Camino Angels

[VNwalking]

The recent posts by Gerard and ReDDD have really lifted our spirits...both, interestingly, about lost wallets and being reunited with them in miraculous ways, thanks to 'Camino Angels.'
And I bet there are many other stories waiting to be told about the good people of the road; this is a remarkable family with so many years of walking under so many belts, after all...
So...who was YOUR best Camino Angel?
Or, even better, did you ever have the good fortune and joy of getting to be one?

 

[Al the optimist]

On a hot day from Bruma on the Ingles there was a Rastafarian with no pack, no water, nothing! I gave him my safety 500ml of water just before the forest. For those who have not experienced this it is a long exposed stretch and that day was way over 30 degrees. Resting in the shade at the bus stop at the end he staggered into view. We had both run out of water! Going over the bridge in the park I made a gourd out of the sheet liner from the albergue and we both drank gratefully from that. Thanks to him I learnt a lesson. I no longer use a hydration system so I can always tell how much water I have left and I have never run out of water since.

 

[mspath]

In ten years of camino walking I have met a multitude of angels as well as several devils along the ways. However those at Hospital de Orbigo were outstanding. During my first Camino after crossing the long medieval bridge over the river attempting to photograph the parish church I lost my footing and fell head first onto the irregular pavement! The pack crashed into my right shoulder. Flat on the ground my forehead and shoulder hurt like hell; an egg quickly rose on my forehead (by day’s end I resembled Cyclopes). Out of nowhere a kind Spanish couple appeared and the man said “Don’t worry, madam, I am a Chevalier de Santiago and will help”. They drove me to the regional hospital, where I was examined, told to rest, and see a doctor again the following day.

The Spanish couple next graciously invited me to lunch at their house. My host explained that the Chevaliers de Santiago are a group of Catholic men, who have been nominated to become members and who pledge to foster the Camino and help all pilgrims. In the Spanish custom lunch lasted at least four hours! With my left hand I alternated holding ice to my head and trying to eat since my right shoulder and arm were extremely painful. Nevertheless, how, lucky I was to be able to move and to have found ‘guardian angels'.

Next morning while still in my bunk the Chevalier and the local priest walked into the dorm to see how I was doing! Next the Chevalier and his wife took me to the local doctor whose office was adjacent to the church. When all three of us entered the examination room, the Chevalier said to the doctor “Another one has fallen!” It seems that in recent months others had also fallen on the same new paving where I stumbled. The doctor checked my eyes, gave me simple pain killers and wished me good luck. Later I ate again with the Chevalier and his family. Never will I forget their kindnesses and spontaneous gracious hospitality. It was heartfelt Camino ‘caritas’ and even now ten years later unforgetable....May we all be so helpful and kind.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

In March of this year I left SJPDP at the start of my first camino. Several days later, arriving in a town on the Spanish Easter holiday this year, I, and a pilgrim I had been walking with for a few days , booked into a very large albergue. As the day went on, I began to feel uncomfortable with so many people all around me - I live in the relative isolation of a house up a hillside in Scotland. Also, I was recently bereaved and was feeling the need for space on the Camino to be silent and reflect on the past, the future and memories of my beloved. Therefore I decided that walking with another person at that time was not best suited to my emotional state. Unwise or not, I left the albergue that evening and started to walk to the next smallest town thinking that even if there was no accommodation there, the night was warm enough to sleep outside with my sleeping bag. On reaching the next town/village, I made my way to the only albergue there, just to check if there was an available bed - there wasn't - but two of the peregrinos in the albergue, both young men (one French Canadian, the other Spanish) were clearly anxious that this white-haired elderly woman (me!) might have to sleep rough for the night. They escorted me to the nearest bar to enquire there for spaces in Hostales, Casa Rurales, but everything was booked up because of the holiday. I said that was okay and not to worry, I could sleep in the church porch as many others have done while walking the Way. The owner of the bar then said - as translated by a Spanish woman eating there who spoke fluent English - that I was to go with him, that he had a spare bed - for which he insisted there would be no charge - but that he would have to immediately return to the bar after settling me in his home as this was a very busy night, also that he would have to leave early next morning to open the bar for pilgrims' breakfasts. So he put on his jacket, and took me to his home, explained where everything was and went back to work. Early next morning I heard him getting ready to leave and tried again to persuade him to accept some money for his act of kindness, and again he refused. Drawing on my very poor grasp of Spanish, I again offered the money saying 'Donativo por eglesia', and this he found acceptable.

