LIVE from the Camino Camino angels

[DoughnutANZ]

I am almost finished my Camino Madrid and I have been really impressed with how nice the small donativo albergues have been lately and how lovely the Spanish people are.

When some of the Camino veterans describe their early Camino experiences I can relate some of those to how the Madrid has been for me. I will do a bit of a summary in another thread but in this thread I just wanted to acknowledge the fabulous Spanish people that I have encountered.

Today I walked a relatively short 16 kilometres from Santervás de Campos to Grajal de Campos, via Arenillas de Valderaduey.

I took my time and I was in Arenillas at 10am and so I stopped and had a seat in the town square for a rest and morning tea of dry bread and water.

As I was sitting there contemplating my somewhat unappetising fare a lady appeared in a window of one of the houses surrounding the tiny square and so I gave her a friendly wave and a "Hola" and went back to my bread and water.

The next thing that I know, the door opens of the same house and a little old lady comes out, walks over to me and says "café?".

Given that there were no cafe's or shops in that tiny village of about 25 houses and that this was the best offer that I have had all week, of course, I replied "Si". She then turned around and disappeared.

About five minutes later she and a very dottery old man reappeared with the guy carrying a tray with coffee and snacks on it.

I watched as they walked towards me and was a bit worried that the man would trip as he was a bit wobbly but he made it okay and they placed this on the seat next to me.



And then they walked off!

I enjoyed my morning coffee that was much nicer than any other option I had, returned the tray to them, thanked them profusely and went on my way.

When I arrived at Grajal de Campos the hospitalero from my previous night was there waiting for me to ensure that I had got there okay and when he was satisfied that I was booked in okay and taken care of he got back on his bike and returned to Santervás de Campos.

I am blown away with how nice these people are!

 

[MikeJS]

I must try and stop there!

 

[Bradypus]

It is like stepping back a few decades on the less-travelled routes. Understandably difficult to sustain that level of generosity and hospitality when hundreds pass through your village every day. One of the real delights of walking the Shikoku pilgrim circuit in Japan is the local custom of ossetai - gifts to passing pilgrims. Sometimes small tangible gifts like food or drink or occasionally money. Sometimes in generous acts of service. Slightly embarrassing at first to be the focus of such generous attention until I learned to accept graciously.

 

[Seekingpeace]

Camino angels abound! @Bradypus agreed, It is/was difficult at the beginning to accept generosity - but I found it also transformed & inspired me to become that source of generosity for others

Two angel stories I can contribute:

A couple weeks ago I had an injury in the descent coming down from Cruz de Ferro and was having difficulty finding an available appt with an osteopath. Not knowing what else to do, I decided to call a cab to take me to an area of Ponferrada where there seemed to be several clinics. When I explained my situation in broken Spanish to the cab driver, she immediately got on her phone calling clinics and after at least 3-4 tries and several minutes later, she made sure I had an appointment before going anywhere. At the end I tried to give her a few euros extra for her time and assistance and she refused.

And not just limited to locals along the Camino… later after Portomarín I had a gnarly blister forming beneath another calloused blister that was extremely painful to walk on and I didn’t have supplies large enough to treat it. (It was also quite hot that day - I would, and should have, stopped were it not for my decision to forward my pack that day… smh!) One camino friend offered alcohol to clean the site, another a large bandage to take with me, and <2 km later two other dear friends appeared just in time to repack the site with gauze. The whole collective undertaking was humbling and the very thing that allowed me to hobble my way to be reunited with my pack that day.

 

[filly]

I am encountering some of this ‘spirit’ on the Ruta de la Lana.

I really enjoyed the Madrid but we were quite a crowd!

Ultreia!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Great story, @DoughnutANZ!
Do most of you who walk the less traveled pilgrimages speak at least some Spanish? I think that would help immensely on those routes.

I have been pointed by locals in the right direction a number of times if I stood and looked confused or was walking in the wrong direction. Usually in cities by older folks sitting in their windows a few stories up. They yell out, and point in the opposite direction. I then wave, smile, and say gracias.

 

[David Tallan]

Do most of you who walk the less traveled pilgrimages speak at least some Spanish? I think that would help immensely on those routes.

I found that on the Madrid I had to operate in Spanish. My spoken Spanish is terrible. None of the verbs are conjugated correctly or in the right tense, masculine adjectives are placed next to feminine nouns, etc. But somehow I seem to make myself understood and I can understand much of what is said to me, especially if, after hearing me mangle their language, they speak more slowly.

