Last night after our wonderful group dinner we went upstairs and our host, Diego, lit a fire in the fireplace.
I casually asked Diego if he had any after dinner liquor at the bar. He said he did and invited me to join him at the bar. Susan from England and Cecile from Spain joined us at the bar. We sampled a number of liquors but couldn’t find one that hit the spot. We finally decided to just have a beer. Diego said he had a special beer on tap that was brewed in San Sebastián. According to Diego it was very good and very strong. I didn’t exactly understand what he meant by strong. But the beer was very good and everyone in the group was very thirsty.
Diego let me pay for the first round but after that he keep our glasses full and refused to let anyone pay for the beer.
Diego told us his life story and we three pilgrims discussed why we were walking the Camino. Susan’s story was heartbreaking.
She met her husband Hugh when they were both 19 and it was love at first sight. They were engaged within a couple of months and married four months later. Hugh was a nationally renowned trumpet player. They had three children and a wonderful life together that included a summer home in Wales.
A couple of years ago Susan and Hugh were at their summer home for the weekend. On Sunday Susan asked Hugh if they could stay for an extra night. Hugh wanted to leave but Susan talked him into staying. That night Hugh got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, became disoriented, and fell down a flight of stairs breaking his neck. As a result of this injury Hugh was a quadriplegic. He lived for 18 months after the accident and passed away six months ago. Susan and Hugh were married for 43 years.
Susan has been carrying Hugh’s ashes for 14 days on her Camino, starting in Porto, trying to find the perfect place to spread them. She surprised everyone by announcing that she had decided that the grounds of the alburgue would be the perfect spot to spread Hugh’s ashes. Diego thought that was a wonderful idea. With brimming mugs of beer in hand we accompanied Susan as she spread Hugh around the grounds of the alburgue.
I didn’t get to bed until midnight and by that time I was pretty inebriated. Good thing I had a bottom bunk. There is no way I could have climbed into a top bunk.
When I woke up this morning I felt awful. On top of a raging hangover it rained on and off as I struggled to get to Santiago.
That’s it from Santiago. I am going to rest here until Friday and then I plan to walk the 90 kilometers to Finnesterre. I hope you are having a wonderful day wherever you are.
Steps walked – 28,184
Kilometers walked – 22.6
Flights of stairs climbed – 31
AbeAndMarkontheCamino 