I will never forget this man whose humanity was so great that he took a complete stranger into his home. He is my Camino Angel and Good Samaritan rolled into one and he made me realise that for all that 'I wanted to be alone' on that day, I had a lesson to learn about the selflessness of my fellow human beings. The experience taught me to trust and be thankful for those around me (even when I didn't want to talk) and made it possible to be more open-hearted for the rest of my Camino.
Of course, the two young men were also Camino Angels for having taken the trouble to try and find me a bed for the night, but the bar-owner's generosity will stay with me always and I hope to meet him again next April when I am travelling through Navarre on my second Camino.

 

[VNwalking]

These stories are great!
(So SEB, care to say where that was in so we can all go and buy a drink or lunch at this angel's bar next time we pass through? What an amazing gift.)
The camino is full of unexpected angels, and who knows where the next one will pop up.

 

[dcorrea951]

Hospital de Orbigo at Albergue Verde we met a Pilgrim we had met at the start of the Camino in SJPDP. We greeted each other warmly and had a wonderful visit. He told us that he did not think that he could complete his Camino because his knee was hurting so much. I went into my pack and retrieved my spare knee brace and gave it to him. We did not see him again until we were in Finisterre and when we did, he greeted us with hugs galore and told us that he had completed his Camino. It made me feel so good that I almost cried !!!

 

[VNwalking]

Hospital de Orbigo at Albergue Verde we met a Pilgrim we had met at the start of the Camino in SJPDP. We greeted each other warmly and had a wonderful visit. He told us that he did not think that he could complete his Camino because his knee was hurting so much. I went into my pack and retrieved my spare knee brace and gave it to him. We did not see him again until we were in Finisterre and when we did, he greeted us with hugs galore and told us that he had completed his Camino. It made me feel so good that I almost cried !!!

And I almost tear up reading this. You gave someone his Camino back, and a way to keep going.
Amazing how you met him at the end...and how wonderful.

 

[Veronica Peace]

During June/July this year I walked the Camino Frances from SJPdP to SdC. I met two Camino Angels during my pilgrimage - both of them during my first two days climbing the Pyrenees.

Angel #1: I commenced my pilgrimage on June 16, which unfortunately, also coincided with the onset of one of the worst storms to hit the Pyrenees in recent times - lashing winds, freezing cold rain and fog so thick I could barely make out my outstretched arm. I wasn't going far my first day - only to Orisson, but due to the bitterly cold wind and rain a chronic health issue flared and I really struggled, stopping more than a dozen times (weather reports had indicated I'd be walking during a heat wave, so I wasn't prepared for the cold - in hindsight a bad move on my part). Worse still, the circulation to my right arm was cut off due to my not adjusting my front backpack straps correctly and my arm swelled to the size of a sausage shaped balloon (I didn't notice this straight away because my whole body was numb from the cold).

Soaked to the bone and physically exhausted, I dumped my pack on the side of the road and slumped down onto a rock, prepared to give in (yep, give in), when out of the mist, just a few feet away, a woman appeared. As she approached, she asked if I was okay. Through my tears I showed her my arm and sobbed that I didn't think I could go any further. She knelt down beside me and took my arm and began gently massaging it. She said to me, "it isn't far now, it's really very close, you can make it". She left then. Walking away into the mist she just - disappeared. I lingered a few more minutes, but just as I stood up the mist separated directly in front of me (as if on queue) and there it was - the Orisson Albergue. It was literally just a few meters away from me! I met this same woman several more times during my time on the Camino and each time we met, we hugged, laughed and ‘reminisced’ about that 'awful' day. My Camino Angel also just happens to be a forum member as well!