 

[J Willhaus]

Phil and I see this quite a lot on both the CF and on less traveled routes...as hospitaleros we have been "brought" people by community residents who needed help on more than one occasion and we've seen them help with things from broken bikes to gifts of food at the albergue for the pilgrims. In the cities less so, but in the small towns along the way pilgrims are still a treasured part of the community.

 

[Former member 108241]

I am almost finished my Camino Madrid and I have been really impressed with how nice the small donativo albergues have been lately and how lovely the Spanish people are.

When some of the Camino veterans describe their early Camino experiences I can relate some of those to how the Madrid has been for me. I will do a bit of a summary in another thread but in this thread I just wanted to acknowledge the fabulous Spanish people that I have encountered.

Today I walked a relatively short 16 kilometres from Santervás de Campos to Grajal de Campos, via Arenillas de Valderaduey.

I took my time and I was in Arenillas at 10am and so I stopped and had a seat in the town square for a rest and morning tea of dry bread and water.

As I was sitting there contemplating my somewhat unappetising fare a lady appeared in a window of one of the houses surrounding the tiny square and so I gave her a friendly wave and a "Hola" and went back to my bread and water.

The next thing that I know, the door opens of the same house and a little old lady comes out, walks over to me and says "café?".

Given that there were no cafe's or shops in that tiny village of about 25 houses and that this was the best offer that I have had all week, of course, I replied "Si". She then turned around and disappeared.

About five minutes later she and a very dottery old man reappeared with the guy carrying a tray with coffee and snacks on it.

I watched as they walked towards me and was a bit worried that the man would trip as he was a bit wobbly but he made it okay and they placed this on the seat next to me.

View attachment 151451

And then they walked off!

I enjoyed my morning coffee that was much nicer than any other option I had, returned the tray to them, thanked them profusely and went on my way.

When I arrived at Grajal de Campos the hospitalero from my previous night was there waiting for me to ensure that I had got there okay and when he was satisfied that I was booked in okay and taken care of he got back on his bike and returned to Santervás de Campos.

I am blown away with how nice these people are!

Wow what a beautiful story.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Do most of you who walk the less traveled pilgrimages speak at least some Spanish? I think that would help immensely on those routes.

I have been trying to learn Spanish via Duolingo but usually I am too shy to use what little I have learnt except to say "Lo siento, no hablo español, hablas ingles?"

Breaking through this shyness is what I think made a huge difference with my last hospitalero and is partly why he cycled over to check that I was okay.

When I first checked in at Santervás de Campos the conversation between the hospitalero and I was very stilted. Then he volunteered to share his own lunch with me because I had not brought any food with me except half a loaf of bread and some peanuts and there is no store or bar in that town.

As we sat facing each other over lunch I tried a few Spanish words and his face lit up and he asked if I was learning Spanish. When I said Si, he immediately started speaking slower and he was willing to use some English words and asked me to try to use Spanish words.

Normally I fall back onto Google Translate but there is only intermittent Internet access in the town and that didn't work and so I was forced to try to remember the Spanish that I had learnt.

By the end of the day we were happy conversing with each other in Spanglish, sharing details of our families and our hobbies.

Much of the subtleties of the conversation went right over my head but we understood enough of what each other was saying to form a friendship.

It probably also helped that he had been there for a week and I was his first pilgrim in that time and there was nothing much else to do in the town and he was getting a bit bored.

 

[Canuck]

I am almost finished my Camino Madrid and I have been really impressed with how nice the small donativo albergues have been lately and how lovely the Spanish people are.

When some of the Camino veterans describe their early Camino experiences I can relate some of those to how the Madrid has been for me. I will do a bit of a summary in another thread but in this thread I just wanted to acknowledge the fabulous Spanish people that I have encountered.

Today I walked a relatively short 16 kilometres from Santervás de Campos to Grajal de Campos, via Arenillas de Valderaduey.

I took my time and I was in Arenillas at 10am and so I stopped and had a seat in the town square for a rest and morning tea of dry bread and water.

As I was sitting there contemplating my somewhat unappetising fare a lady appeared in a window of one of the houses surrounding the tiny square and so I gave her a friendly wave and a "Hola" and went back to my bread and water.

The next thing that I know, the door opens of the same house and a little old lady comes out, walks over to me and says "café?".

