Camino Frances Waiting Day 1: Language Discoveries, Mountain Serenity, and Farmyard Explorations | Day 254 of my 2023 Journal

Camino Frances. Waiting day one.

Only after talking to the host four times, and for almost two hours, did I realize she didn't speak Spanish but a local language.

She is nice and was born and raised in Castelo, only a few kilometers from the Camino route—a small village of mostly cows, ancient houses, and stone walls.

We are in the mountains. Nothing happens here except for the rooster and the goats and the cows walking by once a day.

The house was renovated in the eighties, and we had an interesting IQ test based on one of the machines in the kitchen.

The wifi only works outside by the swings and the line for clothes in the courtyard - something about a bird nest and the mountain - so we parked the car there, and the host helped combine two extension lines. 


When she showed us around, most of it was about farm animals. At this point, Silke took over the translation, as she has worked so much at Mon La Bassa (the vegan sanctuary) over the years; she knows the vocabulary much better than me.

Our host showed us the pear tree, the cows, the chickens, and where the cows had water in the old days.

The newborn calves were only 12 days old and cute, and the mothers moved in between us and their babies in the calm way cows move.

I enjoy how these old farming villages still exist and work as they have always been. Yet, I still disagree with the production of animals for human consumption. It is not nice.

Back at the house, the host shared local stories and advised on day trips and walks when she suddenly said to herself: Oh! What is the word in Castilian? I realized she had been speaking the local language, Galician - also known as Galego, the entire time.

Silke and I had agreed she was VERY hard to understand, and now I finally understood why!

I love languages. It is such a great challenge!

We enjoyed the peace and quiet of the day, following Erik's progression toward Copenhagen over Messenger.

Everyone stretches their muscles and has long showers, meals, naps, and conversations.

We almost felt like walking some more.

With love

Cecilie Conrad

Thank you for reading
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