Angel #2: Overnight at the Orisson Albergue my health condition became markedly worse and by the next morning I was seriously contemplating returning home. But, another Camino Angel came to the rescue. She loaned me her wet weather poncho (remember, I was only prepared for a heat wave and had no wet weather gear whatsoever) as she had a rain jacket and she offered to walk with me for the day to Roncesvalles. I was so ill I could only manage to walk a few steps at a time before having to rest. My Camino Angel stayed with me every step of the way. She encouraged me, made me laugh and generally diverted my attention from the miserable weather to the history of the Camino, the beauty of the area we were walking (not that we could see anything, the mist was so thick) and also her life story and her own personal connection with the Camino. For seven hours, we walked, climbed, slipped and slid in the wind and rain until we reached Roncesvalles. My Camino Angel and I have now become life-time friends and stay in touch regularly.

My turn: After spending time in hospital in Pamplona and recovering enough to continue my pilgrimage, the Camino began to really work its magic. Each day I walked I grew stronger and by the time I reached Rabanal del Camino I was feeling great. It was here, on the morning I left Rabanal and was heading to El Acebo that I came across an elderly woman standing beside the senda who appeared to be experiencing breathing difficulties. I thought of my Camino Angels and knew that I couldn’t just ask this woman if she was okay and then walk on. It was my turn to pay back the generosity and kindness that had been shown to me. I took this woman under my wing and together we walked to El Acebo. We spent twelve hours on the Camino that day as the woman’s health and fitness level were very poor and with the heat being so extreme the going was very slow. So many times I offered to flag down transport for her, but she was very adamant that she wanted to walk (I understood. I’d been there two weeks earlier). As we made our way down the final descent into El Acebo early that evening, pilgrims who had passed us along the Way during the day clapped us into town. We were met with cheers and two huge beers! God bless all the Camino Angels.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

These stories are great!
(So SEB, care to say where that was in so we can all go and buy a drink or lunch at this angel's bar next time we pass through? What an amazing gift.)
The camino is full of unexpected angels, and who knows where the next one will pop up.

Viaranani, I debated whether to make known the location of the bar but decided against making it public. But for those of you who like a puzzle to solve, it was after Pamplona, before Los Arcos, in a town with only one albergue and a 24 hour machine dispensing food and drink, and near to a main road.
One other thing I learned from this is just how hard the people running bars work to ensure there is a breakfast, lunch, dinner or cafe con leche available for pilgrims. This man was up at the same time as we pilgrims, but didn't get to bed until long after we had all been snugly tucked up in our beds. When you have walked through horizontal rain in Galicia at break of dawn for 7 kilometres trying to find somewhere for breakfast, the people working behind the bars to dispense coffee and toast are all Camino Angels.

Veronica, so sorry to hear of your health problems at the start of your Camino but glad to hear of your 'Angel'. I had a related, but not so serious experience on the slow climb to Alto de Perdon when I kept having to lay flat on my back by the side of the path being in great pain from what I was sure was the start of my hips giving out and therefore signalling the end of my Camino. An American woman, who I had met earlier, stopped to see if I was alright and finding I wasn't, proceeded to manipulate my legs - more pain! - and promptly cured the problem.

 

[VNwalking]

God bless all the Camino Angels.

Veronica, what you've shared just goes to show that what camino angels do is sometimes very simple...but that can make a world of difference for someone else. I'm so glad your Camino angels showed up when you needed them, and that you then able to be a Camino Angel for someone else further down the road. Very touching. (And imagining the two of you coming down into Acebo to that standing ovation...beautiful!)

When you have walked through horizontal rain in Galicia at break of dawn for 7 kilometres trying to find somewhere for breakfast, the people working behind the bars to dispense coffee and toast are all Camino Angels.

SEB, thank you for this--I admit that I (usually) take them for granted!
But not always. I will never forget rolling in to Ages out of a horizontal sleet storm when it was about 1°C. A small group of us who had spent a (literally) freezing night in San Juan de Ortega were walking together--and we were wet, cold, and ravenous. The little cafe we walked into was such a beautiful haven of warmth and kindness and care--and delicious food! I walked in feeling like a wild animal and walked out a human being. Just one of hundreds of angels.

