Reports from Miraz 2006
Refugio de Peregrinos de Miraz: Newsletter 28th January 2006
Three volunteers offered to keep the new refuge open, warm and occupied over the winter; this is a letter received from one of them, Bob Mullen, just in time for the AGM.
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Greetings from Miraz! The weather at present remains cold at night, but the days have become warm and sunny. There´s still plenty of firewood and kindling and the gas heater fills in any gaps. The transition between winter caretakers was made smoothly the first week of January thanks to the excellent orientation provided by the outgoing caretaker, Conrad Halloran. No ground was lost with regard to passing on local knowledge or maintaining community relations. |
Conrad left behind a protective wall in the attic around the staircase, as well as the start of a path running between the back door of the refuge and the stable. Since his departure, Luis continued to make good progress on the bathroom, painting and tiling as he goes along. He reports that the work is progressing "sin problemas."
The present caretaker has cleaned out the stable and arranged with Pilar to have the Ayuntamiento haul off the old mattresses and assorted other rubble. All of the dry kindling has now been cut into manageable lengths, with the result that the stove can be lit in no time at all.
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The refugio from the back |
Sunset over Miraz |
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The kitchen |
A walk near Miraz |
There are a number of old mills in the area which make good focal points for walks. In addition, a shortcut to Parga has turned up, a forest track, which cuts off a stretch of road walking and shortens the time needed to reach Parga on foot to just over an hour.
The village still talks about the "shortcut" taken by Conrad and Stewart last year, which, after an hour and a half of walking, brought them not to Parga but right back to Miraz!
In the opinion of the present caretaker, anyone visiting the refuge in the future, whether as a pilgrim or as a hospitalero/a will find a real gem of a place - tidy, cozy, and above all welcoming.
Have a good AGM. Good luck with the fundraising. Hasta luego.
Bob
Refugio de Peregrinos de Miraz: Newsletter 2nd March 2006
Hospitaleros prepare for the new season at Miraz
On Saturday 25th February 23 people attended a day for Miraz hospitaleros at Wordsley near Birmingham. It was interesting and instructive with practical information as well as discussion on what is expected of a hospitalero and the needs and expectations of pilgrims on a less travelled route. Alan Cutbush presented the hospitaleros guide for 2006. An understanding of what Miraz is like, what the villagers feel and what it is like to be a hospitalero in other places were also explored.
Colin Jones hosted the day at his house and cooked Caldo Gallego which was much appreciated.
It was good to see so many members keen to help at Miraz.
Refugio de Peregrinos de Miraz: Newsletter 12th April 2006
The First Working Party at Miraz
A group of 6-8 Confraternity members, plus Mary (“Maria la Divina”) from California, who had read about us on this website and wanted to join in, spent the last two weeks of March at Miraz getting the house ready for the 2006 pilgrim season. The group included the webmaster, so this is a first-hand account!
Over the winter, Luis the local builder installed a proper pilgrims’ washroom, with two WC cubicles, three washbasins and a shower (leaving the original bathroom for the hospitaleros) and – with considerable skill, since the available fall was very shallow – connected the house to the main village drain. He also finished installing a 20-amp power circuit: when we first arrived, the house had no more than a 5-amp lighting circuit, which cut out whenever more than a single domestic appliance was switched on, and which frustrated the winter caretakers’ attempts to use power tools.
Another major step forward over the winter was the drilling of our own 40m-deep borehole, to provide a water supply independent of the village.
A series of caretakers braved the cold and the solitude of the winter to supervise the work and to keep the house warm and dry. Between them they cut a large pile of firewood for the wonderful old Gallego stove, centrally-mounted in the kitchen, with the kitchen table constructed around it – and for which the Working Party, in two weeks of almost continuous rain, were especially grateful. They also built and painted a sturdy blockwork balustrade around the otherwise unprotected hole at the top of the staircase, and fitted a handrail.
