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Santiago pilgrim surprises!

Time of past OR future Camino
Recent:Norte/Muxia- Spring '23
MadridWay- Fall '23
Hi all,
I would like to hear of your unique surprises you encountered bumping into pilgrim acquaintences when you arrived in Santiago de Compostella.

I personally have two.
1) Upon arriving in Santiago in late May 2016, I ran in to "Leavin", a fellow pilgrim from Belgium. We had walked a few times with him starting in Santillana on the Norte, and reconnected a few more times on the Primitivo. I had to take a bus from Lugo to Santiago due to time restrictions, whereas Leavin walked the whole way never taking a bus. Imagine my surprise that we arrived in Santiago the exact same day! I never could remember his name, so by words of association every time I saw him I sang the 70's folk song "I'm a "leavin" on a jet plane...", hence I never forgot his name!
2) I'd met a couple from Switzerland on my first Camino in 2015 and shared a communal meal with them on my birthday early on. By the time I arrived in Finesterre and bumped into them unexpectedly we shared a coffee together. Well, fast forward to 2016 on my next Camino. I recognized them in Santiago and we shared a little hug and pat on the back. What was unique is that we had never kept in touch. They had just walked the Frances route again and I had just walked the Norte/Primitivo, yet we all had arrived in Santiago coincidently on the exact same day! I found this all quite amazing.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Could his name be " Lieven " ...? A name popular in the fifties and sixties here in this country.

I bumped into two Korean nuns in the cathedral in Santiago after we said goodbye in the albergue in Burgos, never saw them after that day.
And then literally I bumped into them when putting my pack against a pillar ( in 2011 you were still allowed with your pack into the cathedral ) ... they were petite ladies so it was really a miracle that monstrous me did not injure them...;)
 
One stormy night late January 2009 in Trinidad de Arre at the Marist fathers' albergue I was writing in the common room a blog post on happenstance, chance encounter and camino serendipity.

At the very moment that I defined the word 'serendipity' another pilgrim knocked at the door. Happily speaking Italian he was welcomed by two Spanish pilgrims. The Italian entered the common room, turned to say 'buona sera' to me and then enthusiastically shouted 'Margaret'! Imagine my delight upon realizing that he was Mario whom I had last seen during breakfast at Burguete the year before in 2008!! Another fortuitous chance encounter indeed.

We and a French pilgrim, Polo, had met on the little train going to St Jean Pied de Port and together walked up the Valcarlos route to Roncesvalles. As Mario and I nostalgically recollected those 'good old times' we tentatively promised to meet again "next year on the camino". ...Although our paths have never re-crossed, one never knows !
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Could his name be " Lieven " ...? A name popular in the fifties and sixties here in this country.

I bumped into two Korean nuns in the cathedral in Santiago after we said goodbye in the albergue in Burgos, never saw them after that day.
And then literally I bumped into them when putting my pack against a pillar ( in 2011 you were still allowed with your pack into the cathedral ) ... they were petite ladies so it was really a miracle that monstrous me did not injure them...;)
Well, if you are from Belgium or Europe then I am sure you are correct in the spelling of his name. I (from USA) had never heard that name before. I rather regret not getting an email from him. He was so kind and he also loved the cidre...not me!
 
One stormy night late January 2009 in Trinidad de Arre at the Marist fathers' albergue I was writing in the common room a blog post on happenstance, chance encounter and camino serendipity.

At the very moment that I defined the word 'serendipity' another pilgrim knocked at the door. Happily speaking Italian he was welcomed by two Spanish pilgrims. The Italian entered the common room, turned to say 'buona sera' to me and then enthusiastically shouted 'Margaret'! Imagine my delight upon realizing that he was Mario whom I had last seen during breakfast at Burguete the year before in 2008!! Another fortuitous chance encounter indeed.

We and a French pilgrim, Polo, had met on the little train going to St Jean Pied de Port and together walked up the Valcarlos route to Roncesvalles. As Mario and I nostalgically recollected those 'good old times' we tentatively promised to meet again "next year on the camino". ...Although our paths have never re-crossed, one never knows !
Awesome story, Margaret! I just love the serendipity as you so aptly call it. One of the many things that makes the Camino so dear to our heart and very special indeed! Thanks for sharing your iwn special memory (and I bet you have many others!)
 
Well, if you are from Belgium or Europe then I am sure you are correct in the spelling of his name. I (from USA) had never heard that name before. I rather regret not getting an email from him. He was so kind and he also loved the cidre...not me!

Well it is almost an exclusive Flemish name after the 7th century saint Livinus or Saint Lieven. Source is Liafwin and this means " lieve vriend " aka dear / lovely friend.
 
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One stormy night late January 2009 in Trinidad de Arre at the Marist fathers' albergue I was writing in the common room a blog post on happenstance, chance encounter and camino serendipity.

