What was the coolest thing you were ever gifted on the trail?

[Dov of the Galilee]

On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?

 

[SabsP]

Pure friendship. The best gift ever.

 

[Mike Savage]

Acceptance without judgement.

 

[Red Rose]

While walking the Camino Frances last year I gave away handmade knotted rosaries that I made and one person gave me a small box of inspirational verses as a thank you. I will always treasure it.

 

[CaminoDebrita]

I have been given so many gifts, mostly friendship and help.

Having just returned, I will say that what comes to mind right now is a wooden beaded cross (not a rosary) from Greece.

At the time I received the gift, I had been struggling a bit. The journey had not been easy, for a combination of reasons. This would be a "learning" Camino.

So, in Astorga, I sat with the Hospitalero at the albergue. We talked for about an hour, about his life, his twenty-something Camino walks, his ex, all kinds of things. I found him to be a most kindred soul, and we talked and laughed. I helped him figure out "who hadn't paid," as he had eleven pilgrims, but only ten payments. A lovely woman I'd met along the way had struggled with detail and as the hospitalero and I chatted, she approached the desk and paid up! Perfect. As we talked, a Greek guy was cooking in the kitchen area, and offered us both a meal of pasta cooked with garlic and marinera sauce. Neither of us could eat then, but the Greek fellow joined us about twenty minutes later.

One of my best friends in Oregon is half Greek. Something I love about her is that she is in no way egotistical, and is incredibly giving and kind. This fellow was the same. Within about ten minutes of visiting with him, we recognized that we were kindred spirits as well, and he gave me a beautiful wooden beaded necklace with a cross on it. He said that it was from Greece, and while very inexpensive, it would hold up the entire Camino! I wore it the whole way. It was special at the time, and reminded me that true friendship could definitely be found along the Camino.

Remember, though: the coolest "things" aren't things!

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

A rose... a real golden rose...

then I passed it on to to a young lady whose body demanded extreme effort and focus in each painful slow and measured step...

we didn't speak the same language but the smile that lit up her face was the greatest gift...

 

[mspath]

On the camino one never knows when, where or from whom gracious help may arrive. Once in November after slogging 20 km or so from Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz along the top of the hills through wind, rain and a bit of sleet I finally arrived at the municipal albergue San Esteban at dusk soaked, cold and VERY tired.

After climbing the steps and pushing open the door the young Spanish ad hoc hospitalero said "Margaret! How about a tea?" Steaming hot, sugared and immediately served in a jam jar the tea was offered with true caritas. His broad smile and welcome gesture of sincere simple hospitality were symbolic of the true camino spirit. We had met earlier when the only pilgrims and floor mates at Granon. Such shared serendipity is so very precious. Long may it continue!

 

[susanawee]

Acceptance and spontaneous love and care..

 

[bunnymac]

On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?

I was given many things on the Camino. Hera are two of my favourites. One was a card with a secular blessing on it from a man named Pepe who was celebrating the beginning of his 28th Camino. He also waited for me at the top of a very lonely mountain and made sure that I got through the pass safely. Another day, I was walking between two villages and had neglected to buy food. Next stop 4 hours walk. An older, local man began to walk with me and we stuck up a conversation. He was walking out to his small holding to move his goats (I think?). As we parted company, he wished me well and handed me the plastic bag he'd been carrying. It was full of beautiful ripe cherries. The sweetest and most welcome I had ever tasted.