But for those of you who like a puzzle to solve, it was after Pamplona, before Los Arcos, in a town with only one albergue and a 24 hour machine dispensing food and drink, and near to a main road.

You're on. Anyone? I guess Maneru.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

Viranani, that cafe in Ages is run by a woman who has walked the camino. Everything that she and her husband do to make the environment so beautiful and the food so good is an expression of love for fellow pilgrims. The empanadas she makes were the best I tasted on the walk, and I ate quite a few along the Way!

Well how did you do it? Got it in one. Should we ever meet on the Camino I will treat you to a glass of wine and/or a slice of excellent empanada.

 

[VNwalking]

Everything that she and her husband do to make the environment so beautiful and the food so good is an expression of love for fellow pilgrims.

Yes, we could feel that! We were noticing the care with which they were making our cafes and tostadas and huevos. I was tempted to stay for the day, but it was only 9AM...so we rather reluctantly went back out into the storm, and on to Burgos.

Well how did you do it?

Don't know, except that I stopped there to get out of a cloudburst one morning, and it seemed to fit.

Should we ever meet on the Camino I will treat you to a glass of wine and/or a slice of excellent empanada.

I would enjoy that! An empanada at Ages, perhaps?

 

[jsalt]

My camino angels are the people in the village of Calzada de Coto. It was already late and the light was fading when my sister and I approached the tiny albergue on the last day of October. Our hearts sank when we saw it was all in darkness (it was over an hour’s walk to the next village). But when we got there, there was a key in the door! We cautiously went inside and switched on the lights. We had no food, so we dropped our packs and walked on into the village. The little shop was all closed up, but someone must have seen us, as the senora came along and opened up for us, and we bought bread, cheese and wine. Back at the albergue we were surprised to find the showers were hot! And there was a small electric heater! It was one of the best nights on the camino. Just my sister and me, bonding after the recent death of our mother. Two years later, on my own, I went back to Calzada de Coto, especially to take a photo of the albergue (we had no cameras the first time), only to find it all closed up for good. Saddened, I walked on, and on my way through the village an old man near the church called to me. I went over to him, and he took me into the church, and showed me around, explaining all the different parts. I didn’t understand a word he was saying, but it didn’t seem to matter, and I was just so overwhelmed. What lovely people in this village. I felt humbled. Jill

 

[VNwalking]

Little places, 'average' people...how easy it is to underestimate them.
A village full of angels and I just walked on through...a pity!
Just goes to show how important it is to be awake to each other and to the world around us.
Thanks Jill!

 

[williamlittig]

I am not an angel but I can find joy in helping others. Mia, a filmmaker from Chicago, came into the alberge in Carrion de Conde, sobbing from having lost her phone(camera). Her story was on that phone and she felt she wasn't vigilant and the phone was stolen. It was fun for me to buy her a camera (we both cried). Fast forward, early in the darkness of morning near Obierto someone behind me says"hello". It was Mia. "I found my phone in the bottom of my pack. I'd like to give you the camera back". "No you should give it to someone in need, There is an Italian-Brazilian woman that broke her camera. I haven't seen her for a week but we will" . We reached Obierto (still dark) and went in for coffee. Camino Magic the Italian-Brazilian woman came in, was gifted the camera and we all cried again. Thank you Camino for the joy...... Willy, Utah, USA

 

[Satírico]

The recent posts by Gerard and ReDDD have really lifted our spirits...both, interestingly, about lost wallets and being reunited with them in miraculous ways, thanks to 'Camino Angels.'
And I bet there are many other stories waiting to be told about the good people of the road; this is a remarkable family with so many years of walking under so many belts, after all...
So...who was YOUR best Camino Angel?
Or, even better, did you ever have the good fortune and joy of getting to be one?

