Day 13: Viloria de la Rioja to Tosantos, 13.9km
Today I left Agatha and continued my walk. It was cool in the morning so I bundled up with my fleece. The path today meandered through a few small towns, but mostly followed the highway to the north and fields to the south. It was a relatively flat path, too, which allowed me to linger a bit in Belorado before continuing 5km to Tosantos.
There was a private Albergue I was hoping would have space and it did! I ran into a couple from Winnipeg I hadn't seen since Day 2 of the Camino, and we had ice cream and wine together at the bar across the street from the Albergue. We had a very diverse group of people staying at the Albergue. Two Germans, a Spaniard, a French woman, an Iranian, and myself, the sole American. There were also two hospitaleros from Friday Harbor, WA. I really enjoyed chatting with them!
At 6p, several of us walked up the hill behind the village with a local woman, to see a hermitage that dates to the 12th Century. It was amazing! So old, and so beautiful. It's called the Ermita Virgen de la Peña and it holds a statue of the Madonna & Child that is very important and special to this community. It was a real treat to see it as it is usually locked and my guidebook didn´t even know what was inside it!
At 7p, we all gathered in the kitchen to prepare a simple meal. At 8:30p, we ate dinner. We had salad, patatas de la Riojan with bread. For dessert, apples.
After dinner, we cleaned up and those who wanted, went upstairs to the oratorio for evening prayer. The oratorio was so lovely. Very simply decorated and a wonderful prayer space. We all were able to read parts of the prayer in our own languages. After prayer, I went to bed and tried to sleep through the sounds of the Canadian snoring symphony! Let's just say I was not too successful and did not get a good night's sleep at all.
There was a private Albergue I was hoping would have space and it did! I ran into a couple from Winnipeg I hadn't seen since Day 2 of the Camino, and we had ice cream and wine together at the bar across the street from the Albergue. We had a very diverse group of people staying at the Albergue. Two Germans, a Spaniard, a French woman, an Iranian, and myself, the sole American. There were also two hospitaleros from Friday Harbor, WA. I really enjoyed chatting with them!
At 6p, several of us walked up the hill behind the village with a local woman, to see a hermitage that dates to the 12th Century. It was amazing! So old, and so beautiful. It's called the Ermita Virgen de la Peña and it holds a statue of the Madonna & Child that is very important and special to this community. It was a real treat to see it as it is usually locked and my guidebook didn´t even know what was inside it!
At 7p, we all gathered in the kitchen to prepare a simple meal. At 8:30p, we ate dinner. We had salad, patatas de la Riojan with bread. For dessert, apples.
After dinner, we cleaned up and those who wanted, went upstairs to the oratorio for evening prayer. The oratorio was so lovely. Very simply decorated and a wonderful prayer space. We all were able to read parts of the prayer in our own languages. After prayer, I went to bed and tried to sleep through the sounds of the Canadian snoring symphony! Let's just say I was not too successful and did not get a good night's sleep at all.