Churches on the Camino

When I set up my itinerary I wanted to be sure to have plenty of time to see several churches: Eunate, Los Arcos, and Santo Sepulcro in Torres del Rio.

Back in 2013, I walked through Torres del Rio in a hurry and had popped my head into this mysterious church. Like Eunate, its purpose was unknown; it wasn’t a parish church, and had ties to the Knights Templar,

This time I wanted more time to soak in its aura. Which led to the decision to stay over in Torres del Rio even if it was just 8k from Los Arcos.

I made a reservation at Hostal San Andres on Booking.com, but I kept going back and forth whether to change my plans since it meant I’d burn a day and would need to jump ahead by a bus or taxi later on to get to Burgos on May 28.

I ended up keeping the reservation and not rearranging everything. I walked leisurely out of Los Arcos. I got to Sansol in about two hours. Torres del Rio is downhill right next to Sansol; somehow they’ve remained two villages.

Hostal San Andres was a hotel and albergue combined, and had a restaurant/bar. It even had a pool, but it was under maintenance. I my snarkier moments, I thought of these places as part of the “Pilgrim Industrial Complex.” It was a thriving business on the Camino. I hung out on the patio blogging until it was time to check-in. The church wasn’t open until four so I had a lot of time.

I talked to two women from SoCal and Idaho, who were walking when they wanted and taxiing otherwise. There now seem to be more pilgrims like them, and me, who have walked before and have a different focus than getting to Santiago.

Once I’d checked into my room, I walked around the town, which had several albergues. One was right across from the Santo Sepulcro and had a Knights Templar theme. In fact, they had some official connection to them, or so they said on a plaque out front.

I felt I’d entered a time warp walking into their courtyard. Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” was blaring from the speakers. It took me back to high school.

It worth noting that Pata de Oca means goose foot, so this albergue was named for the sign of the goose foot in the Game of the Goose legend.

At 4:15 I arrived at the door of the Suplico but no one had unlocked it yet. I chatted with a nice woman about my age from Berlin who was also interested in the site. She had never traveled alone and was really enjoying the freedom, and the art along the Camino. Finally, she called the phone number on the door and got ahold of the person with the key. She was on her way.

I’d seen this lady earlier sitting on the patio drinking coffee with her friends. She probably grew up in the village and this ancient site had been a part of her world for as long as she could remember. She collected a euro from each of us and opened the door.

It was cool inside and silent.

It was as I remembered it, serene and elegant in its simplicity. The 13th century crucifix seemed to float above the altar.

The ceiling had ribs that converged to make an eight-pointed star, like at Eunate. There was just a handful of carved figures that were a bit enigmatic.

Also like Eunate, light came in through small alabaster windows, and the light was was pure and cool. A bench ran around the perimeter of the octagonal space. I sat for a long time taking it all in. The German woman sat there, too.

At 5:00 the local lady said there was mass being celebrated at the parish church at the top of the hill. We both headed up the hill and got there just in time for mass to begin. It seemed like the best kind of progression after soaking in the tranquil spirituality of the Sepulcro.

Mari, the German woman took communion, and I did not. It feels like the right thing to do this time around, though I did take communion on my prior Caminos.

After doing the usual shower and reshuffling of my belongings, it was almost time for the pilgrims dinner at the hotel/albergue. It was quite organized, everyone had an ticket. Pilgrims were hungry at 6;00 and dinner was at 7:00. There was a lot of milling about and grumbling, especially when they announced dinner would now be at 7:25.

I sat with a Swedish woman and we had a great conversation. She also had three children though they were a lot younger. It was her first Camino and she was going all the way to Santiago. She was impressed with the efficiency of the waiters, and how they cleared the plates when each person was done. In Sweden everyone waits for the last person to finish before clearing the table. We talked a little about American politics and I explained (at her request) about the three branches of government, and what checks and balances were and how they weren’t checking and balancing right now.

Dinner was good, salad and salmon, with red wine, plus dessert.

She introduced me to a woman from Santa Barbara who, like me, had also gone to UCSB , but four years later. Small world.

It was one of those communal pilgrim gatherings I’ve delays enjoyed. This time I was out of synch with people and hadn’t walked with them for the last week. They had become a kind of fellowship from starting at St. Jean at the same time. But that was ok.

Even though I’d only walked 8k, I was tired and was glad to go up to my little modern room to read, and rearrange things one more time.

I guess I was so tired that I forgot to register and pay for the transfer of my bag the next day online, but I didn’t notice that until the morning.