 

[PloddingAlong]

Maybe it's not a typical gifting tale, but I have a cool story from the trail. I was walking with a fellow pilgrim for several days who carried with him a full size umbrella. There it was every day, sticking high out of his pack. There was no need for the umbrella for a number of days as the sun shone, but sure enough, eventually one day and midway through our days trek, the clouds opened and it rained. My friend reached for his umbrella, only to discover that it was not there. He realized that he must have left it that morning at the albergue or dropped it somewhere along the way. Oh, no! He had carried it all this way, and the one day he needed it...ah, well. It was gone, and there was nothing that could be done. So, we ducked into a bar and waited out the rain. Once we started walking again, a couple of kilometres on, we noticed something by the side of the trail up ahead. What was it? Why, it was my friend's umbrella! Just laying there waiting for its owner. Incredible! Obviously someone had found the umbrella that morning, took it, used it to escape the rain, and left it once the rain had passed! My friend had his umbrella back! And that's the best sort of gifting story I have from my Camino!

 

[MKalcolm M]

While walking the Norte a couple of years ago, I became part of a camino family of four fellow pilgrims. We had been walking a long hard stretch and arrived at a private alberge very hot, tired and in need of some rest and recuperation. I had been having a bad day with serious blisters on one foot, to the point I really could hardly walk anymore. Our path had been crossing with a pilgrim called Gunter who was notorious along the camino as he was the loudest and most irregular snorer anyone had ever heard, causing many a sleepless night for anyone sharing a room with him. All my friends spoke German, which I didn't, and one spoke Spanish so after some serious discussion with the hospitalero I was shown to a small and quiet room, while the others bunked down in the other room which was a large dorm. It was only the next day that I discovered that they had all agreed to give me the quiet room and they would share with Gunter, literally guaranteeing themselves a sleepless night in order that I could rest well. Only those who had experienced Gunter murdering sleep with his nasal atrocities could know what a generous action this was, it was a true gift of friendship.

 

[Anniesantiago]

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-miracle-of-abanico.html

A simple fan but it was a miracle!

 

[jmcarp]

I've told this story before, so apologies in advance to those who have already heard it, but I think it's appropriate to re-tell it in this thread since I can't imagine a greater gift from one pilgrim to another...

My wife's and my backpacks were stolen in Santiago, just a couple of hours before our train to Madrid was scheduled to depart. Most of the stuff in the backpacks -- clothing, etc; even our compostelas -- could be replaced. But the most important items that were in the backpacks were our cherished credenciales with all the sellos collected between St Jean and Santiago; those could not be replaced. Our train tickets were also in the backpacks, and as we struggled to get the tickets replaced at the train station, a young Portuguese pilgrim, Eduardo, overheard our tale of woe. As we we about to walk out to the boarding platform, he stepped up and handed us his credenciale. We tried to decline, but he said "No, I have walked the Camino before, and have other credentials -- take this, please, it is a gift from my heart."

(Post script: Thanks to Johnny Walker and the volunteers from the Amigos, our backpacks, including our credenciales, were recovered and returned to us, and we were able to return Eduardo's credenciale to him.)

 

[Pi Wakawaka]

On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?

Today I was gifted with a friendship bracelet and I gave a keyring from my country. It was a lovely moment. South Korea and New Zealand.
I think the most precious gifts I receive are peoples stories. I can't get enough. People restore people.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

My 100 peseta Camino de Europa coin from my first Camino - carry it everyday and it reminds me of the walk and the friends I walked it with.

 

[susanawee]

Responding to Jmcarp....that is such a very special story - susanawee..

 

[Alison Chandler]

On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?

The news that I have been remembered for 38 years for bringing happiness to Santiago - that news delivered, with a kiss, by the local boy who I loved for a summer then and hadn't seen since.... sent me spinning.

 

[Mike Trebert]

A couple of days west of Burgos we stopped mid-morning for a coffee. The cafe owner was from Argentina, he spoke with us. I went outside first to bundle up. A tall woman with a strong face who must have been the owner's partner was tidying up out front getting ready for the day's business. She walked up to me with a small feather in her hand, pointed at my hat (a wide-brimmed Australian felt hat) and in Spanish, asked if I wanted the feather in my hatband. I said "Si, muchas gracias." I've sewn an (unofficial but very widely recognised) Australian Aboriginal national flag onto my hat. She placed the feather in front of the large flag patch and said firmly and gently "Por la libertad."

