June 20, 2025 : Santo Domingo to Grañón.
A very short Camino day
Today was going to be different.
We had decided that staying at the former pilgrim hospital in Grañón was an important part of our Camino experience. The town was only about 5 km away, so we didn’t care that it would be our shortest walking day by far.
Sometimes the Camino is about the distance.
And sometimes it’s about where you end up.
The Slowest 5 Kilometers
Leaving Santo Domingo was easy, and because we had such a short distance ahead of us, there was absolutely no reason to rush.
We stopped at a local pastry shop and picked up an amazing chicken empanada and a chocolate pastry. We took them to a nearby café, where we ordered fresh orange juice and café con leche.
We sat, ate slowly, drank our coffee, and enjoyed the luxury of having nowhere we needed to be.
It was a nice change after several days of long-distance walking.
Eventually, we decided we should probably start walking.
The trail looked very similar to the previous day, taking us through vineyards and olive groves. We took our time and enjoyed the scenery.
Along the way, we met an American from New Hampshire who was extremely friendly and had some fascinating Camino stories.
He told us he had completed the entire Continental Divide Trail from north to south and had spent about five months doing it. His trail name was “Ox”, which apparently came from the fact that when he started, his backpack weighed nearly 60 pounds.
Sixty pounds.
That made our Camino backpacks suddenly seem pretty reasonable.
He gave us advice about everything from what kind of tent and shoes to buy to how to protect a backpack from rain.
He also told us stories about some of the people he’d met along his adventures.
One story involved a 40-year-old father hiking the Appalachian Trail with his eight-year-old daughter, Rocket, who was attempting to hike the entire trail.
He talked about spending every few days in a hostel, trying to consume enough calories, and sometimes eating tortilla with peanut butter simply because he needed food.
He also told us about another hiker who went into town one day and ordered two double cheeseburgers—and ate both of them himself.
After hearing all these stories, our 5 km walk suddenly felt even less adventurous.
But we were okay with that.
Welcome to Grañón
Eventually, we arrived in Grañón.
We sat on a bench in the town and simply relaxed for a while before heading to the place we’d been looking forward to:
the pilgrim hospital.
This wasn’t a typical albergue.
There was no formal check-in time. Volunteers were there waiting for pilgrims whenever they arrived.
We took off our shoes and packs downstairs and then climbed three flights of stairs.
At the top, we entered a beautiful communal dining area.
The first thing the volunteers said to us was essentially:
“Have some water. Relax. Catch your breath.”
That was a pretty good indication that we’d chosen the right place.
We checked in and went upstairs to see our sleeping arrangements.
There were 20 mats laid out on the floor.
No beds.
No fancy mattresses.
No pillows.
Just mats.
And somehow, that was exactly what we had hoped for.
We had been looking for an authentic, basic Camino experience, and we had definitely found it.
We were also told that dinner would be communal and that everyone would help prepare the meal.
We had arrived around 2:00 p.m., so we had plenty of time to explore the town before our responsibilities began.
A Few Beers Before We Became Chefs
We walked around Grañón, took some pictures, and eventually grabbed a couple of beers and a sandwich.
We sat with other pilgrims and started talking to people from New Zealand, Australia, Tennessee, and elsewhere.
It was one of those wonderful Camino moments where you can sit down next to a complete stranger and within five minutes you’re hearing their life story.
Soon, however, it was time to report for kitchen duty.
Ashley Becomes Head Chef
The kitchen operation was already underway.
People were cutting oranges, apples, onions, and an impressive amount of garlic.
And somehow, Ashley was appointed head chef.
Her new job was to tell everyone what to chop, how much to chop, and what size everything should be.
I had apparently married a Camino kitchen supervisor.
Ashley began preparing the sauce for the pasta, while another Spanish woman was cooking a massive pot of chicken.
There was a lot of chopping.
Especially garlic.
There is probably still a garlic-scented corner of Grañón from that evening.
The Pilgrim Blessing
Around 7:00 p.m., a bell rang.
It was time for the evening Mass.
We headed into the church, and the service turned out to be one of the most touching experiences of our Camino so far.
A teleprompter translated the Spanish spoken by the priest into English, which made it much easier for us to follow.
At the end of the Mass, the priest called all of the pilgrims forward.
He gave us a special blessing for the road ahead.
Among his wishes were shade, no stones on the trail, and good luck for the journey.
After several days of hot walking and sore feet, the request for shade and no stones felt particularly appropriate.
We returned to the pilgrim hospital and waited for dinner.
Dinner With Strangers Who Quickly Felt Like Friends
Dinner was served around a long U-shaped table.
There was no assigned seating. Everyone simply sat wherever they wanted.
To my left was a young man from New Zealand who had recently gotten married. He and his wife were doing the Camino as their honeymoon and planned to celebrate the end of the trip with a journey through Rome and other parts of Italy.
They were traveling with his father and a sibling.
He told us that he had already achieved one of his major bucket-list goals by becoming a youth pastor in New Zealand, where he works with children who come from very difficult backgrounds.
Earlier, we’d spoken with his father, who wore a beautiful green stone around his neck. It looked almost like jade, but he explained that it was something different.
He told us that the stone is never purchased.
It is given to you.
He had received his after spending ten years leading different youth groups in Auckland.
Across from us was another woman from New Zealand who was a dairy farmer with more than 250 cows.
She explained how they sell raw milk to the local industry, where it is pasteurized. She was originally from the Netherlands but had lived in Australia for 40 years.
At this point, our dinner table had somehow become an international conference.
And the food was fantastic.
We had chicken with leeks, pasta with Ashley’s sauce, rice, bread, and wine.
Everything was delicious.
I had two—or maybe three—servings of chicken and spent a considerable amount of time dipping bread into the sauce.
