May 2024
Casa da Lima Caminho Stories
When I walked several caminho’s last two years, I wrote blogs every day. The first caminho I wrote long blogs, other caminho’s later I didn’t even bring my laptop. The caminho’s were too tough, so I walked almost with an empty backpack. Caminho Lisbon del Mar, and Central Portuguese Interior are tough ones. The blogs I wrote during these caminho’s have more photo’s and less ‘story’ because I didn’t bring my laptop.
Go to AylinKho.wordpress.com to read all blogs. On this website I just posted a few blogs from all the Santiago routes that I walked last years.
Starting this summer, the pilgrims are visiting Casa da Lima. The pilgrims give us joy and a lot of nice stories. Since I am the ‘anfitrea’ a new Portuguese word I learned, meaning the host, I am occupied with our dinner, drinks, and check-in. Unfortunately that also means that I didn’t make any photo’s of the nice pilgrims, lovely dinners, warm nights with cold drinks and a beautiful sunset. Luckily pilgrims themselves posted on Google maps Casa da Lima page, or write something on the FB-groups. While I have no photo’s of the pilgrims, I do have nice stories…
Music Maestro
Around five o’clock a pilgrim passes by. He rings the bell! That sounds simple, but it isn’t. With all the phones and apps, we don’t need to ask anyone anymore, we just find it online. A lot of pilgrims just walk by, they may see the signs and might be wondering what it is, but they don’t ring the bell. I know, because Jaap-Willem goes to Rabacal every afternoon to drink something in the café. And one day he met a pilgrim who told him he saw a nice garden and looked around, but he didn’t see anybody so he walked back. ‘That place you describe is my house!’ said Jaap-Willem. And I was at home! Working in the house…
But sometimes people do ask us…
So, this young guy rings the bell, and starts to chat. Soon he hears that I am Dutch and he continues in Dutch. He isn’t going to sleep here but he saw the nice milestones to our house, and he is curious. I guess he just wants some company. He turns out to be a musician and he has a ukulele on his back. He plays and sings a song for Cinta, while I make ‘Liege waffles’ for him and for us! We enjoy the waffles and he says they are the best he ever tasted. Well I know the caminho makes you hungry, and Belgian waffles make me hungry. For the ones who are not from Belgium or don’t know their waffles; They are famous for their waffles, and they have two different kinds of them. One from the city Lieges and one from Brussels. A few months ago I bought a special waffle iron and experienced with both kinds of waffles. Now my recipes are almost optimized and almost as good as I know them from Belgium. Future Belgian pilgrims still need to confirm it though.
Ice and Cold Drinks, Please…
On a typical Portuguese warm day (30 degrees Celsius), two Italian men come into our garden, they ask for ice and cold drinks and more ice. Luckily I was at home, there was ice in the freezer, and we normally never buy cola ourselves, but that week we just bought cola and fanta specially for our pilgrims. Two happy pilgrims drinking cola with ice, they were just disappointed Casa da Lima was not in their book. They already reserved another place to sleep. Well, the caminho is not in a book, you really have a different caminho when you leave your book or phone at home.