 

[Dutchwalk53]

I can't say I received an actual "thing" from anybody. Aside from the before mentioned : friendship ( I am still in touch with some people I met last year) , kindness, generosity of people. My personal favorite "gift" that I took away from the Camino (and the reason I will walk again in a few weeks) is the feeling of " feeling alive" , happy, young(er) then I actually am ha ha, excitement , adventure, content, accomplished ...etc etc....as the ad says.....priceless !!!!

 

[trevorcc]

Kindness and laughter.

 

[simply B]

I agree that honesty, acceptance and smiles from fellow walkers were a big deal to a solitary like me.

The 'coolest' gift was a visceral understanding of The Sermon on the Mount.

Witnessing the Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes (several times now) is pretty darn cool as well!

B

 

[Albertagirl]

I was walking through a small village when a local woman called out to me: "Venga, venga." I went over to see what she wanted and she pressed into my hands two handfuls of walnuts, which I put into my pockets to carry them. Then she went away from the door for a moment and returned with two jars of shelled walnuts, which she offered to me. I took a few pieces from the top of one jar and backed away, bowing and saying "gracias." Later in the day, I shared the walnuts in a simple lunch with two other peregrinas. What was going through my mind then, and has stuck with me ever since, is a passage from the gospel of Luke (6:38): "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap." I took this as a promise that God will provide for all my needs, and this has certainly been my experience, then and since.

 

[MTtoCamino]

It continues with this thread

 

[SeaHorse]

Friendship, emotions - yes. Bottle of water - yes. Trinkets (religious or not) - no. Never understood people who would carry extra keyrings, crosses, etc, etc, just to dump them on somebody else in the middle of nowhere.

 

[wayfarer]

I think that is called being nice.

 

[SeaHorse]

It's all a point of view.

 

[vgen5122]

On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?

One day while walking on the Camino frances, my husband was sick to his stomach. He had eaten an eggy pastel I believe and he got sick. We had run out of water and we were walking in the hills. A man came up to us and gave us all his water. My husband got better after that.
So, the greatest gift that was given to us on the Camino was the gift of water.

 

[SabsP]

On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?

Looking forward Dov to hear your experience after you walked a Camino.

 

[Sheffield James]

This story is relevant, but a little long, so please bear with me.

On my last day serving as a hospitalero at San Anton, Castrojeriz, one of the pilgrims was a lovely Ecuadorian woman ( let's call her 'Sonya') who was to celebrate her birthday the following day. She spent this particular afternoon in the company of a male friend who was not staying the night with us. I exchanged a nod of acknowledgement with him, but we did not speak.
The next day I took a taxi to Fromista, from where I would catch a train to Oviedo to start walking the Camino Primitivo. As the train would not be leaving until the early evening, I made myself comfortable at a strategically-located cafe, so that all the pilgrims entering town would have to pass by me and, hopefully, I'd get to say hello to anyone who had stayed a night at 'my' albergue.
While sitting there, the male pilgrim I mentioned earlier (a South American classical singer, incidentally) came into view. He came over to me and asked whether I'd seen our mutual friend. I said that unfortunately I hadn't, so we chatted for a few minutes before he continued on his way.
Twenty minutes or so later, he came back to me. He handed me a very small, gift-wrapped parcel and asked would I give it to Sonya if I saw her. I said I would, but I wanted to know what I needed to do if she didn't come along before my departure. "In that case", he said, "you can keep it!"
She didn't appear that day, and so I carried the gift to Santiago in the hope I would be able to hand it over, there. If there was one pilgrim I really wanted to see again one more time, then it just had to be Sonya.
I saw no sign of Sonya over a the few days spent in Santiago before I left town to walk the last stages of the Camino Portugues. The gift travelled with me and remained unopened all this time, as miracles do happen!
Back in Santiago, I kept my eyes 'peeled' for a glimpse of Sonya, but I had no joy. My thoughts then turned to booking my coach travel to Bilbao ahead of my journey home. As I stepped out of the ticket office, I was 'accosted' by a woman with a familiar face and a beaming smile that could be only be bettered by the one that had broken out on mine. If you haven't guessed by now, it was Sonya!!!! She had found me!!
I had the gift with me (as always!) and so I told her the story quickly and then thrust it into her hand with great relief ..and a real sense of accomplishment. It was more than a bit dog-eared by now, but that didn't matter one jot. She was thrilled to receive it, she gave me a great big kiss and a hug, and later on that day she said that she had emailed her friend to thank him for her 'belated' birthday present. The only thing I asked of Sonya for taking care of the parcel for so long was to have an idea of its contents. This was no problem for her and so she opened the wrapping right there in the street. Guess what! it was a.................!!!

