Casa Banderas: a South African on the Camino
Trip Start
Aug 04, 2008
1
7
42
Trip End
Oct 15, 2008
Portomarin,
Galicia,
Spain and Canary Islands
Sunday, August 10, 2008
at a freind's house near the Galician town of Portomarin, a mere 100Ks
to Santiago de Compostela, the final destination for thousands of modern day pilgrims every year.
The friend is Mr Gordon Bell, dad of my good London friend Daniel. He
is a jovial and straightforward South African of (proudly) Scottish
descent who has settled in the north of Spain after walking the Camino
in 2002. Here he has acquired a beautiful old building in the little
hamlet of Vilacha (pop: 43), which, after renovation are completed,
will become an albergo (the Spanish for inn) for tired pilgrims on the
last stretch of their journey.
Unfortunately, as Gordon is ready to point out, these days this "last
stretch" has become the very beginning, as the popularity of walking
the camino has increased esponentially...rarer and rarer are the
pilgrims that walk all the way from France through the Basque
countries, Leon, Galicia and reach this spot only after weeks spent on
the road. Or maybe more and more "pilgrims" go for the easy option and
walk just the last 100Ks of the camino, the minimum required to obtain
the certificate of accomplishment that will look so good on one's CV!
Gordon and the people he happened to be hosting while we were there - a
bunch of young pilgrims who have been on the road longer than I have
owned my Land Rover - get quite upset when we talk about the state of
today's camino, which is slowly becoming a integral part of the Spanish
tourist industry, popular among Spaniards as well as foreigners. As I
said above, Gordon walked the camino for the first time in 2002, and
struck by the beauty of the land he was walking through, the simplicity
of it people, and the inner peace that only such a long trip on foot is
able to give you, he flew home a changed man and quickly resolved to
come back to stay.
He has since bought this remarkable house that has slowly become a home
and soon will begin sheltering pilgrims...it is locally know as Casa Banderas,
the House of Flags, for all the colourful flags Gordon has hung outside
its perimeter, and after only a couple of years, both the house and its
owner have become an institution among local residents. check it out
and make sure you'll stop there on your way to Santiago - at the time
of writing sleeping facilities are not ready yet, but you can always
stop for a drink and have an enlightening chat with Gordon!
Stay Tuned for more.
