26 SEPTEMBER - SAN ANTON

I suggested to Angela last night that she take Kristine with her to mass from now on.  After we leave, Kristine will be on her own and won't be able to leave the albergue again.  She agreed but said that we would visit the sisters in the afternoon to discuss the idea for the prayer box so they went off after breakfast and I started the daily cleaning routine.

A tiny, elderly Mexican pilgrim hobbled in at around 8am and asked if she could please stay.  Her legs were painful and she didn't think she could walk any further today.  I offered her the last of the coffee from the pot and some breakfast and chose a lower bunk bed for her, taking her backpack into the dormitory. 
I told her to sit and take it easy, but the next thing she had taken a cleaning cloth and was wiping down the table and sweeping up the breakfast crumbs!  When I started wringing the sheets she came to help but she was too short to help me hang them on the wash line.

Pilgrims come and go all morning.  Some stop and rest, others have a cursory look and move on.  Most get a 'sello' and have a drink of water, dropping a few coins into the pottery cup.  We have two 'sellos'.  One is the TAU and is the stamp for the albergue. The other is left on the table for anyone to use and represents the Tau, sign of Malta, and the logos of Castile y Leon.
I have come to realise that only special pilgrims want to stay here, really want to stay.  Some run to get here in order to secure a bed.  They have marked San Anton on their 'must stay' list and we have had to turn bitterly disappointed pilgrims away when we are full.
 Others express an interest in staying but no electricity, no Wi-Fi and no hot water is too much for them and they move on to Castrojeriz.  I can understand this.  That was me, 13 years ago when I first walked the Camino and shunned all places that were described as 'basic' i.e. mattresses on the floor, no hot water or no electricity.  "Pass!" we said - and moved on to a more upmarket, modern albergue.  After a long, hot day of walking the least we wanted was a hot shower and a comfortable bed.

By choosing only the modern albergues we didn't stay in any albergues that offered meals, no candlelight dinners, sing-alongs or pilgrim blessings.  I didn't realise what I had missed until I returned home and started hearing other pilgrims' glowing accounts of communal meals, special 'oraciones' or blessings.  In 2004 I walked from Paris, a route that had no pilgrim shelters for at least 750km until we reached the south and then we started finding a few albergues close to Saint Jean Pied de Port. 

When I returned to walk the Camino Frances in 2007 I made a list of the most popular traditional pilgrim shelters and we religiously sought them out and stayed in every one of them - Eunate, Granon, Tosantos, San Bol, Bercianos, Manjarin, Ave Fenix, Vegetariano, Ruitelin, San Xulian - all chosen for atmosphere and tradition.  I reckoned I could have shiny new bathrooms, comfortable beds and bedside lamps when I got back home! 
I was just like the pilgrims that run to San Anton with a determination to stay here.

Angela and Kristine returned and we were able to sit and chat to the pilgrims that were staying the night.  I took wine left over from the night before and a few more plums to the niche under the arch and topped up a black shower bag so that I could have a lukewarm shower.  A couple of the pilgrims followed and also had a warm shower.
I checked the fridge and when I saw that we only had lettuce and tomatoes, I decided to fetch a large, red apple a pilgrim had given me from the ice-box.  As I started to dice it into the salad Mrs Bossy looked at me and said, "We could've shared that apple.  You didn't have to use it in the salad." 
"Id prefer to share it with all the pilgrims," I said with a smile.  After all it was my apple, given by a pilgrim and now many would share it.
We had a full house at dinner and half way through, we saw bicycle lights approaching the albergue through the gates.  I had set a place for San Anton and we had enough food so when the cyclist asked if we had a bed we said yes, and offered him some dinner. 
"Where are you from?" I asked the stock question as I prepared to sign him in and stamp his credencial. "I'm from the Netherlands, " he answered. 
"And what is your name?" I asked.
"My name is Anton," he said.
We all started laughing and had to share with him our tradition of keeping a place for San Anton!
Kristine was going to be walking the Primitivo when she left here but she was concerned that she didn't have enough warm clothing.  It had turned chilly and the temperatures at night and in the early mornings were very low.  I offered her my down, padded jacket and said I would give it to before I left.

