The Camino Provides

My first full day on the Meseta turned out to be unexpectedly nourishing. It was a nice cool morning with mostly flat terrain, and lots of cloud cover throughout the day. After about an hour of silent walking and reflection, two American young adult women caught up to me on the path and we spent the remainder of the walk till lunch chatting. They are both delightful young people. Sam, 31, lives and works in Boston as a speech pathologist. Seline, mid-twenties, is going to school for her PhD in psychology at Stanford University. Both will be walking to Santiago, so I hope our paths continue to meet along the way.

After stopping at an incredible Monastery ruin, which is now an Alburgue, Sam and I walked a bit more together. She is such a sweet young person. Thoughtful and compassionate towards others. One of her older brothers has a rare disease which has left him blind and severely mentally handicapped. She sings in her church choir, but considers herself a marginal Catholic. She has a close relationship with her mom who is a therapist. Her parents divorced while she was in college. She seemed interested in my perspective on Church and faith. I dropped in a few theological points about the value and use of singing in our worship. Perhaps it was helpful to her.

There was a dog apparently walking the Camino today. 😆 See separate post to watch this little guy truck along. He seemed to be having a good time and enjoying the human company.

I arrived into Castrojeriz, a 12 mile walk today, a little after noon to a much more comfortable hotel but my second or third in a row without air conditioning (fortunately my dear friend Ellen suggested I add a travel fan to my packing list. 🥵It’s been a life saver!). The owner is FAR more hospitable.Baca selengkapnya