The Tasty Pilgrim

Over the last few days, the weather changed for the best. First I had rain and snow and it was so coooooooold ! Now there is sun and it looks like staying this way. Met a pilgrim who was collecting all kinds of legends and stories connected to the holy martyr St James. He was going to write a book about it. Some stories date back to the Middle Ages. One of the most popular is this one. A young couple did not get any children so the man went to see the monks for some consultancy. The monks advised him to donate generously to the monastery and to set out on a pilgrimage to Santiago. There he should pray to the saint and ask the saint to get his wife pregnant. Lo and behold. Upon his return he found his wife pregnant and when the child was born his wife said would not it be lovely to give the child the name of all the monks. Thus it is the only child with 28 Christian names. Next door to the refugio is a monastery. It is surprising how many young women walk here in search of the monastery. They even telephone daily and think we are the Monastery. In the German booklet about the St Jakobsweg the wrong telephone number is mentioned.

Some six years ago these monks arrived here and took over the empty little church and a deserted house. But obviously too much monkey business was going on (or is it monk´s business) and the population got angry and chased them out of the village. It was all over the news. By intervention from the the Bishop of Astorga they could return. I have seen them in their sexy black robes ( just as in Scotland nothing underneath your kilt) and must confess it exudes even more power than my webshop The Voodo Boner does. If ever I come back later in another life I choose to be a monk here. Now go to You Tube and listen to the song

MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN GO OUT IN THE MIDDAY SUN. It is by Noel Coward and his diction is great. I am preparing a story with this title. You see there is also a old troll here who seems to come with the house. Unbelievable things happen. Last night we had just 11 pilgrims staying. The weather is fine and most people walk from the town of Astorga some 20 kilometers away. Around 12 they pass here through Rabanal and see they have to wait outside for two hours as it opens at two in the afternoon. I have put a bench and some chairs outside to make them comfortable. After a rest they decide to walk on. We had an Englishman coming in and he preferred to sleep in his small tent in the garden. Surprisingly enough he is from Bolton, a town I used to stay in summer when I was a kid. It is a small world indeed. For many years there was no shop here. Then a lady started to sell some daily things like bread and tomatoes, very simple from the sitting room. Then she found there was a need for a shop, because pilgrims pass and wish to buy something for lunch. Now the sitting room is a spacious shop. Also there are pilgrims who prefer to make their own dinner here in the kichen instead of going to a restaurant. Your own food tastes so much better !

Yesterdy was the first opportunity, I made Istvan and myself a nice salad for lunch. He prefers beer over wine so I bought two cans of beer too. We sat in the garden and it was really relaxing. First time I could show myself to be ...