So, the greatest gift I was given on the Camino was not for me...or was it? To be trusted with a mission of the heart, and to be able to fulfil it against quite long odds, proved to be a most rewarding experience; and not least because it provided a totally unexpected final act to my stint as a San Anton hospitalero.

 

[Deleted member 34316]

A pair of earplugs (gifted at the right moment)

 

[Dov of the Galilee]

A pair of earplugs (gifted at the right moment).

I know several people who would love those!

 

[Keith Hearn]

If its nose was a bit shorter, it could be an earpug.

Edit: Found 'em. They're called Mimi Pet Earplugs, and they're from japan. Here's a place one can get them: http://www.japantrendshop.com/mimi-pet-earplugs-p-3285.html

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-miracle-of-abanico.html

A simple fan but it was a miracle!

Lovely story, thank you for sharing this.
Wish you well, Peter.

 

[amorfati1]

Smiles!
companionship in the right moment and right place.
and abuela Maria of Rubieas - whose kind face and actions i shall not ever forget.
Smiles and a gentle nod from people encountered and whose names are not known to me.
and the friendships of dear pilgrim hermanas and hermanos who i've encountered AFTER the outer pilgrimage has concluded ...

 

[tpmchugh]

On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?

The bar owner in Rabé de las Calzadas gave me a Miraculous Medal. I tied it to my rosary beads and carried it all the way to Santiago. Somewhere on my second camino, it broke off and I lost it. It really bothered me so hopefully he is still giving them away when I get there this September. By the way, his brother who owned the albergue at the top of the town was also giving them out to every pilgrim passing his door whether they stopped or not.

 

[psychoticparrot]

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-miracle-of-abanico.html

A simple fan but it was a miracle!

This is the kind of "miracle" I hope will happen on the Camino when I make my first pilgrimage next year. What a lovely story and example of the kindness of strangers. This is why I want to walk the Camino.

 

[2sassytravelers]

On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?

Someone gave me a handmade knotted rosarie after the Pilgrims Mass in Santiago.

 

[Icacos]

Perhaps not 'the coolest thing' but certainly very much appreciated: Some Voltarin prescription meds by a fellow peregrina when I hobbled up to a bar for second breakfast. This peregrina had been watching out for me after she'd heard I was struggling with tendinitis. I know there are those who would be horrified at the thought of taking someone else's prescription meds (even a topical one), but going back home was not an option for me at the time, and I had no Plan B. Thanks to this Camino angel, I made it to Santiago and followed it with four wonderful days in Barcelona.

 

[BriBri]

I've told this story before, so apologies in advance to those who have already heard it, but I think it's appropriate to re-tell it in this thread since I can't imagine a greater gift from one pilgrim to another...

