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She absolute is, Peter.With all the news about the one or two negative events that have happened along the Camino, I thought it might be good to start a thread about the POSITIVE experiences we have along the route. I have had many positive experiences, but here is one.
In 2013 when I walked, it was VERY very cold, even in June.
The wind was blowing and there was icy rain.
I stopped at a bar in Santa Catalina and was just freezing.
The barkeep also had rooms, and so I asked if there was a "free box" where I might pick up some leggings or sweat pants.
She said no, but then got on the telephone to her husband and had him drive over with a pair of her own sweatpants for me!
I almost cried I was so happy!
She instructed me to just leave the pants for her at the albergue in Rabanal, which I did.
What a Camino ANGEL!
Annie,With all the news about the one or two negative events that have happened along the Camino, I thought it might be good to start a thread about the POSITIVE experiences we have along the route. I have had many positive experiences, but here is one.
In 2013 when I walked, it was VERY very cold, even in June.
The wind was blowing and there was icy rain.
I stopped at a bar in Santa Catalina and was just freezing.
The barkeep also had rooms, and so I asked if there was a "free box" where I might pick up some leggings or sweat pants.
She said no, but then got on the telephone to her husband and had him drive over with a pair of her own sweatpants for me!
I almost cried I was so happy!
She instructed me to just leave the pants for her at the albergue in Rabanal, which I did.
What a Camino ANGEL!
What a lovely idea for a thread, Annie, and you have given a wonderful example! I'm on the Francés at the moment with my mother (Ponferrada tonight) and have been overwhelmed by the kindnesses we have experienced. I think if there is one memory of the local people along the Camino I will take away it's the kindness. Just a few examples:With all the news about the one or two negative events that have happened along the Camino, I thought it might be good to start a thread about the POSITIVE experiences we have along the route. I have had many positive experiences, but here is one.
In 2013 when I walked, it was VERY very cold, even in June.
The wind was blowing and there was icy rain.
I stopped at a bar in Santa Catalina and was just freezing.
The barkeep also had rooms, and so I asked if there was a "free box" where I might pick up some leggings or sweat pants.
She said no, but then got on the telephone to her husband and had him drive over with a pair of her own sweatpants for me!
I almost cried I was so happy!
She instructed me to just leave the pants for her at the albergue in Rabanal, which I did.
What a Camino ANGEL!
Great idea Annie! As important as it is, it is getting a little depressing to read all of the sad news.With all the news about the one or two negative events that have happened along the Camino, I thought it might be good to start a thread about the POSITIVE experiences we have along the route. I have had many positive experiences, but here is one.
In 2013 when I walked, it was VERY very cold, even in June.
The wind was blowing and there was icy rain.
I stopped at a bar in Santa Catalina and was just freezing.
The barkeep also had rooms, and so I asked if there was a "free box" where I might pick up some leggings or sweat pants.
She said no, but then got on the telephone to her husband and had him drive over with a pair of her own sweatpants for me!
I almost cried I was so happy!
She instructed me to just leave the pants for her at the albergue in Rabanal, which I did.
What a Camino ANGEL!
hey Peter.........We made it as far as Leon with no problems.........Didnt get to meet you after all.we are back home for now...cant wait until September to finish it..........I hope your Camino is going well.....Buen CaminoShe absolute is, Peter.
[/QUOTE]One or two negative events??? There were many incidences of sexual misconduct on the road to Santiago last year. Not just one or two. Its only now that women like me are coming forward to alert women to safety. I was the victim of two incidences last year, one on the meseta and one out of santiago to finisterre. PLEASE TAKE CARE. Please stop covering this issue up!
In 2013 when I walked, it was VERY very cold, even in June.
The wind was blowing and there was icy rain.
I stopped at a bar in Santa Catalina and was just freezing.
The barkeep also had rooms, and so I asked if there was a "free box" where I might pick up some leggings or sweat pants.
She said no, but then got on the telephone to her husband and had him drive over with a pair of her own sweatpants for me!
I almost cried I was so happy!