At the very moment that I defined the word 'serendipity' another pilgrim knocked at the door. Happily speaking Italian he was welcomed by two Spanish pilgrims. The Italian entered the common room, turned to say 'buona sera' to me and then enthusiastically shouted 'Margaret'! Imagine my delight upon realizing that he was Mario whom I had last seen during breakfast at Burguete the year before in 2008!! Another fortuitous chance encounter indeed.

We and a French pilgrim, Polo, had met on the little train going to St Jean Pied de Port and together walked up the Valcarlos route to Roncesvalles. As Mario and I nostalgically recollected those 'good old times' we tentatively promised to meet again "next year on the camino". ...Although our paths have never re-crossed, one never knows !

In 2011 I met seven men from Verona in Triacastela and in 2013 I met the same guys pure by chance in Rabé de las Calzadas. Camino magic indeed!
 
Well it is almost an exclusive Flemish name after the 7th century saint Livinus or Saint Lieven. Source is Liafwin and this means " lieve vriend " aka dear / lovely friend.
I see you are indeed from Belgium! And he was a "dear and lovely friend". I think his mother gave him a name that suited him well. I would guess Lieven was probably in his 50's. Here's his photo.20160516_081546.jpg
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Thank you Camino Chris for starting this thread.
I walked the CF in 2015 and went via Valcarlos as the Route Napoleon was closed because of snow. It was a leisurely walk to the village but when I arrived I just could not find the albergue, then as I was walking past the grocery store/restaurant, a German couple called to me and asked if I wanted help. They showed me how to access the albergue - which I had bypassed on my entry up the steep hill. I met them again the next day in Zubiri. So there I was on my last, very rainy night in Santiago staring blankly into the window of a grocer's looking for gifts to take home for family & friends and absolutely soaked, suddenly there in front of me was the same couple also dripping wet - there is no rain like the rain in Santiago!. We embraced and shared good wishes and said our farewells. On the previous day I had met with a Spanish peregrino arriving in the city who I had run into twice along the way, first at Pilar's wonderful cafe in Murias de Rechivaldo. We had met again at the bus station in Ponferrada when I had backtracked from Cacabelos with an injured pilgrim to help her on to the train to Sarria where she could rest (she didn't of course). He spoke no English and I had little in the way of Spanish, but there he was in Santiago just above the steps before the tunnel into the Plaza del Obradoiro, we embraced and wished each other Buen camino! To this day I do not know his name nor he mine.
In 2016 after walking from Porto, it was my last night in Santiago and I was hoping to see two people I had met walking the CF the previous year, but I had missed them, then as I passed the Cathedral at the Door of Mercy I saw another pilgrim from my CF Camino, and she was able to exit the door briefly so that we could exchange good wishes.
 
Didn't happen in Santiago, but still fun!

In 2012, we were walking through Camponayara and heard a familiar voice.
I peeked under a red hood,
and there was Edeltraut,
who we had met and partied with on our very first Camino in 2006!
What a surprise!
 

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Thank you Camino Chris for starting this thread.
I walked the CF in 2015 and went via Valcarlos as the Route Napoleon was closed because of snow. It was a leisurely walk to the village but when I arrived I just could not find the albergue, then as I was walking past the grocery store/restaurant, a German couple called to me and asked if I wanted help. They showed me how to access the albergue - which I had bypassed on my entry up the steep hill. I met them again the next day in Zubiri. So there I was on my last, very rainy night in Santiago staring blankly into the window of a grocer's looking for gifts to take home for family & friends and absolutely soaked, suddenly there in front of me was the same couple also dripping wet - there is no rain like the rain in Santiago!. We embraced and shared good wishes and said our farewells. On the previous day I had met with a Spanish peregrino arriving in the city who I had run into twice along the way, first at Pilar's wonderful cafe in Murias de Rechivaldo. We had met again at the bus station in Ponferrada when I had backtracked from Cacabelos with an injured pilgrim to help her on to the train to Sarria where she could rest (she didn't of course). He spoke no English and I had little in the way of Spanish, but there he was in Santiago just above the steps before the tunnel into the Plaza del Obradoiro, we embraced and wished each other Buen camino! To this day I do not know his name nor he mine.
In 2016 after walking from Porto, it was my last night in Santiago and I was hoping to see two people I had met walking the CF the previous year, but I had missed them, then as I passed the Cathedral at the Door of Mercy I saw another pilgrim from my CF Camino, and she was able to exit the door briefly so that we could exchange good wishes.
Thank you for sharing your stories. Isn't it interesting how these serendipitous (Margaret's word) Camino pilgrim meetups are forever imbedded in our memories!
 
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Didn't happen in Santiago, but still fun!

In 2012, we were walking through Camponayara and heard a familiar voice.
I peeked under a red hood,
and there was Edeltraut,
who we had met and partied with on our very first Camino in 2006!
What a surprise!
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!
 
Didn't happen in Santiago, but still fun!

In 2012, we were walking through Camponayara and heard a familiar voice.
I peeked under a red hood,
and there was Edeltraut,
who we had met and partied with on our very first Camino in 2006!
What a surprise!
Wow, Annie, 6 years later! Now that is truly remarkable!
 
'Serendipity' may be the right word, but I really like 'Synchronicity'... Carl Gustav Jung explained it as 'meaningful coincidences' and, you never know... there maybe something more than 'mere coincidences' in these touching moments of connection... Thank you Camino Chris for starting this thread!
 
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I started the Camino in June 2013 all on my own in SJPdP and met a fellow South African in Rocesvalles and we stick together until the end and during our walk we met several South Africans in different places and did not see them again until one night we all ended up (8 South Africans) in the same albergue. The next day was the birthday of one of the ladies and we all went to her bed and sang her Happy Birthday! We then met 4 of them in Santiago again and share a meal.
 
A long but memorable story from my blog about our first Camino:

"...[at Orrison] We also met the young lady with the poncho who passed us earlier. She looks shattered both physically and emotionally. Melanie tries to comfort her but it turns out that she is from Brazil and speaks only Portuguese and German. Through sign language and a few words in a variety of languages, we learn she still has 19km more to go to Roncevalles. It is going to be a long slog for her as most people walking that far left long ago. It’s cold and wet outside, the kind of weather that chills you to the bone. She looked thoroughly dejected and I briefly consider giving her my bed and letting Melanie catch up the next day. The thought of abandoning Melanie on this first day in a country where she does not speak any of the language makes me think twice though so we see the woman off with our best wishes and encouragement. For the balance of her story, you have to fast forward to Santiago where we meet again. Like her, the Japanese biker, “Kentucky” and “Indiana”, as well as all the 30+ people who stayed at Orisson, we often think of these people along the next 790km. Initially these are our Camino family although we walk at different speeds and not all plan or are able to go the whole way to Santiago de Compostela."

...and then sitting in a restaurant having a meal near the Santiago Cathdral a month later:

"On the second day in Santiago, we met up with several people we have seen along the way and we congratulate each other. While we were having lunch though, sitting at a sidewalk cafe, we saw a familiar figure from behind. We recognized her from the gait and hat. It was the young Brazilian lady we met that first day in Orisson. She made it! We ran to her and she embraced us like old friends. Her English improved enough to tell us that she was also thinking of us every day as Melanie was so kind to her in Orrison. A chance 30 minute encounter in France and she is keeping us in mind at the same time we are always thinking of her. A month after meeting this woman, we finally know her name is Iole, and we stop referring to her as "the Brazillian in the green hat". As she was just arriving and needed to find a bed, we just exchanged e-mail addresses. During that time, Melanie explained that her maiden name was Rodrigues and tears started to well in Iole's eyes. She fingered a large wedding band she had on a chain around her neck and told us her husband’s name is Rodrigues. It's a huge coincidence but I feel for Iole. She must miss her husband so much, I think, being away from him for more than a month. I think it is so sweet that she brought his ring as a reminder though. Yes, it takes me another few weeks to see how dumb I am. We became friends on Facebook and I enjoyed looking back through her lovely photographs of her Camino. I had to translate the captions from Portuguese but following her photos was like walking the walk all over again. I worked backwards through the photos and by the time I got back to Iole’s first day, I wondered if she mentioned her stop in Orisson. Using the translation program, we find that the caption to her photos hits us right in the heart. She mentions that the day we met her back in Orisson was an agonizing day to start the Camino for her, not because of the rain, the climb, the late start nor the need to walk all the way over the mountain. Apparently, that first day she had begun her duty to spread the ashes of her husband who had passed away three years earlier. Iole and her husband were great travelers and the Camino was one of their dreams to complete. Cancer stopped the young man first. God bless this woman. And I thought my Camino was tough."
 
A long but memorable story from my blog about our first Camino:

"...[at Orrison] We also met the young lady with the poncho who passed us earlier. She looks shattered both physically and emotionally. Melanie tries to comfort her but it turns out that she is from Brazil and speaks only Portuguese and German. Through sign language and a few words in a variety of languages, we learn she still has 19km more to go to Roncevalles. It is going to be a long slog for her as most people walking that far left long ago. It’s cold and wet outside, the kind of weather that chills you to the bone. She looked thoroughly dejected and I briefly consider giving her my bed and letting Melanie catch up the next day. The thought of abandoning Melanie on this first day in a country where she does not speak any of the language makes me think twice though so we see the woman off with our best wishes and encouragement. For the balance of her story, you have to fast forward to Santiago where we meet again. Like her, the Japanese biker, “Kentucky” and “Indiana”, as well as all the 30+ people who stayed at Orisson, we often think of these people along the next 790km. Initially these are our Camino family although we walk at different speeds and not all plan or are able to go the whole way to Santiago de Compostela."

