Luis
Luis and I had crossed paths for the past two days, stayed at the same albergues, shared a room, and walked at about the same pace. We left the albergue at similar times and ended up walking together for the day. He is from Palas de Rei, a small town 60 km from Santiago, Spain. The Camino Frances passes through his town. He currently lives in Madrid and works as a statistician. This was his two week holiday of exercise. He and I stuck together for the rest of the Camino.
David
Luis and I stopped at Bogani Desperta Cafe Lampiao for a mid morning break. David, the owner, was very friendly and welcoming. He has a guestbook and lots of Camino memorabilia in his cafe. With my tea, he served oranges, peanuts, cookies, and a very strong local honey.
Sophia
We stopped for lunch a short distance from our albergue and met Sophia from Potsdam, Germany. She was on her own on her first Camino. We would see her time and again over the next weeks.
Luis and I, and two Californian ladies who stayed at the same albergue the previous night phoned ahead and booked spots at Casa Carolina, in Anha . Our albergue host in Apulia suggested Casa Carolina as good place to stay. After a hot day, this private family albergue seemed like an oasis. The entire family had completed caminos and this was their way of giving back. They built a lovely albergue on their property, enclosed a large kitchen and eating area on the deck, planted a large garden, provided a wading pool and sunning deck, and even stocked food and alcohol.
Maria
Maria, the grandmother at Casa Carolina gave us a tour, tended to the vegetable garden, and made the vegetable soup we dined on at supper. This was our most memorable evening by far.
We walked 33.6 km this day.