We are many people around the world thinking of Spain now!

[bjorgts]

We are many who have become very fond of Spain and the Spaniards through many years on Cominos to Santiago. It is very sad to hear the terrible numbers from Spain and see pictures and hear reports from this beloved country just now.

This past week I have had Spain in my mind every day. What am I thinking of then? I think of all the nice people we've met; especially all the enthusiasts in the small villages, and I hope they are not sick, that they are not in impossible work situations or have lost loved ones.

I think of the camino friends in Alatoz who met us at the bar when we arrived and said, "Cada peregrino es una fiesta!" Every pilgrim is a fiesta! I think of the lady who met us with a handshake and a friendly smile at the municipal hall in Cañaveral de Leon. They took pictures of all the pilgrims who stayed overnight with them. They could only offer us exercise mats in the gym, but we remember them with pleasure. I think of A... in La Peza who invited us home to wait, when we could not enter the albergue. I hope the enthusiastic friends of the Camino in Almeria are healthy, ... etc, etc.

To you Spaniards who are on this forum, even though it is in English: We are many, many Camino friends around the world sending thoughts and prayers for Spain now!

 

[Pelegrin]

We are many who have become very fond of Spain and the Spaniards through many years on Cominos to Santiago. It is very sad to hear the terrible numbers from Spain and see pictures and hear reports from this beloved country just now.

This past week I have had Spain in my mind every day. What am I thinking of then? I think of all the nice people we've met; especially all the enthusiasts in the small villages, and I hope they are not sick, that they are not in impossible work situations or have lost loved ones.

I think of the camino friends in Alatoz who met us at the bar when we arrived and said, "Cada peregrino es una fiesta!" Every pilgrim is a fiesta! I think of the lady who met us with a handshake and a friendly smile at the municipal hall in Cañaveral. They took pictures of all the pilgrims who stayed overnight with them. They could only offer us exercise mats in the gym, but we remember them with pleasure. I think of A... in La Peza who invited us home to wait, when we could not enter the albergue. I hope the enthusiastic friends of the Camino in Almeria are healthy, ... etc, etc.

To you Spaniards who are on this forum, even though it is in English: We are many, many Camino friends around the world sending thoughts and prayers for Spain now!

Thank you very much for your words.

 

[OTH86]

Yes, indeed, @bjorgts!

 

[Gailsie]

I have been wondering and worried about the small villages along the CF and particularly the elderly people in the villages. When I walked so many of the elderly men and women sitting outside wished me Buen camino and A Santiago? Thinking and praying for all those living along the CF.

 

[mspath]

Bjorgts, indeed we are remembering and praying for all in Spain..
Other members who feel as you also expressed their empathy in this thread

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/lighting-candles-in-spain-for-the-dead.67205/

 

[Mike Savage]

Absolutely thinking of and praying for Spain.

 

[Blintintin]

Hi, all my family on my father's side live in Spain in places you would know....Madrid Leon Burgos Palencia Avila and elsewhere. I have been able to convey to some of them the concerns you have all shared here , the help offered here, the promises to return committed here, the worry for the seniors, the candles... the poems, the heartache the tears the solidarity expressed here, so so generously. they really are very grateful, as am I, for your compassion. I share this with you ... so that you all know... that your thoughts and concerns are being heard perhaps by only a few, but regardless they are helpful. At a time when it is difficult in it's own right for each of us, and particularly difficult to actually know how to help from so far away...it is making a difference. Thank you.

 

[VNwalking]

they really are very grateful, as am I, for your compassion. I share this with you ... so that you all know... that your thoughts and concerns are being heard perhaps by only a few, but regardless they are helpful.

Thank you for this @Blintintin.
We are united in endless prayers for health and healing...for the elders, especially the elders - but for everyone who makes the caminos the special places they are.

 

[JillGat]

Maybe there is another thread where this better fits, so moderators are free to move it. Just a short anecdote that popped into my head from my Camino walk three years ago. Thinking about los ancianos(as) I met along the way.

In Viloria de Rioja, I set down my pack and put my sleeping bag on my bunk at the albergue and went for a walk around the village. There was an elderly woman sitting on a bench and I said hello as I passed and she responded very directly, saying "Hello, Come over here and sit next to me." So, as any youngster would, I obeyed her and went to sit down on the bench. She pronounced, "I am the oldest person in this village. Pretty soon my granddaughter and great granddaughter will arrive and you will meet them." I wasn't sure how long that was going to be, but I hadn't been dismissed, and it was clear there was no other alternative for me but to wait. There were two small dogs dozing on the ground in front of us. "Are these your dogs?" I asked. She pointed and said, "This one is mine." "Who does the other one belong to?" I asked. She responded, "that dog belongs to the other oldest person in the village.. he is not quite as old as me, though."

