Another grey, windy and rainy day which made for a slow walk to the next town. It seems easier to walk when the sun is out. A pleasant surprise was crossing paths with an older man named Alejandro who wore a name tag that said ´Amigo de los pelerinos´. When he approached me he took a weathered notebook out of his pocket. As he opened it the wind the flipped the pages on which hundreds of names from pilgrims around the world were written and he asked me to sign. He then proudly showed me the canadian flag pin he had in his hat.
I arrived just in time for the Sunday mass in the next town in which there was a handful of people in attendance. I feel right now like I am in a poorer region of Spain as I walk past abandoned houses in a number of towns. I even walked pas an abandoned town and as I got closer a ray of sunshine came out and lit the area. I have been surprised to hear in conversations from people from France and Spain that agriculters are considered reasonably well off.
When I arrived at the albergue in Fromista I was there with six men. It seems most pilgrims that I meet are middle age and for them the camino is time to deal with fatigue from caring for aging parents, relationships and also adventure. There is little mention of the Christian origins in most of the albergues and few people make mention of religion.
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