The Working Party itself managed, despite the rain, to lay a beautiful path of large irregular slabs of slate between the house and the outbuildings, to put up guttering on the garden side of the house, to repair the broken windows, to paint the walls, ceilings, doors and windows, the garage door and the back gate, to install a new cooker, to change the locks and install a key safe, put up a message board and a donativo box, convert an old bedside cabinet into a first-aid cupboard and an old wardrobe into a tool cupboard, put up the signs, and to scrub and polish throughout. It wasn’t all work however: there were frequent trips to the bar (where a CSJ Chinchon school aroused the interest of the locals, without necessarily impressing them very much), copious meals around that wonderful stove, and much laughter.
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Laying the path between the house and the outbuildings |
Painting the shutters and the window frames |
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Testing the guttering - but the rain began next day, and did all the testing we could have wished for! |
Gathered round that wonderful stove |
We handed over to Keith and Maureen Young, who head the Miraz Development Group, and who were to be the season’s first hospitaleros. They were greatly impressed by all the changes that had taken place since their last visit in the autumn; but we left them compiling a detailed specification for further electrical work, and interviewing roofers and wood-worm specialists, and a metal-worker to remake the front gate.
In broad terms, the £22,000 raised so far has gone a long way towards covering the work done, and the furniture and equipment installed, up to this point. Much remains to be done to develop the outbuildings, but as the echo of the last of the hammering and drilling died away, and the last member of the Working Party set off for home, the house – almost derelict when we first saw it, less than a year ago - returned to its true state of warm and bright tranquillity, and its true vocation as a welcoming haven for wet and weary pilgrims.
And Maureen Young reports on returning from her fortnight as hospitalera:
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"Keith and I went out as the first hospitaleros this year. It was still cold, although much dryer. The lawn has been cut and the garden looks much better. Arrangements have been made to have the roof repaired and the woodworm and bark beetle treated. "There are two regular visitors to the refugio, hoopoes who look for food now the lawn is cut and Rocky the dog from Pilar's bar who visits every day for a biscuit. "There were 26 pilgrims during the first two weeks this year, although on some days there were none." |
Refugio de Peregrinos de Miraz: Newsletter 9th October 2006
Events at Miraz 2006
The second season at Miraz is very successful with numbers of pilgrims up by about 40% on last year. Apart from some difficulties with groups, pilgrims seem delighted with the welcome of the hospitaleros and the facilities.
Some 30 hospitaleros have been involved and they have created an excellent environment in the house with a vegetable garden and a well-mown lawn. A well-stocked dry foods shop has been created to compensate for the facts there is no shop in the village and that evening meals are not provided. There are now 12 folding wooden chairs, a considerable improvement on the low school chairs!
Following the working party’s visit in March which was previously reported, the roof has been repaired, some electrical work done and a number of emergencies dealt with by Luis de Pirino. Because of two dry years in Galicia, the well has run dry and we are having a new one bored – for free!
On 28th September after a mass in the church the refugio was blessed. The Bishop of Lugo was to have done the blessing, but as he was ill the Dean, Don José Fernandez Fernandez came instead. The Dean welcomed everybody in English and said Mass in Spanish. William our Chairman did the Bidding Prayers in English and Esperanza, a Confraternity member from Galicia, sang in Gallego. It was a moving service. As you can see from the photos the refugio was blessed by the Dean. William and the Alcalde of Friol both gave a speech (in Spanish). Everyone at the church received an earthenware scallop shell made by Tony Ward’s neighbour and these were very much appreciated. After the blessing there was an enjoyable fiesta with about 40 people present, half from the Confraternity and the other half were Spanish from the Obispado in Lugo, the Ayuntamiento in Friol, the local priest, Conchi (the hospitalero from Baamonde) and several villagers including Pilar from the bar and Jesus the verger.
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The Dean of Lugo blessing the house |
Chairman William Griffiths (right) and the Alcalde of Friol |
After the Mass in the village church |
A Spanish architect is drawing up plans to rebuild the outbuildings and this will increase the number of pilgrims we can take in. This of course is subject to sufficient funds being raised.
Read the next Newsletter (20 January 2007)