Ashley loved the meal so much that she said she wanted to recreate the chicken dish at home in Tennessee.
The World’s Most Efficient Dishwashing System
Then came cleanup.
The volunteer explained the system:
Move everything to one end of the table.
Everyone passes their dishes to the person beside them.
The dirty dishes eventually form one enormous pile.
Then four buckets of water appear.
The first two contain soapy water.
The next two contain clean water.
People wash the dishes in the soapy buckets, pass them along, and the dishes are rinsed twice.
At the other end, people dry everything with towels.
Finally, the clean dishes go back into the kitchen.
It was basically a human-powered dishwasher.
And it worked surprisingly well.
There were a few moments when someone discovered that a dish hadn’t quite passed the cleanliness test and had to send it back through the system.
There was plenty of laughter.
It was incredibly simple, incredibly efficient, and somehow a lot of fun.
The Pilgrim Stories
After dinner, everyone was invited into the choir loft on the second level of the church.
We sat on wooden chairs with a small candle next to each person.
One of the volunteers, who was from Puerto Rico, explained something important.
What we were staying in wasn’t technically an albergue.
It was a pilgrim hospital.
The volunteers come for two weeks at a time because of the joy they receive from helping pilgrims.
Then we read from a pamphlet containing pilgrim stories and good wishes.
After that, each person was invited to share why they were doing the Camino—or anything else they wanted to tell the group.
This became one of the most emotional moments of the entire trip.
The lights were turned off, and a candle was passed around to those who wanted to share.
One family from New Zealand shared that the father and his wife had done the Camino seven years earlier and had always wanted to return with their children.
Sadly, his wife was unable to make the trip this time, but the rest of the family had come anyway.
Another person described feeling their entire life that God was on the other side of a door, but during the Camino they had begun to feel that God was all around them.
A teacher from Nashville talked about working with children struggling with serious mental-health challenges. She explained that some days she wonders whether what she’s doing is really helping and hoped that the Camino might help provide an answer.
Another man from Seattle was walking with his grandson. He had previously done the Camino and was hoping the experience would help his grandson who was struggling in life.
Listening to all these stories made it clear that everyone had arrived in Grañón for a different reason.
Some were walking for adventure.
Some for faith.
Some for family.
Some because they were searching for answers.
And some probably just wanted to see if their feet would survive Spain.
After about 30 minutes of sharing, we were all told to hug one another.
Then the four volunteers went around and personally hugged each pilgrim, wishing each of us good luck and a safe journey.
It was incredibly touching.
“There’s a Chocolate Festival!”
We thought the evening was over.
Then someone told us that the locals were having a procession at 10:30 p.m.
The theme?
Chocolate.
That got everyone’s attention.
Even though it was already after 10:00 and we were tired, we decided we had to investigate.
At 10:30, we stepped outside and saw a crowd of people heading in one direction.
Naturally, we followed them.
We eventually arrived at a small square.
There were candles arranged into a sign that said San Juan Grañón.
We looked around.
No chocolate.
Nothing.
Just a bunch of people standing around and a pile of wood that looked suspiciously like bonfire material.
Then a small truck pulled up and people started setting up tables.
A woman organizing the event said something to the crowd.
Everyone moved toward the pile of wood.
Little kids were invited to pass a small burning stick from one child to the next.
And then…
the bonfire was lit.
Still no chocolate.
Then everyone moved toward the tables.
Finally, we understood.
Hot chocolate and wafers.
We got in line.
And it was absolutely delicious.
The hot chocolate was thick, warm, rich, and heavenly, paired with crisp wafers.
Suddenly the late-night mystery made perfect sense.
Five Kilometers, Twenty Mats, and a Very Full Day
Eventually, we headed back to the pilgrim hospital.
We climbed into our mats on the floor.
No pillows.
No beds.
Just 20 pilgrims sleeping together in a room.
After everything we’d experienced that day, it somehow felt completely appropriate.
It had been our shortest walking day by far, but probably one of our fullest days.
We had met fascinating people, shared a communal meal, cooked with strangers, attended Mass, received a blessing, listened to deeply personal stories, hugged people we’d met only hours earlier, and ended the night around a bonfire drinking hot chocolate.
Sometimes the Camino isn’t about how far you walk.
Today, we walked only five kilometers.
But we traveled a long way.
⭐ Day Highlights
Distance: Approximately 5 km
Walking Time: About 1½ hours, with plenty of time to take it slow
Weather: Pleasant and comfortable
Simple Pleasure: Sitting at a café with a chicken empanada, chocolate pastry, fresh orange juice, and coffee—with absolutely no reason to hurry.
Highlight: Staying at the historic pilgrim hospital in Grañón and experiencing the communal dinner, Mass, blessing, and evening gathering.
Most Touching Moment: Receiving a personal hug and blessing from the volunteers and hearing the deeply personal stories from fellow pilgrims.
Best Meal: The communal dinner of chicken with leeks, pasta with Ashley’s sauce, rice, bread, and wine.
Funniest Moment: Ashley becoming the head chef and suddenly finding herself responsible for telling everyone how much garlic, onions, and other ingredients to chop.
Most Interesting Conversation: Meeting “Ox,” the New Hampshire hiker who had completed the Continental Divide Trail and once carried a nearly 60-pound backpack.
Unexpected Adventure: Following a mysterious late-night crowd in search of a “chocolate” celebration and discovering that it involved a bonfire, hot chocolate, and wafers.
Tomorrow: Back to walking—and almost certainly more than 5 km. 😳
Camino Lesson: Some of the most memorable Camino days have very little to do with the number of kilometers you walk. Sometimes the real journey happens around a dinner table with people you’ve never met before.
