Tracker
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances, July (2014); Salkantay Trek (Peru), July 2016; Camino Portugues, June 2017
On the CF last year between Arzua and Rua, my wife and I stopped for a rest and some shade in a lovely wooded area along the road. There we met a fellow pilgrim named Erik who had also stopped for a short rest. Erik said he was from Brussels, and he had in fact walked all the way from his home to the CF, and his journey was nearly complete. Erik told us that his life in Brussels was very chaotic and stressful, and that he had a reached a point in his life where he simply needed to get away and think about things. He said he had been walking for almost 6 months. At this point Erik became rather emotional, and tearfully told us that he was glad to be nearly done, and how much he missed his children. He said he had found what he was looking for, and was ready to go back and "start over", but that he needed to finish his Way in order to bring closure to his experience. We wished him the best, said our goodbyes and Erik continued on his journey. I took these two photos of him as he walked away. I simply call them "Erik's Way". Of all the photos I took, these two are somehow the most meaningful to me personally. I won't pretend to impart any underlying "message" about Erik or his story to the photos, but seeing them again today made me suddenly reflect on how special that trip was for me. It wasn't until seeing these pictures again, and thinking of Erik that I realized it. Just thought I'd share....
