A Canister of water on the Camino de Santiago that went viral

Carla Lorenzo and Fernando Ramón, a couple from Pontedeume, created a "solidarity grocery store" for the pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago, offering water, fruits, and first aid supplies in their home. Their altruistic gesture went viral after a video on TikTok, and now they receive thanks and donations that they reinvest in the cause.

Many times the smallest things make the difference, don't they? Especially when they are gestures of generosity and altruism. This attitude is very much that of pilgrims, and it is what has led a couple from Pontedeume to go viral on social media, with the simple gesture of offering a water jug and other food for the pilgrims, as they pass through the Camino de Santiago, to regain strength and quench their thirst. Let us learn about the story of this couple and their viral story of pilgrim hospitality.

A supportive grocery store

Carla Lorenzo and Fernando Ramón are a young couple residing in the village of Cermuzo (A Coruña), at the exit of Pontedeume, on the English Way. After a steep ascent that begins at the church of Santiago in Pontedeume and leaving behind this town with a noble medieval past, the pilgrims encounter this oasis at the couple's doorstep, and we say oasis because the little hill has its challenges, 1.5 kilometers of steep slope along the foothill of Mount Breamo. Whenever we traverse that stretch, more than one pilgrim ends up panting, so the gesture from the kind-hearted Carla and Fernando is much appreciated.

Located around kilometer 83 of the English Way, on the second stage if we start from Ferrol (A Coruña), the outer wall has become a kind of solidarity grocery store for pilgrims, where besides the famous water jug, we can also find apples, lemons, or pears. Over time, they included a drinking fountain for pilgrim dogs, a first aid kit with masks, band-aids, Compeed, sunscreen, wound spray, and hand sanitizer. To add to their altruism, they even offer handmade bracelets and necklaces so that walkers can take a small souvenir with them. Very nice of them, as they also left a little book for pilgrims to leave their memories in the form of text.

A viral initiative

All of this took place in August 2021, although in October of that year we passed by and confirmed that this little paradise continues to offer help to the pilgrim. The eighth month of the year tends to be very hot, and also in Galicia, so one day Carla empathized with the effort of the pilgrims and installed a water jug so that they could quench their thirst.

This idea actually arose during a family meal on a hot day. After the idea came up, Carla's father bought a jug with a dispenser and they installed it outside the house. Filled with frozen bottles to keep the water cold, the jug soon included fruits from their parents' garden and medicines, in this case, already as an initiative of the couple.

Thus, one fine day Carla decided to publish on her Tik Tok account a video in which she is seen changing the frozen water bottles in the water container. A simple video had an enormous impact, as Carla went from 60 followers (close friends) to 60,000 in just three weeks. Even television picked up on this gesture, and the presenter of La Sexta Dani Mateo shared the news on the program "Zapeando", which helped this initiative go viral.

"For me, it was something unthinkable, incredible, that a water container could have so much interest… and, when we found out it had been on TV, we were amazed," Carla points out

Very cool Carla, and she also seems very nice in the videos. As we can see in them, the pilgrims began to leave her messages of gratitude and even donations, which gradually grew and the couple decided to reinvest in their cause, buying the dog water fountain and other items, all for the pilgrims. One day, she found a pair of shoes in good condition, and through Tik Tok the pilgrim who left them there communicated to Carla that she was giving them away in case any pilgrim needed them.

"And remember… It doesn't matter how slowly you go, as long as you don't give up!"

Thus reads the phrase that encourages pilgrims, which is also the one that appears on t-shirts that a company from Madrid has donated to the couple to give to the pilgrims. If all good things, fortunately, are contagious, this beautiful initiative is already a kind of humanitarian pilgrim chain.

T-shirts, sneakers, towels, and more, from everyone for everyone. Altruism is a value that, as we see, all pilgrims feel and share, to make the Way easier for others. We love this gesture, and whenever we pass through Cermuzo, we stop to visit this viral barrel and greet Carla and Fernando. We hope that the #bidóndecermuzo, which as we see already has a hashtag, will always be by the wayside for the pilgrims, and thus it will surely continue to be.

Carla, whose Tik Tok account already has more than 70,000 followers, hopes to do the Camino de Santiago very soon with her partner Fernando. We do not know which route they will take, perhaps the one that is due, the English Way, or they may opt for something more exotic like the Central Portuguese Way, but whichever it is, we hope to see them very soon following the yellow arrows.

Thank you, couple!