...and then sitting in a restaurant having a meal near the Santiago Cathdral a month later:

"On the second day in Santiago, we met up with several people we have seen along the way and we congratulate each other. While we were having lunch though, sitting at a sidewalk cafe, we saw a familiar figure from behind. We recognized her from the gait and hat. It was the young Brazilian lady we met that first day in Orisson. She made it! We ran to her and she embraced us like old friends. Her English improved enough to tell us that she was also thinking of us every day as Melanie was so kind to her in Orrison. A chance 30 minute encounter in France and she is keeping us in mind at the same time we are always thinking of her. A month after meeting this woman, we finally know her name is Iole, and we stop referring to her as "the Brazillian in the green hat". As she was just arriving and needed to find a bed, we just exchanged e-mail addresses. During that time, Melanie explained that her maiden name was Rodrigues and tears started to well in Iole's eyes. She fingered a large wedding band she had on a chain around her neck and told us her husband’s name is Rodrigues. It's a huge coincidence but I feel for Iole. She must miss her husband so much, I think, being away from him for more than a month. I think it is so sweet that she brought his ring as a reminder though. Yes, it takes me another few weeks to see how dumb I am. We became friends on Facebook and I enjoyed looking back through her lovely photographs of her Camino. I had to translate the captions from Portuguese but following her photos was like walking the walk all over again. I worked backwards through the photos and by the time I got back to Iole’s first day, I wondered if she mentioned her stop in Orisson. Using the translation program, we find that the caption to her photos hits us right in the heart. She mentions that the day we met her back in Orisson was an agonizing day to start the Camino for her, not because of the rain, the climb, the late start nor the need to walk all the way over the mountain. Apparently, that first day she had begun her duty to spread the ashes of her husband who had passed away three years earlier. Iole and her husband were great travelers and the Camino was one of their dreams to complete. Cancer stopped the young man first. God bless this woman. And I thought my Camino was tough."
What a beautiful story! Thank you for taking the time to share it in detail. I loved reading it and it brought tears to my eyes at the end.
 
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Hi all,
I would like to hear of your unique surprises you encountered bumping into pilgrim acquaintences when you arrived in Santiago de Compostella.

I personally have two.
1) Upon arriving in Santiago in late May 2016, I ran in to "Leavin", a fellow pilgrim from Belgium. We had walked a few times with him starting in Santillana on the Norte, and reconnected a few more times on the Primitivo. I had to take a bus from Lugo to Santiago due to time restrictions, whereas Leavin walked the whole way never taking a bus. Imagine my surprise that we arrived in Santiago the exact same day! I never could remember his name, so by words of association every time I saw him I sang the 70's folk song "I'm a "leavin" on a jet plane...", hence I never forgot his name!
2) I'd met a couple from Switzerland on my first Camino in 2015 and shared a communal meal with them on my birthday early on. By the time I arrived in Finesterre and bumped into them unexpectedly we shared a coffee together. Well, fast forward to 2016 on my next Camino. I recognized them in Santiago and we shared a little hug and pat on the back. What was unique is that we had never kept in touch. They had just walked the Frances route again and I had just walked the Norte/Primitivo, yet we all had arrived in Santiago coincidently on the exact same day! I found this all quite amazing.
Regarding your second unique surprise ( 2nd to last sentence ) in my humble opinion their was nothing "coincidental" it was THE WAY, it was the CAMINO.
 
Sitting outside the Swiss refugio in Ponferrada talking to a fellow Brit and discovering he lived about 5 miles from me I suddenly said "You're Doug's friend John aren't you?" turned out we both belonged to the same Ramblers group in Kent but had never met before.
 
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Ok, I got one.

In 2015 on the day we walking to Astorga we met a gentlemen from England named Graham. Probably one of the calmest, most interesting people I have ever met.
On the following day as we were leaving we exchanged email addresses as he was staying on in Astorga.
When I got home, I tried several times to contact him, but never any response, so I figured I messed up the address or he was not interested in staying in touch.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, I came across his email address and figured I would try to contact one more time.
Less than 10 minutes later, I got a response back.
I had mentioned we were doing the Portuguese Camino route and it turns out he will be in Porto and leaving from there the same day as us!
So what are the chances out of all the routes and possible times to leave on a Camino we would sync up?
Not sure we will walk the whole route, but at least dinner in Porto the night before my wife and I start.
Synchronicity at work...
 

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