She instructed me to just leave the pants for her at the albergue in Rabanal, which I did.
What a Camino ANGEL!
There are numerous threads to alert us to the dangers that may be out there. This specific thread, as I understand it, is a gratitude thread where we can remind ourselves and each other of our positive experiences.Yes there are luckily more positive events than negative events on the camino.
But maybe some readers of this forum might like to be alerted or are unaware that the walk needs to be made safer. Im sorry Annie these are not just ONE OR TWO isolated events. And yes serious negative events do happen. There were many incidences of sexual misconduct on the road to Santiago last year. Not just one or two. Its only now that women are coming forward to alert women to safety and to keep the positivity flowing. Unfortunately I was the victim of two incidences last year, one on the meseta and one out of santiago to finisterre. And 5 other female walkers also came forward with similar events. Alert police, make sure that you are not entirely alone, if an incident does occur alert other walkers to keep them safe. thank you for listening.
A great idea Annie. Thank you for taking action. I am glad to get back to a positive conversation.There are numerous threads to alert us to the dangers that may be out there. This specific thread, as I understand it, is a gratitude thread where we can remind ourselves and each other of our positive experiences.
Hi, i'm leaving Sarria this morning. At the 24th I met my wife in Pedrouzo and we walk the last 20km together to Santiago. I wish you well and a Buen Camino for your return in September, Peter.hey Peter.........We made it as far as Leon with no problems.........Didnt get to meet you after all.we are back home for now...cant wait until September to finish it..........I hope your Camino is going well.....Buen Camino
But in the spirit of this thread, here's another...
I'd heard about Pepe at the Albergue in Mazariffe--San Antonio de Padua--people had said he was a physio. I already wanted to stay there because I knew they had delicious vegetarian food (we'd eaten lunch there the year before)--and the idea of having someone who knew what they were doing look at my ankle definitely added to the appeal. It was hurting a lot, in a weird way, and I was concerned about getting across the mountains to Bierzo.
So when we got there and had settled in I asked if he could look at it. Certainly. What he did was not at all what I expected--this was not a mechanical assessment but something else altogether. He may have been a physio, but in truth he is a healer as well. Some of what he did was standard procedure for any physio, but it felt a lot more like a laying on of hands.
And the ankle was very different when he finished. Clearly it was nothing special for him, perhaps it happens a lot that people stand up after he's worked on ailing limbs and express amazed relief. He just quietly smiled, picked up his cigarettes, and went off to prepare dinner (which was delicious, by the way). Ho hum. Another day, another peregrino. And I flew over those mountains...not completely without discomfort, but infinitely easier than I had thought possible given how the leg had been feeling before.
Definitely an angel.
Part of the problem with telling other pilgrims to be alert is in the (nowadays) nature of Camino - usually we only walk in one direction. If an accident is reported to the police in "next" town can you be sure that this is reported to the police (or even albergues) in towns that you have already left behind?Yes there are luckily more positive events than negative events on the camino.
But maybe some readers of this forum might like to be alerted or are unaware that the walk needs to be made safer. Im sorry Annie these are not just ONE OR TWO isolated events. And yes serious negative events do happen. There were many incidences of sexual misconduct on the road to Santiago last year. Not just one or two. Its only now that women are coming forward to alert women to safety and to keep the positivity flowing. Unfortunately I was the victim of two incidences last year, one on the meseta and one out of santiago to finisterre. And 5 other female walkers also came forward with similar events. Alert police, make sure that you are not entirely alone, if an incident does occur alert other walkers to keep them safe. thank you for listening.
Elizabet at the Albergue Parochial in Logrono who said "Buen Camino, hmm, have a good life is better".
Carl, who saw me picking litter one morning pulled a carrier bag from the hedge and joined me, one side of the trail each.
The Camino is a good place and together we can keep it that way. Be good to each other, look out for each other, we are all pilgrim.
Thanks Annie, if you ever pass thru Bilbo walking the Camino del Norte or simply passing thru do let me know.
