Dov of the Galilee
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I was given many things on the Camino. Hera are two of my favourites. One was a card with a secular blessing on it from a man named Pepe who was celebrating the beginning of his 28th Camino. He also waited for me at the top of a very lonely mountain and made sure that I got through the pass safely. Another day, I was walking between two villages and had neglected to buy food. Next stop 4 hours walk. An older, local man began to walk with me and we stuck up a conversation. He was walking out to his small holding to move his goats (I think?). As we parted company, he wished me well and handed me the plastic bag he'd been carrying. It was full of beautiful ripe cherries. The sweetest and most welcome I had ever tasted.On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?
Today I was gifted with a friendship bracelet and I gave a keyring from my country. It was a lovely moment. South Korea and New Zealand.On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?
The news that I have been remembered for 38 years for bringing happiness to Santiago - that news delivered, with a kiss, by the local boy who I loved for a summer then and hadn't seen since.... sent me spinning.On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?
On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?
On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?
I know several people who would love those!A pair of earplugs (gifted at the right moment).
Lovely story, thank you for sharing this.http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-miracle-of-abanico.html
A simple fan but it was a miracle!
The bar owner in Rabé de las Calzadas gave me a Miraculous Medal. I tied it to my rosary beads and carried it all the way to Santiago. Somewhere on my second camino, it broke off and I lost it. It really bothered me so hopefully he is still giving them away when I get there this September. By the way, his brother who owned the albergue at the top of the town was also giving them out to every pilgrim passing his door whether they stopped or not.On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-miracle-of-abanico.html
A simple fan but it was a miracle!
On some known trails it is practice- by some- to give a memento of some sort to a either a person who you feel inclined to do so or to leave it in a place for someone to find. Have you ever been a recipient of this type of thing or have you been the giver?
Hi- so just wondering- how did your packs get stolen?I've told this story before, so apologies in advance to those who have already heard it, but I think it's appropriate to re-tell it in this thread since I can't imagine a greater gift from one pilgrim to another...
My wife's and my backpacks were stolen in Santiago, just a couple of hours before our train to Madrid was scheduled to depart. Most of the stuff in the backpacks -- clothing, etc; even our compostelas -- could be replaced. But the most important items that were in the backpacks were our cherished credenciales with all the sellos collected between St Jean and Santiago; those could not be replaced. Our train tickets were also in the backpacks, and as we struggled to get the tickets replaced at the train station, a young Portuguese pilgrim, Eduardo, overheard our tale of woe. As we we about to walk out to the boarding platform, he stepped up and handed us his credenciale. We tried to decline, but he said "No, I have walked the Camino before, and have other credentials -- take this, please, it is a gift from my heart."
(Post script: Thanks to Johnny Walker and the volunteers from the Amigos, our backpacks, including our credenciales, were recovered and returned to us, and we were able to return Eduardo's credenciale to him.)
We were staying in a pension not far from the cathedral in Santiago, and had to check out by 10:00am. We asked the hostess if it would be safe to leave our backpacks in a vestibule area only accessible to guests while we went to Mass at the cathedral and lunch afterwards. She said yes, but that turned out to be not true -- they were gone we we returned to pick them up and go to the railroad station. In retrospect, we should have taken them with us and left them at that secured facility near the old pilgrim office location. Live and learn.Hi- so just wondering- how did your packs get stolen?
Oh no - that would have been awful for you. Were you able to get your packs back again or?We were staying in a pension not far from the cathedral in Santiago, and had to check out by 10:00am. We asked the hostess if it would be safe to leave our backpacks in a vestibule area only accessible to guests while we went to Mass at the cathedral and lunch afterwards. She said yes, but that turned out to be not true -- they were gone we we returned to pick them up and go to the railroad station. In retrospect, we should have taken them with us and left them at that secured facility near the old pilgrim office location. Live and learn.
Oh no - that would have been awful for you. Were you able to get your packs back again or?
This story is relevant, but a little long, so please bear with me.
On my last day serving as a hospitalero at San Anton, Castrojeriz, one of the pilgrims was a lovely Ecuadorian woman ( let's call her 'Sonya') who was to celebrate her birthday the following day. She spent this particular afternoon in the company of a male friend who was not staying the night with us. I exchanged a nod of acknowledgement with him, but we did not speak.
The next day I took a taxi to Fromista, from where I would catch a train to Oviedo to start walking the Camino Primitivo. As the train would not be leaving until the early evening, I made myself comfortable at a strategically-located cafe, so that all the pilgrims entering town would have to pass by me and, hopefully, I'd get to say hello to anyone who had stayed a night at 'my' albergue.
While sitting there, the male pilgrim I mentioned earlier (a South American classical singer, incidentally) came into view. He came over to me and asked whether I'd seen our mutual friend. I said that unfortunately I hadn't, so we chatted for a few minutes before he continued on his way.
Twenty minutes or so later, he came back to me. He handed me a very small, gift-wrapped parcel and asked would I give it to Sonya if I saw her. I said I would, but I wanted to know what I needed to do if she didn't come along before my departure. "In that case", he said, "you can keep it!"
She didn't appear that day, and so I carried the gift to Santiago in the hope I would be able to hand it over, there. If there was one pilgrim I really wanted to see again one more time, then it just had to be Sonya.
I saw no sign of Sonya over a the few days spent in Santiago before I left town to walk the last stages of the Camino Portugues. The gift travelled with me and remained unopened all this time, as miracles do happen!
Back in Santiago, I kept my eyes 'peeled' for a glimpse of Sonya, but I had no joy. My thoughts then turned to booking my coach travel to Bilbao ahead of my journey home. As I stepped out of the ticket office, I was 'accosted' by a woman with a familiar face and a beaming smile that could be only be bettered by the one that had broken out on mine. If you haven't guessed by now, it was Sonya!!!! She had found me!!
I had the gift with me (as always!) and so I told her the story quickly and then thrust it into her hand with great relief ..and a real sense of accomplishment. It was more than a bit dog-eared by now, but that didn't matter one jot. She was thrilled to receive it, she gave me a great big kiss and a hug, and later on that day she said that she had emailed her friend to thank him for her 'belated' birthday present. The only thing I asked of Sonya for taking care of the parcel for so long was to have an idea of its contents. This was no problem for her and so she opened the wrapping right there in the street. Guess what! it was a.................!!!
So, the greatest gift I was given on the Camino was not for me...or was it? To be trusted with a mission of the heart, and to be able to fulfil it against quite long odds, proved to be a most rewarding experience; and not least because it provided a totally unexpected final act to my stint as a San Anton hospitalero.
What did the rosary look like? I wonder if it was one that I made and left somewhere or gave to someone. Just curious.Someone gave me a handmade knotted rosarie after the Pilgrims Mass in Santiago.
What did the rosary look like? I wonder if it was one that I made and left somewhere or gave to someone. Just curious.
It is not one that I made. We walked in Sept/OcHere is a photo of it. We were at the Pilgrim's Mass Thursday, May 14, 2015. If this was you that gave it to me, Thank You very much. It was a real blessing to have been given it.
Thank you for the picture of the rosary. It isn't one that I made but it is always interesting to hear stories of where the ones I make end up. Priests I know give them to nursing home patients and I have been told about them by people who didn't know I was the one who made them. I am almost up to 700 made. I probably should take a break, lol.Here is a photo of it. We were at the Pilgrim's Mass Thursday, May 14, 2015. If this was you that gave it to me, Thank You very much. It was a real blessing to have been given it.
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