My wife's and my backpacks were stolen in Santiago, just a couple of hours before our train to Madrid was scheduled to depart. Most of the stuff in the backpacks -- clothing, etc; even our compostelas -- could be replaced. But the most important items that were in the backpacks were our cherished credenciales with all the sellos collected between St Jean and Santiago; those could not be replaced. Our train tickets were also in the backpacks, and as we struggled to get the tickets replaced at the train station, a young Portuguese pilgrim, Eduardo, overheard our tale of woe. As we we about to walk out to the boarding platform, he stepped up and handed us his credenciale. We tried to decline, but he said "No, I have walked the Camino before, and have other credentials -- take this, please, it is a gift from my heart."

(Post script: Thanks to Johnny Walker and the volunteers from the Amigos, our backpacks, including our credenciales, were recovered and returned to us, and we were able to return Eduardo's credenciale to him.)

Hi- so just wondering- how did your packs get stolen?

 

[jmcarp]

Hi- so just wondering- how did your packs get stolen?

We were staying in a pension not far from the cathedral in Santiago, and had to check out by 10:00am. We asked the hostess if it would be safe to leave our backpacks in a vestibule area only accessible to guests while we went to Mass at the cathedral and lunch afterwards. She said yes, but that turned out to be not true -- they were gone we we returned to pick them up and go to the railroad station. In retrospect, we should have taken them with us and left them at that secured facility near the old pilgrim office location. Live and learn.

 

[susanawee]

We were staying in a pension not far from the cathedral in Santiago, and had to check out by 10:00am. We asked the hostess if it would be safe to leave our backpacks in a vestibule area only accessible to guests while we went to Mass at the cathedral and lunch afterwards. She said yes, but that turned out to be not true -- they were gone we we returned to pick them up and go to the railroad station. In retrospect, we should have taken them with us and left them at that secured facility near the old pilgrim office location. Live and learn.

Oh no - that would have been awful for you. Were you able to get your packs back again or?

 

[Icacos]

Oh no - that would have been awful for you. Were you able to get your packs back again or?

Read post #13 !

 

[La Rubia]

I want to say this was between Sarria and Portomarin, but I'm not sure. A tractor was coming down the road and I stepped aside, as we do. The old man driving the tractor stopped and motioned me over. It was hard to hear what he was saying over the noise of the old machine, but I figured out he wanted to wish me well on my Camino. I said "gracias" and prepared to step out of his way again, but he told me to wait as he looked for something in the cab. He eventually handed me a walnut and a Ricola cough drop, the only things he had with him to give to me. The Ricola was used someplace along the way, but I brought the walnut home and it sits on my dresser, a splendid reminder of a perfect random act of kindness.

 

[screichert]

This story is relevant, but a little long, so please bear with me.

On my last day serving as a hospitalero at San Anton, Castrojeriz, one of the pilgrims was a lovely Ecuadorian woman ( let's call her 'Sonya') who was to celebrate her birthday the following day. She spent this particular afternoon in the company of a male friend who was not staying the night with us. I exchanged a nod of acknowledgement with him, but we did not speak.
The next day I took a taxi to Fromista, from where I would catch a train to Oviedo to start walking the Camino Primitivo. As the train would not be leaving until the early evening, I made myself comfortable at a strategically-located cafe, so that all the pilgrims entering town would have to pass by me and, hopefully, I'd get to say hello to anyone who had stayed a night at 'my' albergue.
While sitting there, the male pilgrim I mentioned earlier (a South American classical singer, incidentally) came into view. He came over to me and asked whether I'd seen our mutual friend. I said that unfortunately I hadn't, so we chatted for a few minutes before he continued on his way.
Twenty minutes or so later, he came back to me. He handed me a very small, gift-wrapped parcel and asked would I give it to Sonya if I saw her. I said I would, but I wanted to know what I needed to do if she didn't come along before my departure. "In that case", he said, "you can keep it!"
She didn't appear that day, and so I carried the gift to Santiago in the hope I would be able to hand it over, there. If there was one pilgrim I really wanted to see again one more time, then it just had to be Sonya.
I saw no sign of Sonya over a the few days spent in Santiago before I left town to walk the last stages of the Camino Portugues. The gift travelled with me and remained unopened all this time, as miracles do happen!
Back in Santiago, I kept my eyes 'peeled' for a glimpse of Sonya, but I had no joy. My thoughts then turned to booking my coach travel to Bilbao ahead of my journey home. As I stepped out of the ticket office, I was 'accosted' by a woman with a familiar face and a beaming smile that could be only be bettered by the one that had broken out on mine. If you haven't guessed by now, it was Sonya!!!! She had found me!!
I had the gift with me (as always!) and so I told her the story quickly and then thrust it into her hand with great relief ..and a real sense of accomplishment. It was more than a bit dog-eared by now, but that didn't matter one jot. She was thrilled to receive it, she gave me a great big kiss and a hug, and later on that day she said that she had emailed her friend to thank him for her 'belated' birthday present. The only thing I asked of Sonya for taking care of the parcel for so long was to have an idea of its contents. This was no problem for her and so she opened the wrapping right there in the street. Guess what! it was a.................!!!

