Triacastela

Enough with the pictures of castles, food and mountain views. Look closely at this picture of a sign in last night's albergue and see if you can figure out what it is trying to tell us. I have seen so many funny ones and now I wish I had made photos of all of them. In one albergue we were strictly forbidden to heal in our rooms: "no food, drink, or healing permitted!" (?)
Tonight we are staying in Triacastela, town of three castles, none of which has survived. The camino is really filling up with new pilgrims. Many start at O Cebreiro and many more will begin at our next stop, Sarria. I find myself guessing by the tan of their legs or the grubbiness of their ruck sacks if they are newbies or veterans. Mercedes said she and Maitreya had stopped at a nice place for a picnic lunch when some pilgrims saw them and said No, no, no! You must not stop! It will just make it worse. You must keep going! The pilgrims giving the advice had just started their camino a half hour ago and were ready to impart their wisdom to these old-timers!
All eyes at every bar are fixed on the world cup games, and that's not just the Spaniards. If Germany or Italy or Brazil are playing, their peregrino fans make a wayside stop or end their day early so as not to miss it. Right now Spain is playing Honduras, so no early bedtime this evening!
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