Given that there were no cafe's or shops in that tiny village of about 25 houses and that this was the best offer that I have had all week, of course, I replied "Si". She then turned around and disappeared.

About five minutes later she and a very dottery old man reappeared with the guy carrying a tray with coffee and snacks on it.

I watched as they walked towards me and was a bit worried that the man would trip as he was a bit wobbly but he made it okay and they placed this on the seat next to me.

View attachment 151451

And then they walked off!

I enjoyed my morning coffee that was much nicer than any other option I had, returned the tray to them, thanked them profusely and went on my way.

When I arrived at Grajal de Campos the hospitalero from my previous night was there waiting for me to ensure that I had got there okay and when he was satisfied that I was booked in okay and taken care of he got back on his bike and returned to Santervás de Campos.

I am blown away with how nice these people are!

On the Vasco May 2022. Out of nowwhere.

 

[alexwalker]

I have praised myself many times for having the wits to spending a month in Alicante, in an intensive Spanish language school, and staying in a family house with half board during that.

 

[J Willhaus]

I have been learning now for 7 years. I find as a hospitalera, I can make myself understood and usually understand what is said, in some other environmentments I don't. I read the Spanish news La Voz each day at home and take a Spanish lesson with a teacher each week. I have taken 2 weeks of lessons at a school in Spain. It is a process. Phil has been trying for 7 years and can say and understand far less.

For very specific things where it is very important to understand, I use Google Translate. I'd love to attend an immersive school after retirement next year, if I have the money. Its a richer experience when you can have some kind of conversation. I learn new words and expressions every year now.

 

[lt56ny]

Great story, @DoughnutANZ!
Do most of you who walk the less traveled pilgrimages speak at least some Spanish? I think that would help immensely on those routes.

I have been pointed by locals in the right direction a number of times if I stood and looked confused or was walking in the wrong direction. Usually in cities by older folks sitting in their windows a few stories up. They yell out, and point in the opposite direction. I then wave, smile, and say gracias.

Yes I think it is more than helpful if you can speak Spanish. I am sure you could get by with a translator and some patience. But when you are on the camino in a desolate area and you see someone that you may want to ask for directions or information knowing some Spanish makes a big difference.

 

[Bradypus]

By the end of the day we were happy conversing with each other in Spanglish, sharing details of our families and our hobbies.

It is amazing how necessity helps overcome shyness about language. My first Camino predated the internet and mobile phone apps and so I had to rely on a small phrasebook and the minimal vocabulary and grammar I had memorised. My guidebook was also in Spanish but reading that was far easier than speaking the language or listening to it. Very few local people spoke English at the time - I could probably have counted the number I met over 800km who did so on my fingers. Refugios were often very small and little publicised so it was vital to ask for directions from the local priest, ayuntamiento or police in many villages or towns. By the end of the walk I was communicating very roughly in a weird amalgam of English and Spanish with odd chunks of French and Latin thrown in occasionally for variety!

 

[VNwalking]

I am blown away with how nice these people are!

Ohhhhhhh. Wonderful story!

 

[simply B]

About the need for the language, I recall an episode from my diary of Fall '17 in Tardajos...

By way of background, I was having to work on an approach to get my Camigo home due to injury, I was nursing my third beer, and my Spanish (poor to begin with) was in total eclipse.

"...I am reviewing the quandaries of the day when a humble yet
dignified local (86 years old) requests permission to sit with me. I readily agree
and in the course of 30 minutes discuss…somehow…life, wives, children and
grands thereof.

I cannot buy him a coffee. He’s a regular and paid up for the month.

He cannot buy me a short beer (cana), it’s already bought.

I am to remember his late wife to St. James and make sure to love my living wife
when I get home. ‘Esto muy importante!’ (I actually really, certainly, cross-my-heart-
and-hope-to-die, knew this... but our parting with crossed, overlapped hands
was touching. I am not comfortable with ‘touching’ but there it is..with some
sniffling…a late pollen season, I am sure.)"

The next morning, while I was dealing with airlines and travel insurance, my Camigo scouted desayuno. While he was eating, he was approached by an older middle-aged man. This man was the son of my conversational partner. After some initial confusion, it was sorted out that I was the person with whom his father spoke.

As relayed to me, "His son says to tell you that you made his father's month... at least."

So, yes, language facility is important for getting a bed, food, beverage and the occasional directions.

It is really of little importance when the Camino tasks you to just listening with an open heart and a smile.

