All right - here are a couple from me:
1) As I was leaving Pamplona, I passed into the University grounds. I started following a young attractive gal (ahem) with a pack, thinking she might know the way. I passed a young, heavily muscled groundskeeper who struck me as a jock jerk. However, he soon ran up and started grunting and pointing to the actual Camino, which I had wandered from (the gal was actually a student, I suppose). It turned out he was mute. He guided me over to the road, and with hand signals and grunts showed me the right way. I felt pretty small after that for being a judgmental dork, but I was certainly grateful to him. Indeed, a couple Pamplonans took time to get me back on track.
2) Maribel Roncal at the Roncal albergue in Cizur Menor. I've posted here about her and her tireless service to pilgrims before. She took me into the albergue before the official opening time, allowed me to rest, drained and dressed my blisters, and even tried to find me some replacement sandals. And her "maxipad on the boot" inserts trick was way cool. If there's any one person who I can point to as the savior of my Camino from failure, it was her.
3) The two Spanish groups I walked with. The first was early on the Way, and was headed up by Pilar, a woman who was a force of nature in her own right. She "took me in and gave me breakfast," as the song goes, and was quite a hilarious person to be around. The second group of Spanish I met just a couple weeks before Santiago. They also clued me in on Spain's great wines and cuisine, and partying with them was a treat I'll never forget.
4) The Planeta Agua store in Logrono. I found a flyer for them on a pole outside of Logrono, and they helped me get the right kind of boots (the ones I brought from home were simply too heavy). They also showed me the two streets with the best eats, and even gave me a souvenier gourd. Nice bunch of folks.
5) The woman who owned the albergue in Cirauqui. She made sure I was comfortable after a hard, hot day's walk, cooked one of the best meals I had on the Way, and introduced me to orujo de hierbas...muy bueno!
Of course, there were more - the folks at the Confraternity of St. James albergue (and the monks/priests) in Rabanal, the wacky Germans, the nun in white who gave pilgrims a small gold medallion as they entered the meseta, my friend in Leon who hosted me for two days, and on and on...man, now I want to go back!!!
:arrow: