You Never Know What is Around the Corner…

We rounded the corner into Olleros de Tera and were confronted with this lovely lady who was,unbeknown to me, preparing our dinner! She was happily plucking away, feathers flying everywhere and she greeted us with excitement. We went into the bar to see if they had accommodation and were shown into the bowels  of the place to a large dormitory. The walls were painted with a tropical theme in an attempt to make it appealing, but it was an old disco room with a bar, no heating and a very average bathroom which we shared with the men drinking upstairs in the bar. (Who also played guitar and partied till 2am)However, our chicken plucking lady was so lovely and she almost smothered us with motherly kindness, so it was hard to say no. We settled in and waited while she cooked us a magnificent lunch!!!! We had delicious homemade chicken soup followed by roast chicken, chips and salad,  and flan for dessert, a jug of wine and a bottle of water. It was as good as a hug from grandma and so lovely to be looked after and cared for. What a treat. We went to our room and passed out in a food coma! We didn’t need dinner. 

After a long, freezing cold night with 3 blankets on the bed, we went up to the bar for breakfast and took off walking to warm up. It was so cold that there was frost on the grass and I even wrote in the ice on a park bench. 

Our walk today was full of surprises and it was so beautiful. Lots of bends and curves in the road and we were pleasantly surprised each time we turned a corner. We climbed higher into the mountains, passed a large weir and walked along its edge for quite a long while.

 All of a sudden, we turned a corner and found ourselves in what seemed like a deserted town.

 At the edge of this town, there was a tiny albergue with a coffee sign out the front, so we went in. We were greeted by a missionary born in Zambia. He has lived in many countries, including Nepal and India, but walked the Camino 6 years ago and decided to start an albergue and stay here. He only offers 4 beds, but the place has so much character, and he was so welcoming.  If you ever come here, I would really recommend staying in his little albergue. 

We chatted over coffee and then took off towards the next town, Rionegro del Puente, where we are now nestled in at a beautiful albergue. It is a renovated medieval building and very comfy. Across the road is the famous Me Gusta Comer, a  gastronomic delight! In the middle of nowhere, this restaurant is the equivalent of a 4 or 5 stars. We wandered in, sat down and a magnificent lunch just appeared in front of us. Everything is home made, fresh produce and absolutely delicious. There was no choice. It was just given to us. Tuna mousse served with jam and olive oil, followed by mushroom risotto and flan. Unlimited red wine, coffee and 3 jugs of different liqueurs. 

We haven’t seen any pilgrims for 3 days now but tonight we have a lot of company. We had a really long and interesting conversation with Josh from Taiwan. He taught us all about the history    of Taiwan and its association with Japan and China. I had been looking at him trying to work out where he was from, as he has such an interesting face. We have the Koreans with us again, a couple of Germans and a couple of Canadians. Our room is full and it is so nice to have new people to talk to!

So, you see from today, you never know what is around the corner….always the unexpected!