Shortly the old man showed up and sat down on the bench too. He introduced himself by saying "My name is Alfonso and I am the oldest person in the village." I waited a bit and said, "I thought *she* was the oldest person in the village." She said, "it doesn't matter. We are both the oldest." They had been neighbors for practically centuries. Most of the younger people had moved away and the village was very quiet. Soon a car drove up to the casa across from us and a young mom and small daughter got out of the car, waving; her granddaughter and great granddaughter. The abuelita proudly introduced me to them. It was clear that meeting pilgrims walking through town was a real highlight for these old folks.

I had been wondering how so many seemingly vacant houses in these small towns seemed lovingly maintained with nobody around. That was when I realized that lots of city folks still have roots in these villages and the elderly people keep the lights on for them until they return.

 

[Ellen Gotts]

My heart breaks for Spain.Praying and candle lit.

 

[Rozenn]

We are many who have become very fond of Spain and the Spaniards through many years on Cominos to Santiago. It is very sad to hear the terrible numbers from Spain and see pictures and hear reports from this beloved country just now.

This past week I have had Spain in my mind every day. What am I thinking of then? I think of all the nice people we've met; especially all the enthusiasts in the small villages, and I hope they are not sick, that they are not in impossible work situations or have lost loved ones.

I think of the camino friends in Alatoz who met us at the bar when we arrived and said, "Cada peregrino es una fiesta!" Every pilgrim is a fiesta! I think of the lady who met us with a handshake and a friendly smile at the municipal hall in Cañaveral de Leon. They took pictures of all the pilgrims who stayed overnight with them. They could only offer us exercise mats in the gym, but we remember them with pleasure. I think of A... in La Peza who invited us home to wait, when we could not enter the albergue. I hope the enthusiastic friends of the Camino in Almeria are healthy, ... etc, etc.

To you Spaniards who are on this forum, even though it is in English: We are many, many Camino friends around the world sending thoughts and prayers for Spain now!

Maybe there is another thread where this better fits, so moderators are free to move it. Just a short anecdote that popped into my head from my Camino walk three years ago. Thinking about los ancianos(as) I met along the way.

In Viloria de Rioja, I set down my pack and put my sleeping bag on my bed at the albergue and went for a walk around the village. There was an elderly woman sitting on a bench and I said hello as I passed and she responded very directly, saying "Hello, Come over here and sit next to me." So, as any youngster would, I obeyed her and went to sit down on the bench. She pronounced, "I am the oldest person in this village. Pretty soon my granddaughter and great granddaughter will arrive and you will meet them." I wasn't sure how long that was going to be, but I hadn't been dismissed, and it was clear there was no other alternative for me but to wait. There were two small dogs dozing on the ground in front of us. "Are these your dogs?" I asked. She said one of them is. "Who does the other one belong to?" I asked. She responded, "that dog belongs to the other oldest person in the village.. he is just a little bit younger than me."

Shortly the old man showed up and sat down on the bench. He introduced himself by saying "My name is Alfonso and I am the oldest person in the village." I waited a bit and said, "I thought *she* was the oldest person in the village." She said, "it doesn't matter. We are both the oldest." They had been neighbors for practically centuries. Most of the younger people had moved away. Soon a car drove up to the casa across from us and a young mom and small daughter got out of the car, waving; her granddaughter and great granddaughter. The abuelita proudly introduced me to them. It was clear that meeting pilgrims walking through town was a real highlight for these old folks.

I had been wondering how so many seemingly vacant houses in these small towns seemed lovingly maintained with nobody around. That was when I realized that lots of city folks still have roots in these little towns and the elderly people keep the lights on for them until they return.

Yes I feel like you ! On 18 th of april
It will be one year that I started my 2 nd part of Camino from Burgos
I think each day I will post on FB some pics and I will send a small message to each Albergue I slept in until I got to Santiago on 20 May
I hope so much that they will recover ftom this terrible situation and we will cross again all this beautifulvillages and be greeted by smiles , laughters , the family reunions at night in the Plaza Mayor!

 

[Rozenn]

Yes I feel like you ! On 18 th of april
It will be one year that I started my 2 nd part of Camino from Burgos
I think each day I will post on FB some pics and I will send a small message to each Albergue I slept in until I got to Santiago on 20 May
I hope so much that they will recover ftom this terrible situation and we will cross again all this beautifulvillages and be greeted by smiles , laughters , the family reunions at night in the Plaza Mayor!

 

[Rozenn]

I also have fond memories of some old people I met who shared with me una copa sit on a bench and some anecdot of their life ! Hope they will still be there next year

 

[Blintintin]

You may enjoy this... shows much of Spain and all its glory.

'Espana'...un poema por José Manuel Soto