25 SEPTEMBER - SAN ANTON

Today was my turn to go to mass at Santa Clara and a small group of us left after breakfast, walking in the early dawn towards Castrojeriz.  There were at least a dozen prayer request in the box this morning and by the time the pilgrims left, only a few remained.  It was gratifying to know that the pilgrims' prayer requests were being taken to Santiago by other pilgrims. 
I had an idea for continuing the prayer requests after the albergue closed next week and chatted to Angela about it on our way to Castrojeriz.  Perhaps the sisters at Santa Clara would be prepared to provide a box in the church where pilgrims could leave their requests, as they did in other churches along the Camino.  I told Angela about the box of prayers in the Church of Santiago in her home town of Logrono and she said she would make an appointment for us to visit the sisters and speak to
them about the ides.
Because we had to wait until 1pm to see the nurse, Angela and I climbed the hill to visit the castle above the village.  When Marion and I visited it in 2007, most of it was off limits and was pretty much just a ruined pile of stones but in the last few years, a lot of money has been spent on the renovation and restoration of the castle.  One can now walk through the castle and see where the small dwellings were.  Climbing the narrow stone stairways gives you a view of four floors of living quarters, kitchens, pantries and water containers.

When we returned to the path in front of the castle we hitched a ride down to the village with a young man.  We walked to the Hotel Jacobus and both of us were able to have a hot shower - my first proper shower in two weeks!  Wonderful to wash your hair under a running stream of hot water instead of in a basin using a plastic cup to rinse!
We walked back to the square and visited Angela's friend, buying a few fresh provisions for albergue.  At 1pm I saw the same nurse at the clinic.  She changed the dressing on my finger and declared it almost healed. 

We returned to the Hotel and I met Ovidio for the first time.  He was busy behind his bar counter but listened avidly as Angela told him about the bed bugs and how we had been dealing with them.  She gave him a list of things we needed, including water, wine, candles, milk, bottled vegetables and fresh, and after half an hour he took us back to the albergue in his car, promising to return later with provisions. 
Kristine went off on her walk and Angela and I tidied the pantry cupboard and fridge so that we would be ready to pack the new provisions when Ovidio returned.  He brought a box of potatoes, onions, tomatoes and cucumber as well as lettuces, a box of bottled salsa sauce, milk and bottles of chickpeas and lentils.  He also brought 5L water bottles and a box of red wine.
That evening Maria Alvarez arrived again, this time bearing a huge tray-box of sweet plums and another of apples for the albergue.  We invited her to stay for dinner and when she told us that it was her birthday, we all sang happy birthday to her.

21 SEPTEMBER - SAN ANTON

With no electricity there are no lights to read by.  With no network , iPads and tablets are kept packed away.  Cell phones come out only to check mileages or information already stored but there are no network jingles or ring tones breaking the silence.  People write in journals, or talk to each other.  At the dinner table, there are lively conversations in different languages including Camino-lingo which involves hand signals, words in other languages or even drawings. We sing songs, share stories and thank the Camino. 

 

At night there is no light pollution to block out or dim the stars and the Milky Way is dazzling with the constellations easily discernible in the night sky - especially with a Google Sky map!  (Technology has its uses in our modern age!)  For the first three nights there was no moon and one could see satellites moving slowly across the sky and follow the trails of shooting stars.  It was magical!!  Then the moon rose and the walls glowed until I didn't need a torch to go to the bathroom at night.

 

For the first few days here I was able to get a cell phone signal and WhatsApp messages if I walked outside the walls or under the arch.  Then the money ran out and I had no way of recharging so I was cut off for over a week.  My world became the daily routine contained between the walls of the monastery. 

 

As I creep through the moonlit courtyard at 6am in the morning, I can imagine what it was like for the Antoine monks who had a daily regime of rising early.  They saw the same moonlight that I now see, opening the large gates into the ruins.  Whilst they had a vaulted ceiling over their heads, I have the stars; whilst they padded inside the monastery on flag-stone floors, my feet crunch on the gravel that covers the courtyard. 

I open the doors to the albergue and light a few candles.  There are lovely comments in the pilgrim comment book.  A rather shy young man has written that he had been searching for the spirit of the Camino and had finally found it here, at San Anton.  I sigh and hold my hand over my heart.

