There were five Irish pilgrims, one German, two Austrians, one Bulgarian, the two Californian ladies, Luis from Spain, and me at Casa Carolina last evening. We had a great time. Some stayed up late celebrating at a local restauarant and had an even better time. Luis and I avoided the hangovers and were the first up and out. I did leave slightly before him and we didn’t meet up until we reached our destination for the night.
Only a few kms from the albergue, I came upon a traditional laundry fountain/wash house, decorated with a starry sky. These old community laundry facilities would become a very common site the further north we travelled. Women would bring their laundry and their washing boards to the wash houses for work and socializing. We did pass one wash house, later in Spain, actually being used. In Spain these wash houses are protected and well maintained.
This day I walked many kilometres of trail just above the jagged shoreline. I saw many locals combing the low water mark. Maybe for clams?
Our destination was the beach town of Vila Praia de Ancora. My first view of town was across a beautiful beach with good surfing waves. A boardwalk eventually led to waterfront street with hotels and restaurants. We, Luis, the ladies, and I secured the last four bunks at the Guest House D’Avenida that night.
Nearess, from Mendocino, California, was on her first trip outside of the USA. She and her long time friend Carolen had been preparing for the Camino by walking with gear at home. They even practiced walking in the rain, something we saw little of on this journey. Nearess and Carolen were physically well prepared, so they kept pace with Luis and I for the rest of the Camino.
I walked 33.7 km today.