked in the middle of the road, a gentleman jumped out and excitedly stopped us, speaking rapidly in Spanish. He opened the back of his van, pulled a bucket out and starts cracking fresh almonds and dumping them in our hands. He was so excited, I ate a couple and then shook my hand signing no more (they were seriously drying my mouth out, I was parched) but he became very insistent, so how could I refuse?? It was his way of supporting us Peregrinos. He then motioned for our Pilgrims passport, he had his own custom made stamp with his name…Pepe. He stamped our passports making it official that he had done his duty and served us pilgrims well. He then offered me a beautiful, long speech in Spanish I can only believe was a blessing, kissed both my cheeks, and kindly went on his way. Pepe is a very special meeting on this journey and he truly touched my heart.
Then walking into Carrion de los Condes, Bryan make a comment on a guy's Texas t-shirt who was sitting on the front porch of a church he is renovating. Turns out, this crew is from Austin, Texas here to do a special renovation on this very old church. The work they were doing was very cool so they invited us in for a tour. They had completed the bell tower and Frederico offered for us to ring the church bell at 4pm. There is quite an art to ringing church bells, clearly one that neither Bryan nor I have mastered. We surely confused the poor town by accidentally ringing in 5pm.
To top it all off, Frederico called and made reservations for us at a perfect little Hostel. He found us a private room with a bathtub to live for, the best restaurant I've eaten in yet, and the most darling couple cooking and serving us. These incredible encounters are the moments that make the Way of St. James extraordinarily special!!