The Spanish are a wonderful people.

 

[Cicada]

I am almost finished my Camino Madrid and I have been really impressed with how nice the small donativo albergues have been lately and how lovely the Spanish people are.

When some of the Camino veterans describe their early Camino experiences I can relate some of those to how the Madrid has been for me. I will do a bit of a summary in another thread but in this thread I just wanted to acknowledge the fabulous Spanish people that I have encountered.

Today I walked a relatively short 16 kilometres from Santervás de Campos to Grajal de Campos, via Arenillas de Valderaduey.

I took my time and I was in Arenillas at 10am and so I stopped and had a seat in the town square for a rest and morning tea of dry bread and water.

As I was sitting there contemplating my somewhat unappetising fare a lady appeared in a window of one of the houses surrounding the tiny square and so I gave her a friendly wave and a "Hola" and went back to my bread and water.

The next thing that I know, the door opens of the same house and a little old lady comes out, walks over to me and says "café?".

Given that there were no cafe's or shops in that tiny village of about 25 houses and that this was the best offer that I have had all week, of course, I replied "Si". She then turned around and disappeared.

About five minutes later she and a very dottery old man reappeared with the guy carrying a tray with coffee and snacks on it.

I watched as they walked towards me and was a bit worried that the man would trip as he was a bit wobbly but he made it okay and they placed this on the seat next to me.

View attachment 151451

And then they walked off!

I enjoyed my morning coffee that was much nicer than any other option I had, returned the tray to them, thanked them profusely and went on my way.

When I arrived at Grajal de Campos the hospitalero from my previous night was there waiting for me to ensure that I had got there okay and when he was satisfied that I was booked in okay and taken care of he got back on his bike and returned to Santervás de Campos.

I am blown away with how nice these people are!

That warms tale warms my heart ♥

 

[Pathfinder075]

I hate to say it but some of these food related things are my nightmare. Going to a country where a decent chunk of the local cuisine can be fatal to me means, that someone offering me food or coffee is not entirely welcome in the grand scheme.

I largely avoided interactions during my first year walking, something I kind of wish i hadn't done, but for the above and following reason. My spoken spanish is very minimal, pretty much "good day", "hi" and "two beers please". Trying to talk about allergies, anaphylaxis and such like is many levels beyond my current level. I wonder if most people would even understand about epipens. I also don't want to offend anyone. But for me, accepting even a coffee is almost like tossing that bullet in the gun and giving it a spin, then pulling the trigger. Even a trace amount of certain foods is life threatening. So I learn to live with it while on Camino.

FTR, this affects me just as much in the UK. But it's easier to explain and deal with it, over here.

 

[filly]

I hate to say it but some of these food related things are my nightmare. Going to a country where a decent chunk of the local cuisine can be fatal to me means, that someone offering me food or coffee is not entirely welcome in the grand scheme.

I largely avoided interactions during my first year walking, something I kind of wish i hadn't done, but for the above and following reason. My spoken spanish is very minimal, pretty much "good day", "hi" and "two beers please". Trying to talk about allergies, anaphylaxis and such like is many levels beyond my current level. I wonder if most people would even understand about epipens. I also don't want to offend anyone. But for me, accepting even a coffee is almost like tossing that bullet in the gun and giving it a spin, then pulling the trigger. Even a trace amount of certain foods is life threatening. So I learn to live with it while on Camino.

FTR, this affects me just as much in the UK. But it's easier to explain and deal with it, over here.

Fair point. I appreciate your making it so clear. Unlike you, I can eat most things and pointing to other people’s dishes as a way to order has led to delights and unmentionables…

 

[Pathfinder075]

I wish i could. 20 years ago it was a different matter, sat in some backstreet restaurant in Madrid eating a pan of paella on my brothers stag do.

Still life was never going to be simple.

 

[Anthony Rocco]

I am almost finished my Camino Madrid and I have been really impressed with how nice the small donativo albergues have been lately and how lovely the Spanish people are.

When some of the Camino veterans describe their early Camino experiences I can relate some of those to how the Madrid has been for me. I will do a bit of a summary in another thread but in this thread I just wanted to acknowledge the fabulous Spanish people that I have encountered.

Today I walked a relatively short 16 kilometres from Santervás de Campos to Grajal de Campos, via Arenillas de Valderaduey.

