Camino Ignaciano: Castellnou de Seana to Verdu (Day 11)

Day 11: Castellnou de Seana to Verdu
Stage 9 of the Camino

Bellpuig Street Art show us the current events in Catalonia as we moved into this region. 

In the morning, we were dropped off in the town of Castellnou de Seana, a village in the province of Lleida, Catalonia. Before beginning our camino, we entered a cafe to use the restrooms, as was our practice during most mornings. Today's cafe, though, held a pleasant surprise. 

Cafe Modern was wide and spacious and was run by a pair of middle-aged couple. Both husband and wife welcomed us with wide smiles, even though we were just there to borrow the loo and buy a few cups of coffee. They started handing out to each of us a long plastic bag filled with homemade colorful candies in the shape of shells (the sign of the camino) and feet. They had been greeting camino pilgrims this way for many years now. What a wonderful way to start our morning's walk!  

Cafe Modern -- a wonderful cafe run by wonderful people! 

Upon seeing me, the husband asked if I was Chinese. He excitedly brought out a thick book which had pages and pages of handwritten notes. It was a guest book where camino pilgrims wrote their greetings in many different languages. He motioned to me some notes which were written in Korean. He mistook them for Chinese and wanted me to translate the messages. Sadly, I had to tell him the truth. At least now, he knows he needs to look for a Korean pilgrim. :)  

We started walking with smiles on our faces. We passed by vineyards, cornfields and fruit orchards. The walk led us through long dusty and winding roads, with nary a soul in sight. The sceneries exuded a sense of peace, belying the political tensions we felt as we moved into towns and cities of this region of Catalonia. 

The first stop was the town of Bellpuig. Entering the town, we saw several street art and independence flags, all advocating the separation of Catalonia from Spain. We arrived in this region during a historic period. Located in northeastern Spain, Catalonia was a rich, industrialized region and highly independent-minded. A few days before our arrival, it held an referendum to decide whether or not it would separate from Spain. The pro-independence vote had won, though the election was declared illegal by the Spanish government. In those few days, political tensions ran high and people awaited the next move by the Catalan government leaders. 

Bellpuig residents make their votes known on their balconies!

But thankfully, our camino led us through small towns and deserted places, where we walked unaffected by these circumstances. Our walk led us to the Parochial Church of San Nicolas (Eglesia Parroquial de Sant Nicolau), a huge structure with Gothic and Renaissance elements in Bellpuig. It looked magnificent with arched stone ceilings and marble sculptures. It even had a vending machine for dispensing candles. 

Inside the Parroquial de Sant Nicolau where sculptures had a Renaissance feel

We also passed by a place called Placa De L'Oli. It was a small courtyard, where olive trees grew. At the center was an old olive crusher, made of two large granite stones shaped like tops, sitting atop a circular platform. It looked quite different from the usual stone mills which have one round stone wheel pulled by animals.

The sun's intensity pours down on the olive crusher. The trees in the background are, of course, olive trees!

Our last stop was Verdu, said to be the hometown of San Pedro Claver. But more about this place tomorrow. 

In the meantime, I missed the third leg of today's camino, as I was ambushed for an interview by the Jescomm team. We stood by the side of the road, with ruins of houses and the vast wilderness in the background. The wind was blowing its strength upon us. I felt quite chilly and tried to keep myself from shivering during the interview!

After the walk, we had lunch in a quaint local restaurant in Verdu. An old man was sitting by the entrance and he pulled Bob, one of our co-pilgrims who is a hospice volunteer, into a long conversation. He was the owner of the restaurant, which is now being managed by his children. He was 94 years old! He proudly claimed that he has been married for 70 years, his marriage being the oldest one in town. So, to quote a popular line in the Philippines these days, there is a forever in love!