Month: October 2013

You might have been led to believe that my Camino was a blissful walk with rose petals scattered on the trail and miracles at every turn. Maybe I’ve been telling it that way, but it wasn’t. Not every day anyway.

One day stands out that included walking in the rain on a long stretch of noisy road through a non-descript town by myself. I was damp and chilled. I was lonesome. I was craving a hot, salty bowl of soup, but at 10:30 in the morning, the Spanish are just sipping their morning coffee. I plodded on.

Continue reading “A no-good, very bad day (and night)” →

The Camino is the community of people, total strangers, who come to look after and care for one another as they all move toward Santiago. One way this was manifest was the Camino grapevine. People talked about one another, never maliciously (in my experience), but out of concern and curiosity. Remarkable and funny stories about fellow travelers were traded like currency. To get someone’s story was a treasure.

The whole lot of us met up in Burgos – Marisela, Katrin, Muriel, Lies (leese), Meg, and me – mostly by happy coincidence. We shared a fun dinner in the plaza with a view of the huge cathedral as our backdrop. Wine and tapas and paella were passed around. We were honoring both Marisela and Lies who were both leaving the Camino for various reasons (both hoped to return). It felt like a warm sorority of women from all over the world and I adored being a part of it.

Continue reading “Grapevines” →