So, the greatest gift I was given on the Camino was not for me...or was it? To be trusted with a mission of the heart, and to be able to fulfil it against quite long odds, proved to be a most rewarding experience; and not least because it provided a totally unexpected final act to my stint as a San Anton hospitalero.

 

[screichert]

I really enjoyed your story. There is so many stories of people you met on the Camino and thought you will never see them again and then suddenly one day they are just there - and it feels like its family you have not seen for a long time.

I am serving from 1 - 14 September 2016 at San Anton as a hospitalera. I am looking forward to care for other pilgrims on the Camino.

 

[jeffnd]

A St. James medal.

I feel like it's not mine to keep though, and I need to pass it on to another pilgrim.

 

[Red Rose]

Someone gave me a handmade knotted rosarie after the Pilgrims Mass in Santiago.

What did the rosary look like? I wonder if it was one that I made and left somewhere or gave to someone. Just curious.

 

[Isca-camigo]

Love

 

[2sassytravelers]

Here is a photo of it. We were at the Pilgrim's Mass Thursday, May 14, 2015. If this was you that gave it to me, Thank You very much. It was a real blessing to have been given it.

 

[2sassytravelers]

What did the rosary look like? I wonder if it was one that I made and left somewhere or gave to someone. Just curious.

Here is a photo of it. We were at the Pilgrim's Mass Thursday, May 14, 2015. If this was you that gave it to me, Thank You very much. It was a real blessing to have been given it.

 

[Ahhhs]

At the end of a long day on the Portuguese the "last" place to stay before another long stretch was surprisingly full. (I think there was a wedding party that day). A couple of us pilgrims went in to a local bar to discuss what to do. Should we backtrack to where we knew beds were available or press on for another long stretch. The young woman who worked there overheard us and offered to call a pension that she knew who would come and pick us up and deliver us to the same spot the next morning. We agreed and had a wonderful dinner and stay that night and were driven back to our starting spot the next morning. When we tried to pay the driver for picking us up he flatly refused any money and said it was an honor that we stayed at his place. He then gave us each a small glass bottle of liqueur as a thank you gift. I still have the little square glass bottle although we all emptied them of their contents in celebration on arrival in Santiago.

 

[Red Rose]

Here is a photo of it. We were at the Pilgrim's Mass Thursday, May 14, 2015. If this was you that gave it to me, Thank You very much. It was a real blessing to have been given it.

It is not one that I made. We walked in Sept/Oc

Here is a photo of it. We were at the Pilgrim's Mass Thursday, May 14, 2015. If this was you that gave it to me, Thank You very much. It was a real blessing to have been given it.

Thank you for the picture of the rosary. It isn't one that I made but it is always interesting to hear stories of where the ones I make end up. Priests I know give them to nursing home patients and I have been told about them by people who didn't know I was the one who made them. I am almost up to 700 made. I probably should take a break, lol.