I was grateful last year upon reaching Ponferrada, to the local man with the severe speech impediment who guided me to the nearest health centre, to the young mum who spontaneously adjusted my poncho for me as the rain came down, and to the Korean lady who saved me in the later and more suitable clinic when I was standing in line and a bit lost without fluent Spanish (or health insurance). There were also the kind people waiting to see the doctor who made sure we all got seen in the proper order. Nobody took advantage of me as a foreigner and even if the medicines didn't help much, getting back on the road soon put me right and so I am grateful to the camino itself.

 

[frida1]

My second camino began September 12 as I began the Portuguese camino. After a beautiful series of days walking, I fell on the highway on my way to Albergaria-a-velha. I continued on for about 5 k to the albergue at Albergaria, Rainha de Teresa. I met hospitaleiro, Joaquim Donario and the volunteer Carla Cristina. They were booth very kind. The next day Joaquim took me to the clinic, and then on to the hospital at Aveiro. Xrays showed that I broke my kneecap and needed to be immobilized for 6 weeks! Joaquim spent many hours getting me to medical care, and then got up at 3:00 am to take me to my flight at Porto. I'm home now and planning to resume my camino next year. Joaquim and Carla are true camino angels!

 

[WandererJolie]

Walked my Camino this July. After a long, hot, difficult first week of walking (waaaaaayyyyy too much for my out-of-shape body), I made it to Bilbao. There was a huge music festival going on. I learned from the tourist info people that there was no accommodation left in the city. Everything was booked, but I might try the pilgrim albergue. Fine. But I lost the camino somehow, and ended up out in ??? Barkaldo? something like that. It was +38C that day, and without exaggeration, I'm sure I walked close to 40km that day with all of my wrong turns and backtracking.
Finally, I made it back into Bilbao. I said to myself "I'll take a train to the next city", and tried to get to Castro Urdiales. No trains, but a kind lady in the train station pointed me to a bus stop and said (in Spanish) to wait for the blue bus. I panicked when I was waiting at the bus stop. All of the buses going by were red city buses. None of the people waiting for buses spoke English. I spoke very little Spanish. After an eleven hour day (6 hours of which I had spent lost and wandering in blistering heat), I broke. Confused, severely sunburnt, dehydrated, I stood on the street corner at the bus stop and sobbed openly. A woman walking her dog came by, and one of the only English words she seemed to have to comfort me with was "Quiet, just be quiet...", but said in a kindly way. She had a little bit of English, and with my broken Spanish, I tried to make clear that I had nowhere to sleep, that I was lost, etc. She pulled out her cell phone, made a call. Her friend owns? or works at? a hostel in the city, and found a place for me. This angel physically took my arms, led me to a taxi stand, told the driver where to take me. By this time, I was weeping with gratitude (more "Quiet, be quiet." from her). I never even learned her name. I don't think I even managed to say gracias. I can't even picture her. Her little dog was white, and she was wearing white. That's all I can see in my mind as I remember this most terrible day.
The hostel was fine - I was put into a room with four people who were attending the music festival. I took a cool shower to try to bring down my temperature, then dealt with the blisters caused on the backs of my calves from the severe sunburn (horrible). I made a tear-filled phone call home as I propped my swollen legs up. A talk with my husband encouraged me, and instead of going the next morning to get a flight back home to Canada, I resolved to give the camino at least one more week. (Three more weeks, actually - I finished my walk on August 4.)
I'm thankful to that angel. I don't know what would have become of me that night.

 

[freespirit]

Camino Angels who are they,and they all ways seem to be close.

Having completed my second Camino this last August, getting just past Melide I had a slight accident to my knee going down hill, but decided to carry on no matter what having walked from St Jean and being single-minded and obstinate I wanted to finish my Camino no matter what,,,so continued walking and limping,.having to stop at Albergues more often at the end because of the pain,my first Camino angel gave me a knee brace when I stopped at an Albergue in the village of Salceda,my second angel came across me limping on the way to Monte de Gozo and greeted and gave me a handful of nuts and half a tin of coke,my third angel came across me a bit later and offered to help me with my pack,but in the end I reached my goal Santiago,I dont know who these angels are but if they by chance read this and they remember I just like to say thanks again,,having since got back home and visited the Hospital I found that I had torn my knee cartilage,but will walk it of and the pain has almost gone now, and am looking forward to my next Camino.

