Day 26- Last Night’s Levity

My stay in Grandes de Saline turned out to be a blast. I came into town in the rain. I walked to a restaurant in the rain and finished my one meal of the day at about 2:30. I went back to my hotel room, washed clothes (in the bathroom sink), organized things for the next day and wrote in my blog all by a little after 4:00. I was ready for bed. Then something strange happened. The rain stopped and the sun came out- a rare sight indeed. I just wanted to walk in the sunlight so I spared myself the prospect of trying to go to sleep at 5:00 pm and I took a short walk into town to look for some groceries. What I didn’t know was the few grocery stores all close at 1:00 on Mondays in this town. Go figure. While walking, I bumped into Marcus and Michelle. We chatted as we walked around the little town and came upon a tavern, spirits store, deli, bread, pastries, fruit, and a lot of other stuff all in one. Marcus said it got great reviews on line. We went in. The place had a great vibe. We ordered drinks. Locals and Pilgrims alike packed this tiny all service place. We talked to other Pilgrims as a man set up to play his electric guitar- live music!. I had to stay. We had another round, chatted and listened to this guy play Dylan, Neil Young, The Beatles and some Spanish music. When he played Spanish songs, the locals joined in and sang- loudly. When he played English music, the Pilgrims sang along in English while he sang the lyrics in both English and Spanish. The whole place hummed with good cheer. I bowed out after two beers and let the party rage on without me (boy have times changed). What a fun surprise and great way to close out the day. Tonight I return to my hermit ways.

Marcus, Michelle and I soaking up the local atmosphere

Rock on! Sorry Linda no Stones, perhaps it was for the best. It didn’t seem like he had a lot of Mick in him

Last night’s lodging

This pilgrimage takes me through 4 autonomous regions. I started in Basque Country, then Cantabria, then Asturias. Today I crossed the border from Asturias into Galicia. Spaniards are extremely proud of the character and language of their respective Autonomous regions.

Another milestone. The marker notes Santiago de Campostela is 162.591 Km or 100 miles away.

A little shelter from the storm