I owe you a big hug and a kiss. This thread is the best thing that has happened on this forum in a very long time.
I wish to thanks every single person who I´ve met on my 4 Caminos, everyone without exception the people at Renfe, Alsa, Vueling who have taken us to and back. All the peregrinos which I´ve met. The hospitaleros at all the albergues public and private. The hotel staff at the hotels which we´ve stayed at. All the people who ´ve looked after us at breakfast, lunch and dinner at bars and restaurants. The people at greengrocers, supermarkets and all the different shops which we´ve stopped at along the Camino. To all the people here on the forum, those I´ve shared comments with, those which just read but don´t post even those trolls ...... yep there are some here too. And to end this , to all the peregrinos which I see here in Bilbo as I go to work in the morning who I great with an Ondo Ibili ! and who I ´d love to walk with and those peregrinos later in the day who are walking around town lost or not. And anyone else who I´v forgotten to mention. And to end to" Santi" who has greeted me in the cathedral on my 4 Caminos and who I hope to hug this coming August once again. THANK YOU ALL.
Ondo Ibili !
"The Camino away from the Camino"...I love that. Never would have thought to put it that way, but that is exactly what it feels like. Never felt so in kinship with so many people except on the Camino!Thanks Annie for starting this thread.
So often I log onto this forum and there is a thread or a comment that is just what I need to hear. This forum is definitely the camino away from the camino.
When I arrived in Granon last March after a particularly hard day full of self doubt and feeling quite alone, the hospitalero (his name was Jesus!), gave me a great big hug as soon as I arrived. It was magic, simple and just what I needed at that moment.
He did this to all the pilgrims but that didn't diminish its effect.
buen camino
Thank you all so much for sharing your wonderful stories!
They are so very uplifting, and go far to restore our faith in humanity and shine light during short periods of darkness.
I love Spain and the Spanish people.
And I love the Camino.
Please don't let this thread die out.
Please continue to share...
and again, Gracias!
Someone mentioned Tomas!
Yes! For his bell that brings the pilgrims in from the fog and rain to enjoy hot coffee and biscuits.
For his quiet wisdom when he offered the shoeless, silent man a bed after the rest of us had judged the man wrongly.
For the peregina who gave me a piece of chocolate when I crying in pain on the way down to Roncesvalles on my first Camino.
For the woodcarver, Antonio Duran, who invited us in to his little casa and fed us iced cold Gazpacho on the Via de la Plata.
For the firemen who went into town and brought us back water on the Via de la Plata!
For the priest at Viana parochial who invited us into the basement to see the church treasures
For the peregrino priest at Rabanal who led Mass in the back yard when the church was closed
For the pharmacist who washed, doctored, and wrapped Joe's leg and charged only 6 euros for the medicine
For the 3-person albergue at Uterga where we spent a fun night with one Mexican Peregrina named Jessica
For the beautiful local choir who woke us up at dawn in Viana singing "Aurora a La Virgen de Cuevas"
For the hospitalera at Ventosa who allowed the poor, crying pilgrim girl to shower when the albergue was "completo" then directed her to a beautiful churchyard where she could sleep under the stars
For my one night in the PARADOR in Sto. Domingo del Calzada when I was sick and freezing after walking in the rain
For... ripe figs!
For Marina, the hospitalera who took over at San Anton after the regular hospitalero was killed in a train crash, and who was so warm and welcoming
For Andreas and Frederika, who when the local albergue had chinchas, picked us up at the Bar Sevilla, cooked for us, and gave us my first night in a straw-filled bed!
For hospitalera Luisa at Ligonde, who laughedwith me as she tried to teach me Gallego
For the icy-cold, healing waters at Ribadiso
For the time I got on the wrong train to Leon and ended up on a train to VIGO instead! It was a wonderful adventure!
For the hospitalero at the convent in Leon who let me in at 10 pm even though the doors were locked and the albergue was closed!
For Rebecca, who let me come stay for a few days when I was sick and weary
For the French couple who picked me up in their VW van the day I tried walking to the Monastery and didn't make it. They gave me bread and water and took me to the main road. They saved me.