I took my time and I was in Arenillas at 10am and so I stopped and had a seat in the town square for a rest and morning tea of dry bread and water.

As I was sitting there contemplating my somewhat unappetising fare a lady appeared in a window of one of the houses surrounding the tiny square and so I gave her a friendly wave and a "Hola" and went back to my bread and water.

The next thing that I know, the door opens of the same house and a little old lady comes out, walks over to me and says "café?".

Given that there were no cafe's or shops in that tiny village of about 25 houses and that this was the best offer that I have had all week, of course, I replied "Si". She then turned around and disappeared.

About five minutes later she and a very dottery old man reappeared with the guy carrying a tray with coffee and snacks on it.

I watched as they walked towards me and was a bit worried that the man would trip as he was a bit wobbly but he made it okay and they placed this on the seat next to me.

View attachment 151451

And then they walked off!

I enjoyed my morning coffee that was much nicer than any other option I had, returned the tray to them, thanked them profusely and went on my way.

When I arrived at Grajal de Campos the hospitalero from my previous night was there waiting for me to ensure that I had got there okay and when he was satisfied that I was booked in okay and taken care of he got back on his bike and returned to Santervás de Campos.

I am blown away with how nice these people are!

We expected nothing special when we arrived in Grajal. Instead, it turned out to be one of our favorite experiences. To begin with, the sign on the municipal albergue said not open till 4pm. It was 1pm. Sigh. We then spotted a little old man who had lots of keys dangling from his belt. He was delighted to open it for us, but cautioned us that when the senora arrived at 4pm, when she sees us inside, she will curse both him and us. He's used to it. They have argued for so many years he lost count. We then went to the bar and were told no food would be served till the evening. We looked so hot and miserable, which we were, that after about ten minutes, he said he had called his mother to cook something for us and bring it over. We wouldn't do this for anyone else, he said, but you are peregrinos. Ten minutes later a feast arrived. Mama smiled. Eat it all, she ordered us. You need it. If you want more, let me know. The albergue itself was wonderful, and we had it all to ourselves except for a Danish peregrino who had spent the past ten years walking just about everywhere. He regaled us with tales for hours.

We had similar experiences in many places along the Madrid. When we rate caminos, it ranks far and away the best for being embraced by the local folks. But...it does help to speak Spanish, including on the phone at times.

 

[Robo]

I am almost finished my Camino Madrid and I have been really impressed with how nice the small donativo albergues have been lately and how lovely the Spanish people are.

When some of the Camino veterans describe their early Camino experiences I can relate some of those to how the Madrid has been for me. I will do a bit of a summary in another thread but in this thread I just wanted to acknowledge the fabulous Spanish people that I have encountered.

Today I walked a relatively short 16 kilometres from Santervás de Campos to Grajal de Campos, via Arenillas de Valderaduey.

I took my time and I was in Arenillas at 10am and so I stopped and had a seat in the town square for a rest and morning tea of dry bread and water.

As I was sitting there contemplating my somewhat unappetising fare a lady appeared in a window of one of the houses surrounding the tiny square and so I gave her a friendly wave and a "Hola" and went back to my bread and water.

The next thing that I know, the door opens of the same house and a little old lady comes out, walks over to me and says "café?".

Given that there were no cafe's or shops in that tiny village of about 25 houses and that this was the best offer that I have had all week, of course, I replied "Si". She then turned around and disappeared.

About five minutes later she and a very dottery old man reappeared with the guy carrying a tray with coffee and snacks on it.

I watched as they walked towards me and was a bit worried that the man would trip as he was a bit wobbly but he made it okay and they placed this on the seat next to me.

View attachment 151451

And then they walked off!

I enjoyed my morning coffee that was much nicer than any other option I had, returned the tray to them, thanked them profusely and went on my way.

When I arrived at Grajal de Campos the hospitalero from my previous night was there waiting for me to ensure that I had got there okay and when he was satisfied that I was booked in okay and taken care of he got back on his bike and returned to Santervás de Campos.

I am blown away with how nice these people are!

Great story

On a recent Camino on the VdlP going up to Astorga, a couple of Camino Amigos and I stopped in Granja.

The whole town was closed. Nothing to eat. Nothing to buy.
There was a local festival on out of town, and everyone was headed there.

As we sat on a bench outside the church pondering our next move, two ladies and a gentleman called us over from the other side of the road. They were packing up a car to head to the Festival.