 

The very setting and history in these ruins instil a sense of welcome, healing and tradition  The soaring walls with their Gothic arches and high windows surround and enclose the space that houses the albergue.  The albergue itself, which is grafted onto the ancient walls, is a memorial, dedicated to a beloved brother and friend. I think that this is as close one can get to the soul of the Camino.

There are many prayer requests in the box.  I read a few but there is work to be done.  "Ora et labora" - 'Pray and Work' - the Benedictine motto.  Later, when the pilgrims have all left, whilst mopping the shower and toilet, I think about another of Benedict's rules and of Robert's warning to Kevin and me after we allowed a French couple and their dog to stay for dinner on my second night.  They told us that they had walked from Le Puy en Velay and had now run out of money.  They didn't want to sleep in the albergue (they had a tent), but they were hungry and they would appreciate any food we could give them and their dog.  They would help with any work we needed done.  Of course we let them have dinner and gave the leftovers to the dog; they in turn helped with clearing the table and washing up. 

 

The next morning Robert warned us that the Camino was becoming over-run by freeloaders who used the donativo albergues to their own advantage.  The albergues could not support all the vagabonds on the Camino and if we continued to accept people like these French 'pilgrims', we would be adding to the demise of the Camino. 

He has a point.  Many donativo albergues have had to close or start charging just to survive.  But .....  I think about the man and the woman, and their dog, and once again I think about the rule of Benedict.

 

Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ,
for He is going to say,
"I came as a guest, and you received Me"
And to all let due honor be shown,
especially to the domestics of the faith and to pilgrims.

 

In the reception of the poor and of pilgrims
the greatest care and solicitude should be shown,
because it is especially in them that Christ is received;

 

We had started setting an extra place for 'San Anton' (who at first we called the 'Visitor') and we couldn't find it in our hearts to turn away the late comer, the vagabond - or Christian, a young Spaniard who arrived almost at 7pm a few days later. 

Christian  (imagine me turning away someone with that name?) told me that he was walking to Santiago but as it was the weekend, he had not been able to withdraw money from the bank, so he did not have money for a bed but he would work for food.  I told him that he couldn't sleep in the walls of the ruins, did he have a tent?  No - he didn't have a tent but he was prepared to sleep outside because he couldn't give a donation for a bed.  I told him that many people were not as honest as he was. People who could afford a donation often didn't give one.  I told him to accept our offer of a bed in the spirit in which it was given and in exchange, he could help prepare dinner, take out the trash and wash the dishes.  I thought of Christian often in the following days and wondered how he was getting on. 

 

Kristine is training for her walk on the Salvador and Primtivo in a week's time so after lunch she went on her usual walk.  A car pulled up outside the big gates and Angela arrived.  For 9 years she had served at San Esteban in Castrojeriz but when they started charging 4 years ago she changed to serving at San Anton.  She checked the 'pantry' cupboard and started making a list for tomorrow's shopping.  When I told her that we were out of candles she phoned all the shops in Castrojeriz to find that there weren't any to be had. It was a relief to have someone who could talk on the phone!  I could tell right away that we would get on.  She smiled a lot, asked questions about the albergue, how we were doing, admiring the new fridge and other small changes since her last time here. 
With three of us to prepare dinner, I had a chance to collect bramble berries for our dessert.  Armed with garden gloves and cutters, two pilgrims and I walked down the path and into two fields, collecting the plump, black berries from the hedges.  We crushed some and mixed them with yoghurt and decorated the top with whole berries.
After dinner, Angela asked if one of us would like to go with her to the morning mass at the convent of Santa Clara which was close to Castrojeriz.  Afterwards she would do some shopping in Castrojeriz and visit the hotel.  I suggested that Kristine go this time and I would go the next day. From then on we could take it in turns. 

 

 

20 SEPTEMBER - SAN ANTON

In May 2001 Ovidio Campo signed a contract with local farmer Don Eliecer Ten Temino, owner of the land and the ruins, to rent the space in the monastery.  In July 2002 they opened a donativo pilgrim shelter, created in the spirit of austerity with 6 double bunks donated by the army. 
In 2007 the Department of Development of Castile y Leon invested €300 000 to restore the ruins to the standard you see them today.  The new albergue was dedicated to Ovidio's brother Julian and his friend Jose who were killed in a train accident along with 4 other pilgrims in August 2006.  Every year, on the anniversary of their death, a memorial mass is held in the ruins.

