The Camino Wakes Up

It was going to be another scorcher of a day. Marianne and I wanted to beat the heat and left the earliest I’ve been out yet -5:15 am. Jim went to the doctor because of a sore throat and wanted to confirm it wasn’t COVID or the flu (negative on both accounts). He taxied to our final stop. Steven and David wanted to sleep in and go at a different pace. They caught up with us at the final stop late in the day.

Marianne and I walked in the dark for almost two hours. We got to the 6 mile/2 hour break mark for breakfast. We were at a cafe that had a few pilgrims. Ten minutes after we arrived, it was like the Camino woke up! At least a dozen people were in line after us and the little way-station of a village was bustling with people. There were several mini-reunions that both Marianne and I enjoyed.

One reunion was with the couple John and Katheryne whom I met on the hill at dawn before I was to enter the Meseta. It has been 17 days since we had seen each other the last time. It’s so interesting how people you bump into can appear in such unexpected ways. Sometimes you meet someone once and never see them again. Other times you continue to see a person multiple times a day over several days and then they are gone. Then others pop in and out of your Camino with a few days between. When they happen the reunions are fun and there’s always a sense of joy in seeing someone whom you’ve established a personal history. An unexpected delight.

Ironically, given the last time I saw John and Katheryn it was a sunrise, today in O Cebriero the pilgrims all watched the sun set from this beautiful first stop in the hills of the Galicia region. Many people have entered into my life between that sunrise and sunset. All on their own unique journey. And each person adding a bit of themselves into someone else’s life.Läs mer