 

[Arminius]

A beautiful Camino story Freespirit. So let us build a better , more humane world. Wish each Camino pilgrim: peace-building, genuine solidarity and harmony.

 

[WayWalker63]

My Camino Angels came on my first day on the Camino. I started in Pamplona with the intention of stopping in Cezor Menor. But I got there and it was only 11:30 and I figured I could do the 6.6 to Ziraquegui with no problem. I didn't figure in the almost constant uphill slog the whole way. I was about 2/3 up when I lost all energy. I stopped to rest again and I saw several people pass me by. A few minutes later one of those people came back. Asked me if I needed help and offered to carry my pack for me. He was Lucas from Lithuania. He carried my pack the rest of the way up and was my coach and cheerleader. Even without the pack it was a hard slog. With many stops to rest. On one of those rest stops one lady came by singing. She stopped to check on me and offered to reserve a bed for me when she got up to the Albergue. Turns out it was a good thing she did as they were completo when I got there except for my reserved bottom bunk. Lucas went on that night and I haven't seen him since. If you meet him tell him Karen says hi and thank you.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Camino Angels who are they,and they all ways seem to be close.

Having completed my second Camino this last August, getting just past Melide I had a slight accident to my knee going down hill, but decided to carry on no matter what having walked from St Jean and being single-minded and obstinate I wanted to finish my Camino no matter what,,,so continued walking and limping,.having to stop at Albergues more often at the end because of the pain,my first Camino angel gave me a knee brace when I stopped at an Albergue in the village of Salceda,my second angel came across me limping on the way to Monte de Gozo and greeted and gave me a handful of nuts and half a tin of coke,my third angel came across me a bit later and offered to help me with my pack,but in the end I reached my goal Santiago,I dont know who these angels are but if they by chance read this and they remember I just like to say thanks again,,having since got back home and visited the Hospital I found that I had torn my knee cartilage,but will walk it of and the pain has almost gone now, and am looking forward to my next Camino.

Hi, thank you for sharing this lovely story. Wish you well , Peter.

 

[mspath]

For more on the serendipity of finding/meeting camino angels see this earlier Forum thread.
How wonderful that such spontaneous help still prevails!

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

My Camino Angels came on my first day on the Camino. I started in Pamplona with the intention of stopping in Cezor Menor. But I got there and it was only 11:30 and I figured I could do the 6.6 to Ziraquegui with no problem. I didn't figure in the almost constant uphill slog the whole way. I was about 2/3 up when I lost all energy. I stopped to rest again and I saw several people pass me by. A few minutes later one of those people came back. Asked me if I needed help and offered to carry my pack for me. He was Lucas from Lithuania. He carried my pack the rest of the way up and was my coach and cheerleader. Even without the pack it was a hard slog. With many stops to rest. On one of those rest stops one lady came by singing. She stopped to check on me and offered to reserve a bed for me when she got up to the Albergue. Turns out it was a good thing she did as they were completo when I got there except for my reserved bottom bunk. Lucas went on that night and I haven't seen him since. If you meet him tell him Karen says hi and thank you.

Hi Karen, there are lovely people around the Camino who take care of others.
Wish you well, Peter.

 

[Al the optimist]

I met a camino angel before I started walking! Our very own forum member Mikel from Cuiz Major. We met at Madrid airport and caught the overnight bus to Pamploma. Arriving at dawn his daughter collected us, took us to his home where he provided a bed for me to sleep a few hours. Then he drove me back to Pamploma to a store (near the bus station) where I could buy some walking poles. Then drove me back to his home from where we walked to Zariqueigui. Once there and taking a beer one of two girls we had seen along the way was having trouble with her pack being too heavy. He offered to take what she didn't need and deliver it to her in Puente La Reina two days later. So off he went home carrying her stuff. What a nice man! I look forward to the next time we meet.

 

[VNwalking]

Mikel...what a gem.Beautiful story, Al.
And good point, Al. How many angels do we meet here, even before we walk?...the kind of people who (like Mikel) take us in or lend equipment to us even though we've never met in the flesh.
Or we get to be angels...which is even more fun.

 

[VNwalking]

I am not an angel but I can find joy in helping others. Mia, a filmmaker from Chicago, came into the alberge in Carrion de Conde, sobbing from having lost her phone(camera). Her story was on that phone and she felt she wasn't vigilant and the phone was stolen. It was fun for me to buy her a camera (we both cried). Fast forward, early in the darkness of morning near Obierto someone behind me says"hello". It was Mia. "I found my phone in the bottom of my pack. I'd like to give you the camera back". "No you should give it to someone in need, There is an Italian-Brazilian woman that broke her camera. I haven't seen her for a week but we will" . We reached Obierto (still dark) and went in for coffee. Camino Magic the Italian-Brazilian woman came in, was gifted the camera and we all cried again. Thank you Camino for the joy...... Willy, Utah, USA

Are so, Willy. This is such a wonderful story!

 

[VNwalking]

Xrays showed that I broke my kneecap and needed to be immobilized for 6 weeks!

Frida, I'm sorry...and wish you a smooth recovery. Thankfully...there are angels!

I'm thankful to that angel. I don't know what would have become of me that night.

Jolie...such a moving story. I can well imagine how vulnerable you felt...very touching, this story...

 

[Icacos]

"Quiet, just be quiet...", but said in a kindly way.

Sounds like you had a dreadful experience. Good for you for hanging in and thank goodness for Camino angels.

The comment "Quiet, just be quiet....", makes me smile. I forget now what the issue was, but during my very first encounter with an hospitalero, in the Basque region, he said to me several times, "Tranquilo, tranquilo." In my mind I translated it as, "Calm down." I was a tiny bit perturbed because I didn't think I was getting exercised about anything.

 

[don88]

Walking near Salcedo and was in considerable pain. A peregrina came up and asked if I was OK. She said I had been staggering, and offered water and a bite to eat. We then walked a few minutes together and talked. I learned that she had been a neighbor of my father in rural Oregon in the mid 1970's. Not only an angel but a family friend.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

My second camino began September 12 as I began the Portuguese camino. After a beautiful series of days walking, I fell on the highway on my way to Albergaria-a-velha. I continued on for about 5 k to the albergue at Albergaria, Rainha de Teresa. I met hospitaleiro, Joaquim Donario and the volunteer Carla Cristina. They were booth very kind. The next day Joaquim took me to the clinic, and then on to the hospital at Aveiro. Xrays showed that I broke my kneecap and needed to be immobilized for 6 weeks! Joaquim spent many hours getting me to medical care, and then got up at 3:00 am to take me to my flight at Porto. I'm home now and planning to resume my camino next year. Joaquim and Carla are true camino angels!

Sorry to hear of your injury. Best wishes for your Healing Camino.

 

[freespirit]

Camino Angels who are they,and they all ways seem to be close.

Having completed my second Camino this last August, getting just past Melide I had a slight accident to my knee going down hill, but decided to carry on no matter what having walked from St Jean and being single-minded and obstinate I wanted to finish my Camino no matter what,,,so continued walking and limping,.having to stop at Albergues more often at the end because of the pain,my first Camino angel gave me a knee brace when I stopped at an Albergue in the village of Salceda,my second angel came across me limping on the way to Monte de Gozo and greeted and gave me a handful of nuts and half a tin of coke,my third angel came across me a bit later and offered to help me with my pack,but in the end I reached my goal Santiago,I dont know who these angels are but if they by chance read this and they remember I just like to say thanks again,,having since got back home and visited the Hospital I found that I had torn my knee cartilage,but will walk it of and the pain has almost gone now, and am looking forward to my next Camino.

 

[LisaAnn]

My 1st angel on the Camino Portugues was Vanessa whose father owns Alfa 10 Hospedaria in Alverca (https://www.facebook.com/hospedariaalfa10/?fref=ts). We had a tough day due to very heavy rain, as points we had to stop as we couldn't see where we were going. We were on bikes and also got very lost at one point. Then the mud through a section was like clay and pretty much stopped the wheels on the bikes from spinning. Very difficult 1st day! When we finally made it to Alverca, not nearly as far as we wanted to go that day, and crossed over at the train station, it was starting to get dark and was still raining. We went up the wrong direction and couldn't find the road where places to stay were located. We ended up on the highway in torrential rain and Jenny got a flat... Vanessa pulled over in her car, asked if we were pilgrims, then put Jenny's pannier's (bike packs) in the trunk and walked with us the 1/4 mile or so to her fathers place (her husband drive their car over), yes, she walked with us in the pouring rain. Her parents then took care of us - taking all of our wet and muddy clothing and returning everything washed and dried! The next morning, they helped us yet again by providing scrub brushes, buckets of water and rags to wash the bikes as they were still caked in the clay-like mud. The sun was shining that morning, it didn't last though. At some point every day it rained, some days more than others. I wouldn't change the experience for anything. I regained confidence in both myself and in others.

Make the present moment your friend rather than your enemy.

 

[Donna Sch]

I think the people you meet and end up walking with can end up being Camino angels. My Spanish buddy saved a lot of people from having to endure my Spanish or my quick fire Kiwi-Aussie dialect and accent. And he certainly provided a lot of good humour along the way.
I just saved his feet by making him buy real no-cotton socks. But then again I didn't want to end up as his sherpa. We also joke that he ended up walking with a shrink, a professional carer and two paramedics. Santiago has a sense of humour!

 

[AlwynWellington]

So many wonderful stories of caritas, kindness and love for one another.

Thank you Viranani for starting this thread.

My story is a lot more down to earth than the uplifting stories above.

A few years ago I started at Sarria. Bfeore that I had been on quite a different pilgrimage, had travelled by rental car and, except for one night had slept on the back seat so I could get early starts.

Not much washing had been done.

On my first two days several faces were repeating themselves. Evening two, in Palais de Rei, I stayed in and washed everything and hung it by an open window near my bunk. There were 28 in all in this dorm. Up and out while still twilight.
Arrived at Arzua and went to change my underpants. All my washing was in my pack, except for my other two pairs underpants.
Days four and five: wore same underpants as day three.
Until about 10 am on day five. I'd made an early start from Arzua, and after the airport wanted to reward myself with a coffee. No sooner had I ordred and sat down than in walked together as a couple a man and a woman I remembered seeing walking quite separately on day one. As soon as the wonan saw me she took a plastic shopping bag from the top of her pack, rolled down the edges, came over and showed me what was inside.

I had not seen them in my dorm two nights before. How they connected me to the underpants I can only guess. It may have been the three young women from Barcelona that shared my 4 bunk carrel: who knows.

But there many other small kindnesses from strangers on those few days. From a calf muscle strain, I was limping the first two days: I lost count of those that stopped and offered my their staff or pain relief.

And the casual encounter with a Kiwi woman: she and her partner were preparing a hostel (for later in the season) just after Ferreiros, going down to Portomarin. To announce something was happening they had arranged a buch of national flags around the entrance: but right in the middle below the archway was the New Zealand flag prominently by itself. And below that was a table with botlles of water in ice for sale, using the honesty system well known at roadside stalls. Curious, I sat down. She turned up, we chatted and she loaded me up with water and bananas and would not be paid: she had told me I was the first Kiwi to stop in several months. I hope their venture made its way.

So, Viranani, once again thank for your post on Angels and so for the chance to read many of the other contribution.

 

[VNwalking]

Alwyn, underwear angels?! I'm blushing.
This story's funny but also really captures the humor and open-hearted acceptance we share when we're at our best as pilgrims and human beings.
I'll never forget a gentleman in Astorga, saying to my friend, "May your feet have wings." Well, your Alwyn, your post gave my heart some. Thank you. Such lovely stories that show that it's the small kindnesses that sometimes really make a difference...
We are all camino angels for each other...or can be. Our choice!