For Andrew, the American man who I loaned money to on the Aragones Route. He found me later at the albergue in Los Arcos on the Camino Frances and paid me. Everyone told me to kiss that money goodbye but I knew he'd come through!
For the hospitalero at Tosantos, who took us up to the Ermita in the cliffs
For the peregrino who gave me a blissful footrub that night in Tosantos - for free
For the neighbor who lives near the albergue in Guriezo who walked us to the albergue and let us in
For Ernesto at Guemes "who was born there, lives there, and will die there" and his family, who fed us, housed us, and loved us.
I could go on and on and on...
I don't walk until September but am so looking forward to experiencing and sharing my own Camino Angel stories! Thank you Annie for starting this thread. Love and hugs to all of you. Buen Camino!
My girlfriend lost all 10 of her toenails. We were in SanSol and behind the bar on the Camino. She elevated her feet and we had a cold drink. She said that she might have to go home. Two pilgrims from Denmark (who we had met the night before) happened to stop at the same bar and we found out that one was a Podiatrist and the other an RN ! They bandaged her feet and left us with additional bandages ! Two Camino Angels ! How they found us, I do not know. since they could not see us from the Way. Blind luck ..... I think not!With all the news about the one or two negative events that have happened along the Camino, I thought it might be good to start a thread about the POSITIVE experiences we have along the route. I have had many positive experiences, but here is one.
In 2013 when I walked, it was VERY very cold, even in June.
The wind was blowing and there was icy rain.
I stopped at a bar in Santa Catalina and was just freezing.
The barkeep also had rooms, and so I asked if there was a "free box" where I might pick up some leggings or sweat pants.
She said no, but then got on the telephone to her husband and had him drive over with a pair of her own sweatpants for me!
I almost cried I was so happy!
She instructed me to just leave the pants for her at the albergue in Rabanal, which I did.
What a Camino ANGEL!
I want to be that man. Everyday.On my first camino in 2005 I was walking through a wood and on the way out of it I saw this man standing there waiting for me. No other peregrinos to protect me I was a bit worried, but walked on and when I reached him it was an old man who told me to go to secunda bar. So I did, ignored the crowd of pilgrims at the first bar, and went to Tia Dolores at the end of town. I have been there severeal times since, yesterday the old couple was not there anymore, seemed that a younger generation has taken over. But I have followed the advice from the old man eversince, I try to find the second bar.
On my way out of Portugalete two years ago I lost the camino even though I had checked the route the day before. I stopped at a bar and asked there where I could find the camino. Then an old man insisted on taking me to the camino.
So off we went, km after km, at least 5 km before we met the camino and after that he walked with me to the next pueblo. I could of course have been worried, but I knew I could knock him down if he did not behave well, my only worry was weather his heart could manage all this walking, but it did and he got a big hug before leaving.
Annie, I'm so pleased you started this post! A great idea!With all the news about the one or two negative events that have happened along the Camino, I thought it might be good to start a thread about the POSITIVE experiences we have along the route. I have had many positive experiences, but here is one.
In 2013 when I walked, it was VERY very cold, even in June.
The wind was blowing and there was icy rain.
I stopped at a bar in Santa Catalina and was just freezing.
The barkeep also had rooms, and so I asked if there was a "free box" where I might pick up some leggings or sweat pants.
She said no, but then got on the telephone to her husband and had him drive over with a pair of her own sweatpants for me!
I almost cried I was so happy!
She instructed me to just leave the pants for her at the albergue in Rabanal, which I did.
What a Camino ANGEL!
With all the news about the one or two negative events that have happened along the Camino, I thought it might be good to start a thread about the POSITIVE experiences we have along the route. I have had many positive experiences, but here is one.
In 2013 when I walked, it was VERY very cold, even in June.
The wind was blowing and there was icy rain.
I stopped at a bar in Santa Catalina and was just freezing.
The barkeep also had rooms, and so I asked if there was a "free box" where I might pick up some leggings or sweat pants.