With much dashing in and out of each others houses, they then came back and gave us a bottle of wine, some plastic glasses, a loaf of bread and two amazing homemade chorizos.

What a great picnic we had

 

[MikeJS]

My spoken spanish is very minimal, pretty much "good day", "hi" and "two beers please".

You need to add ‘my friend will pay”……...

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I seem to be particularly lucky at the moment. I am in Calzadilla de los Hermanos at the moment because I took the alternative route after Sahagún as I wanted to maintain the minimum number of other pilgrims for a while.

I got here quite early and the Municipal Albergue doesn't open until 13:00 and so I was wandering around town looking a bit lost when a man asked me if I wanted a café. Of course, I said Si.

I followed him to a house and this is what I found.


The lady on the right is the hostess, the woman next to her is related somehow but that got lost in translation.


The first two men are the brothers of the hostess and the man on the left in the second photo is her husband while the man on his left (right looking at photo) is his brother.

The hostess was very proud of her flowers.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Today an elderly gentleman and his dog were out walking and as I passed and said Hola he offered me some fresh plums. Very nice!

 

[DoughnutANZ]

The Donativo café on the section leading to Astorga.

 

[MikeJS]

Is it a tad warm today?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

The Donativo café on the section leading to Astorga.
View attachment 152476

That was (maybe still is) "David's" place. We had the best, and only, watermelon slices on the Camino in May 2017!

 

[mustang2actual]

I am almost finished my Camino Madrid and I have been really impressed with how nice the small donativo albergues have been lately and how lovely the Spanish people are.

When some of the Camino veterans describe their early Camino experiences I can relate some of those to how the Madrid has been for me. I will do a bit of a summary in another thread but in this thread I just wanted to acknowledge the fabulous Spanish people that I have encountered.

Today I walked a relatively short 16 kilometres from Santervás de Campos to Grajal de Campos, via Arenillas de Valderaduey.

I took my time and I was in Arenillas at 10am and so I stopped and had a seat in the town square for a rest and morning tea of dry bread and water.

As I was sitting there contemplating my somewhat unappetising fare a lady appeared in a window of one of the houses surrounding the tiny square and so I gave her a friendly wave and a "Hola" and went back to my bread and water.

The next thing that I know, the door opens of the same house and a little old lady comes out, walks over to me and says "café?".

Given that there were no cafe's or shops in that tiny village of about 25 houses and that this was the best offer that I have had all week, of course, I replied "Si". She then turned around and disappeared.

About five minutes later she and a very dottery old man reappeared with the guy carrying a tray with coffee and snacks on it.

I watched as they walked towards me and was a bit worried that the man would trip as he was a bit wobbly but he made it okay and they placed this on the seat next to me.

View attachment 151451

And then they walked off!

I enjoyed my morning coffee that was much nicer than any other option I had, returned the tray to them, thanked them profusely and went on my way.

When I arrived at Grajal de Campos the hospitalero from my previous night was there waiting for me to ensure that I had got there okay and when he was satisfied that I was booked in okay and taken care of he got back on his bike and returned to Santervás de Campos.

I am blown away with how nice these people are!

Quite a beautiful thread @DoughnutANZ

 

[jormaechea]

The random kindness of strangers on the Camino can be incredibly touching. On my first camino in 2006, while staying the night at the albergue in Puente la Reina, I received word from my family that a favorite uncle of mine had passed away. Needless to say, he was in my thoughts throughout the next day's walk. As I was entering the town of Lorca, I saw a church and thought that I'd like to say a prayer and light a candle for him. Unfortunately, the church was locked up tight.

Further into town I stopped for a coffee, and asked the bartender about when the church would be open. He explained that since several of the small towns in the area shared a priest for services, the church was usually only open on Sunday mornings. I resigned myself to having to wait until Estella.

It was then that a little old lady, possibly in her late 70's, approached me and asked me why I wanted to visit the church. I explained about my uncle, wanting to light a candle for him, and that I'd probably just wait until Estella. She asked me to wait where I was, and left the bar, only to return 30 minutes later with what appeared to be an older lady... who had the key to the church.

We walked together back to the church, they stayed with me as I lit the candle and offered a prayer for my uncle, and locked up after me when I was done. I wish I had sufficient words to express to them how much it meant to me, but hopefully the hug I gave them told them what my words couldn't.

I still get misty-eyed thinking about it, even close to 20 years later. That a community cared enough to go out of their way to comfort a stranger.