 

Pilgrims approach the ruins from the road that runs between Hontanas and Castrojeriz

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tall double gate into the ruins

The sight that greets you as you enter - the small lean-to shelter in the lee of the walls which is where the main entrance was to the monastery.

 

 

The rose window comprises TAU cross decorations

 

 The walls enclose the courtyard - the albergue is on the left

 

 

Views from the outside

  

 

 

 The 16th century arch spans the road

  

 The ornate portico was the main entrance to the monastery.  

 

 

The albergue dorm and living area lies directly behind the double arches which have been closed.

 

The two niches in the arch where pilgrims leave messages

 

Medieval monks left wine and bread for pilgrims who arrived too late to enter the monastery.  Each day I put fresh water, wine, biscuits and sometimes fruit in the niche

 Seen approaching from the Castrojeriz side

 

 

18, 19 SEPTEMBER - SAN ANTON

Justi came to visit us this morning and we asked if he would take Kristine to the supermecado to buy provisions.   We were told that the hospitaleros could have a hot shower at the Hotel Jacobus so she could visit the hotel at the same time, have a shower and ask for more Tau crosses which were sold out at the albergue  We also asked him to try to find candles as we were now using the smaller candles in red plastic containers for the tables.

One of the pilgrims asked if he could stay awhile and help me clean so I put him to work sweeping the dining room and taking the rubbish to the junk tip around the corner outside the Farmer's house.  I also gave him a bottle of water and some bread to put in the niche under the archway that spans the road.  The French monks used to put wine and bread in the niche for pilgrims who arrived too late to be admitted to the monastery and we hospitaleros have continued the tradition.

We shook out the blankets and sprayed them before putting them into the plastic containers and he helped me pour boiling water on the sheets.  I hadn't seen a bug for three days so hopefully the one's we'd seen were just isolated hitch-hikers, carried in by pilgrims from other albergues.  There certainly weren't any breeding here and we'd only seen adults.

Two bus loads of tourists came to visit this morning - first a Swedish group and then a German group.  They milled about, peering into the dormitory and dining room but I barricaded the door into the bathroom with crossed poles - a mop and a broom - and put a No Entry sign on the door.  They bought a few trinkets from the showcase in the albergue, mostly pins, bells, Tau crosses and post cards - and most left a generous donation. 
The TAU was mentioned in the bible in Ezekiel
9:4 - "Go through the city of Jerusalem and put a TAU on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it."
St. Francis borrowed the TAU  from the Antonians who wore the TAU cross on their habits.  Whenever you see St. Anthony, "the Abbot or Hermit" in art, he is portrayed with the TAU.  The rose window in the ruins was decorated using the Tau crosses.

Kristine and Justi came back with the shopping but no Tau crosses or candles - and Kristine was unable to have a hot shower because the young woman in the reception said that she had to be there before 9am, which is not possible for us. 

At around 5pm a couple of peregrinas asked if they could help with anything. 'You can start setting the table" I said and put them to work.  Kristine showed us her cross face, "Not so early, "she said, "the flies will get on the plates." 
"No problem," I answer with a smile, "we'll cover the table with cloth."  She has said the same thing for three nights and every night I offer the same solution. She huffs and puffs, but I'm not giving in.  Tonight she cooked the meal using the same ingredients that our Italian chef had used.  We had a full house and everyone sang a song, we passed the candle saying thanks to the Camino, and I introduced another ritual at the table, borrowing a practise I first experienced in the albergue in Tosantos.
 There were so many hurting people on the Camino, many who were walking in honour or memory of a relative or friend, or who had personal grief.  A Polish lady told us about her sister who has been fighting bone cancer for 5 years.  Kristine had shared a story with me about her daughter and I decided to ask everyone if they would like to write out a prayer request and place it in a little box.  Tomorrow or the next day, we and the pilgrims spending the night would pray for those people.  We put paper and a pen in the box on the desk so that people could write out their requests tonight or before they leave tomorrow.  We also asked people to take a prayer request to Santiago with them and pray for that person when they got to the cathedral.