She said no, but then got on the telephone to her husband and had him drive over with a pair of her own sweatpants for me!
I almost cried I was so happy!
She instructed me to just leave the pants for her at the albergue in Rabanal, which I did.
What a Camino ANGEL![/
My brother offered to pay for a hotel room for one night anywhere in Spain if I managed to complete my first Camino in 2008. Well I did complete it and true to his word he covered the costs including room, meals, minibar and night club expenses.
The hotel was located in Plaza Santa Ana in Madrid where I went to rest up before flying back home.
It is interesting to note that I spent 5 days in Madrid that year. All nights save the last were spent at the home of a peregrina who I had met in Burgos and walked with until Leon. Her invitation and trust was such a gift!
So to my brother Dave and my friend Mercedes thank you for enhancing my Camino both on and off the trails.
You will find an abundance goodness and kindness on the camino. As for you being a blessing for others...absolutely! Especially with your wickedly funny sense of humor. I am sure you will brighten many a peregrinos day...i have really enjoyed your postsI need this. I know I am not the only person walking the Camino who is looking for the return of Goodness and Kindess in humanity. I begin my walk August 3, 2015 in SJPP, and I believe all the blessings I seek will be there, waiting for me, perfected in the practice of daily life by the generous Spaniards and French citizens that will line my way. All of your stories convince me I am doing the right thing walking the Camino. I hope I will be a blessing to others too, as I receive so too I will give. Buen Camino fellow Perigrinos!
Thank you LauraK. Your $5 is in the mail. Oh, I wasn't supposed to say that! Everyone else ignore this. You never read this. (it's in the mail LauraK)You will find an abundance goodness and kindness on the camino. As for you being a blessing for others...absolutely! Especially with your wickedly funny sense of humor. I am sure you will brighten many a peregrinos day...i have really enjoyed your posts!
You will find an abundance goodness and kindness on the camino. As for you being a blessing for others...absolutely! Especially with your wickedly funny sense of humor. I am sure you will brighten many a peregrinos day...i have really enjoyed your posts!
Phah! 6 weeks! I'll still be in Pamplona. We have a good chance of meeting. Told you I was a slow walker. I love the blessings and wonders everyone is writing about in this thread. My little sister Fay lived for six months after being diagnosed with stage 4 gastric cancer, and we did something fun every day for that six months. We left the house in the morning and the fun thing would find us! Never anything planned. If we continue making plans for our own enjoyment, the World has no way of surprising us with anything special. When we allow ourselves to be "dependent on the kindness of strangers" (Streetcar Named Desire) it gives other people the chance to step up, reach out, and show generosity in the way it should be shown, as a genuine voluntary and humble gift. The Warning threads will keep me alert, but this thread reminds me why I am walking at all.Me too Coleen, I love your posts, I wish I could scoot my Camino forward 6 weeks so that I could walk with you. You remind me of some lovely ladies I met last year from NZ, very funny though they were much older than you. Elisabeth, the grumpy one (only occasionally) was very proud to tell everyone she was 79 and ashamed of her younger sister who just sat around at home just knitting! She had done some epic walks and was much faster than me.
You will meet some wonderful, kind, caring, amazing people but you may be their 'angel' with your gift for brightening everyone's day.
Buen Camino
Sarah
Phah! 6 weeks! I'll still be in Pamplona. We have a good chance of meeting. Told you I was a slow walker. I love the blessings and wonders everyone is writing about in this thread. My little sister Fay lived for six months after being diagnosed with stage 4 gastric cancer, and we did something fun every day for that six months. We left the house in the morning and the fun thing would find us! Never anything planned. If we continue making plans for our own enjoyment, the World has no way of surprising us with anything special. When we allow ourselves to be "dependent on the kindness of strangers" (Streetcar Named Desire) it gives other people the chance to step up, reach out, and show generosity in the way it should be shown, as a genuine voluntary and humble gift. The Warning threads will keep me alert, but this thread reminds me why I am walking at all.
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