Tuesday 13 April 2010

Breakfast on the Camino


This is the Roman bridge over the Rio Guadiana at Mérida - 800 metres long. We crossed it at the end of today's easy 16km walk from Torremejia.

Easy, because it was much cooler this morning, and indeed spotting with rain, the first since we left England a fortnight ago nearly. Happily, we finished our day's walking before the downpour this afternoon, which has interfered rather with our visits to the extensive Roman remains here. We spent a little time in the amazing museum, before a text came from Thomas: he had just arrived from Lisbon to meet us (bearing cakes).

By 7.30 this morning, we were drinking our coffee at the bar at the end of our road, where we had met up once again with our new Amsterdam friends, Gerard and Franca. We had been chatting to the village priest together, after last night's 8.30 mass in the church: it's next to the sparkling new Albergue, opened only yesterday.

Gerard, at breakfast: "I was brought up in a family with a strict Protestant tradition: I missed the opportunity you Catholics have to get rid of your guilt. And your capacity to celebrate. Too much heavy organ music in our churches! Calvin must have been the greatest hater the world has known." And so ensued a great conversation about truth!

This is the sort of thing that happens all the time on the Camino, even at breakfast time.

No comments: