- Time of past OR future Camino
- Frances in 2016, Portuguese in 2017, and Frances again in 2018. Madrid to Ponferrada 2019.
Camino Stories:
I met a business man who walked from his home in Switzerland. When I met him, he had already walked 2100 kilometers. He never recalled crying, ever in his life. Recently, he has cried every day on the Camino He went on to say that he had no expectations and was curious how “I’ll be when I return home, recognizing that my wife has also changed.”
I had read about a Hotel owner who converted part of his hotel to an Auberge as a way of giving back, after having walked the Camino. I made a point of staying at his Auberge. It was a beautiful facility in which Pilgrims had full access to the amenities of the hotel. I was enjoying a pilgrim meal in the dining room with folks from different countries. We were the last table of people in the dining room. A young man, who had the atmosphere of a proprietor or manager, was present. We engaged him in conversation and he said that his father, the owner of the hotel had walked the Camino 5 times from St. Jean in France to Santiago. We asked him if he noticed any change in his father when he would return from his Camino’s. He said, “every time”. We asked what did you notice? “Every time he was more human”.
I met a young man who lives in Pamplona, walking faster than I who came up beside me. He slowed his pace and walked with me the rest of that day into Granon. He said that he had separated from his daughter’s mother, not sure if he still loves her mother and is walking the Camino to think and then after a pause, he said or maybe to not think.
I met a woman from southern California, who has walked the Camino de Santiago every year for the last 8 years, from various starting points throughout Europe. She said the Camino is now in her cell structure; it’s something not only that she loves and that feeds her but it is literally part of her. She provides training for individuals interested in walking the Camino in her local area and is very active with an organization called, American Pilgrims on the Camino. On this particular Camino she had started in Barcelona. She shared with me that on this Camino, when she arrived at Cruz de Ferro, the place of the Iron Cross; where pilgrims throughout history have left symbols/tokens of what they wish to let go of, or honoring or memorializing, etc.. She witnessed a woman that had a type of a wheeling device that was made for her, due to her inability to walk. She was able to cuddle the device with her hands in order to manually travel the Camino. There are many who do the Camino on bicycles, other’s who push baby carriages that on many parts of the Camino, one is not able to use a bike and therefore use an alternate road for vehicles. When she arrived at Cruz De Ferro, she was unable to wheel her device to the base of the cross due to the terrain. The people that were present at the cross, formed a human chain and carried her to the base of the cross, which she embraced and cried. The people then as a chain, carried her down from the cross to level ground, formed a circle around her and in silence the tears of many were released.
I met a Spanish man from Barcelona in a municipal Auberge in a small pueblo/village that consisted of two auberge’s (like a hostel), a bar and a small tienda/market.. We visited for quite awhile in front of the auberge. He spoke a little English. I spoke a little Spanish. He spoke of walking the Camino many times; different parts of it. On this particular Camino he had walked from Barcelona. We met about 300 kilometers shy of Santiago. It wasn’t that he had anything so profound to say… it was his gentle, peaceful spirit that attracted me. We slept that night in the Auberge and I didn’t see him again until late morning on the trail. We walked together and talked for a few minutes. He walked significantly faster than I and moved on. As I was walking into the outskirts of Santiago I thought I passed him on a corner, turned around and sure enough it was him and we both recognized each other. We embraced and talked for a few minutes. He asked, where are you coming from and I said, I’m still walking from St. Jean. He said, he had already walked to Finistère, to Muxia and back to Santiago (The triangle that he walked was over 200 K more than what I had walked from where I met him) and was on his way home, walking back to Barcelona.
I met a young woman from Germany with her three-year-old son walking the Camino. They had started 300 miles east of st. John, in France. In talking with her she said, “I was drawn to the Camino and wanted to walk; I had the time but was not comfortable leaving my son with anyone.” It was the way that she chose to do the Camino and it was wonderful to experience fellow pilgrims and others, assisting her all along the way from what I saw and from stories she shared with me. The sweetness of disposition of both she and her son was inspiring.
I was walking through a small pueblo and noticed a picture of Martin Luther King, a sign for yoga and a sensed a very friendly, welcoming kind of vibe…. I knocked on the door. A Latino man from Chicago and his Italian assistant were doing a project in which they were facilitating local residents, pilgrims and others of different cultures in coming together. They were attempting to help others move across the barriers that divide and separate to form community and in their words to “ change the world.”
I met a young couple on their way home to New Zealand. They had both met in London, as they were both employed there. They met in London, even though home for both was New Zealand. They had just gotten engaged ; had plans after completing the Camino to introduce his fiancé’ to his dad, who was in France on business. Following that, they were going to travel through South America. They said they needed to be in New Zealand by November. November, I said with surprise in my voice as that was 6 months away. Yes, they said; we both decided to return to our home and settle and raise a family there. We have no mortgage, rent, car payment or jobs. We saved enough while in London to take our time arriving home. We have enough money to give us time to find a residence and employment in New Zealand. It occurred to me young folks, middle-aged folks and older folks (particularly Americans) don’t know that they can do these things.
Some highlights of my take aways:
I met a business man who walked from his home in Switzerland. When I met him, he had already walked 2100 kilometers. He never recalled crying, ever in his life. Recently, he has cried every day on the Camino He went on to say that he had no expectations and was curious how “I’ll be when I return home, recognizing that my wife has also changed.”
I had read about a Hotel owner who converted part of his hotel to an Auberge as a way of giving back, after having walked the Camino. I made a point of staying at his Auberge. It was a beautiful facility in which Pilgrims had full access to the amenities of the hotel. I was enjoying a pilgrim meal in the dining room with folks from different countries. We were the last table of people in the dining room. A young man, who had the atmosphere of a proprietor or manager, was present. We engaged him in conversation and he said that his father, the owner of the hotel had walked the Camino 5 times from St. Jean in France to Santiago. We asked him if he noticed any change in his father when he would return from his Camino’s. He said, “every time”. We asked what did you notice? “Every time he was more human”.
I met a young man who lives in Pamplona, walking faster than I who came up beside me. He slowed his pace and walked with me the rest of that day into Granon. He said that he had separated from his daughter’s mother, not sure if he still loves her mother and is walking the Camino to think and then after a pause, he said or maybe to not think.
I met a woman from southern California, who has walked the Camino de Santiago every year for the last 8 years, from various starting points throughout Europe. She said the Camino is now in her cell structure; it’s something not only that she loves and that feeds her but it is literally part of her. She provides training for individuals interested in walking the Camino in her local area and is very active with an organization called, American Pilgrims on the Camino. On this particular Camino she had started in Barcelona. She shared with me that on this Camino, when she arrived at Cruz de Ferro, the place of the Iron Cross; where pilgrims throughout history have left symbols/tokens of what they wish to let go of, or honoring or memorializing, etc.. She witnessed a woman that had a type of a wheeling device that was made for her, due to her inability to walk. She was able to cuddle the device with her hands in order to manually travel the Camino. There are many who do the Camino on bicycles, other’s who push baby carriages that on many parts of the Camino, one is not able to use a bike and therefore use an alternate road for vehicles. When she arrived at Cruz De Ferro, she was unable to wheel her device to the base of the cross due to the terrain. The people that were present at the cross, formed a human chain and carried her to the base of the cross, which she embraced and cried. The people then as a chain, carried her down from the cross to level ground, formed a circle around her and in silence the tears of many were released.
I met a Spanish man from Barcelona in a municipal Auberge in a small pueblo/village that consisted of two auberge’s (like a hostel), a bar and a small tienda/market.. We visited for quite awhile in front of the auberge. He spoke a little English. I spoke a little Spanish. He spoke of walking the Camino many times; different parts of it. On this particular Camino he had walked from Barcelona. We met about 300 kilometers shy of Santiago. It wasn’t that he had anything so profound to say… it was his gentle, peaceful spirit that attracted me. We slept that night in the Auberge and I didn’t see him again until late morning on the trail. We walked together and talked for a few minutes. He walked significantly faster than I and moved on. As I was walking into the outskirts of Santiago I thought I passed him on a corner, turned around and sure enough it was him and we both recognized each other. We embraced and talked for a few minutes. He asked, where are you coming from and I said, I’m still walking from St. Jean. He said, he had already walked to Finistère, to Muxia and back to Santiago (The triangle that he walked was over 200 K more than what I had walked from where I met him) and was on his way home, walking back to Barcelona.
I met a young woman from Germany with her three-year-old son walking the Camino. They had started 300 miles east of st. John, in France. In talking with her she said, “I was drawn to the Camino and wanted to walk; I had the time but was not comfortable leaving my son with anyone.” It was the way that she chose to do the Camino and it was wonderful to experience fellow pilgrims and others, assisting her all along the way from what I saw and from stories she shared with me. The sweetness of disposition of both she and her son was inspiring.
I was walking through a small pueblo and noticed a picture of Martin Luther King, a sign for yoga and a sensed a very friendly, welcoming kind of vibe…. I knocked on the door. A Latino man from Chicago and his Italian assistant were doing a project in which they were facilitating local residents, pilgrims and others of different cultures in coming together. They were attempting to help others move across the barriers that divide and separate to form community and in their words to “ change the world.”
I met a young couple on their way home to New Zealand. They had both met in London, as they were both employed there. They met in London, even though home for both was New Zealand. They had just gotten engaged ; had plans after completing the Camino to introduce his fiancé’ to his dad, who was in France on business. Following that, they were going to travel through South America. They said they needed to be in New Zealand by November. November, I said with surprise in my voice as that was 6 months away. Yes, they said; we both decided to return to our home and settle and raise a family there. We have no mortgage, rent, car payment or jobs. We saved enough while in London to take our time arriving home. We have enough money to give us time to find a residence and employment in New Zealand. It occurred to me young folks, middle-aged folks and older folks (particularly Americans) don’t know that they can do these things.
Some highlights of my take aways:
- Not wanting for anything external or internal day after day, after day.
- One can almost never feel whole if one thinks they need to be perfect.
- Surrendering to Providence: the snail that crosses the trail in front of me, the type of beer served to me when I merely say, “cerveza por favor”, the waitress, the persons I meet, the illness, the stolen shoes, the pilgrim in the bunk above me, the smile of a stranger……..
- There were more solo women walking than men and all those I spoke with reported that they always felt safe.