Hobbled into the little town of grand Grañón, Spain.
Up the steep stairs behind the church at the center of town.
Opened the door attached to the choir loft.
Stepped into a wide, empty room with wooden floors and stone walls.
A stack of mats in the corner.
Immediately thought of my yoga studio back home and felt a little thrill.
Realized instead that these were the famous (among pilgrims) sleeping mats.
As in sleeping on the floor after walking 16 miles.
This was, in fact, the famous “Sleeping Mat Albergue.”
All the books mention it.
The mats made us curious.
What an unexpected treasure we walked into.
The closest thing to what pilgrims centuries ago encountered.
Walking from church to church in search of shelter.
Ancient pilgrims sleeping under pews or along the catwalks.
Picked up one plastic mat each.
Albergue volunteers and pilgrims gathered around the kitchen counter.
Using broken English or Spanish or sign language.
Eight different nationalities here.
American, Australian, Korean, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian, French, Japanese.
Somehow, magically, "More garlic!” is communicated.
Old rock tunes swirling.
When did I last hear Bon Jovi singing Dead or Alive ?
Joe captured in the energy and discussion.
Joe smiling.
I relax into the sound and put my bum foot up on a chair.
Mass before dinner -- a special pilgrims blessing.
Simple dinner, filling, enough.
Lights out by 10 PM.
A room full of stinky pilgrims from around the world.
Sleep or not side-by-side on the floor.
This is a thousand years on the Road to Santiago
So much blessing here.
I will remember.
People from all around the world.
Sitting around a long table.
NOT speaking each other's language.
Communicating and connecting nonetheless.
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