Los Peregrinos

The trek today took us from La Cabana to Boente, around twelve miles. It was a tough stage with lots of ups and downs and stretches of great challenges.  To get past these challenges, my mind took me through a period of reflection.  Rather than post pictures of the landscape, which remains about the same, I'd like to dedicate this post to the many peregrinos that I met on the road.  They filled my memory with a living tapestry.

Galen makes a new friend

I know that all during this trek many pilgrims expressed an appreciation of my effort because of the crutches.  I was a little embarrassed by the notoriety at first but then came to just accept the comments.

However, I must say that I found lots of inspiration from my fellow travelers.  This started immediately when I first went to the Pilgrims' mass back in Roncesvalles that first evening.

I didn't have time to snap pictures of all but I'd to mention some of the more memorable pilgrims.

There was the seventy-eight year old dutchman with only one eye that was doing a second solo camino.

There were the wonderful Koreans with air masks on.  I met several.  One was on a tour bus similar to us, one was a small group and there was one solo hiker who was lost and we spent time trying to communicate.

Koreans

There was the family of Columbians that traveled with the grandparents, the adult son, and then his ten year old son.  Three generations!  You could see the tenderness of the adult son as he aided his mother through the trek, and also his patience with his own son.

There was the Australian minister who had a prayer for me every time we passed one another.

Australian Minister

Sylvia from Australia was a young solo hiker who took the time to help me with my pack and water.  She had come from Burgos and had miscalerculated her distance so had to make up 40 kilometers in one day.  And yet, she had time to stop and help me.

There was Ivo, from the Netherlands who came on the camino to find himself, yet found that he fell in love with a girl from Budapest.  Alessandro, the Italian boy, who passed me days ago, but caught me on the late stages.  He was trying to get into MIT.

There were the pretty German girls who were together for a final 'fling' before getting on with more 'grown up' stuff.

There was Bree, the nurse from Ireland who was hiking with her overstressed husband, Jamie.  She had convinced him to take a sabbatical from teaching and try to reconnect with himself.  When we parted, she said "let me look at your face and admire you a bit".  She wanted to remember me.

Elizabeth was the daughter, Rachel the mother and Bob the father.  Rachel and Bob are divorced but Elizabeth wanted the family to do something together again.  So why not walk the Camino.

There was the Canadian woman sitting by the roadside reading a map who commented when I passed by "you must be Galen from Idaho.  I've heard about you."

There was the couple for Seattle who had just retired and looking for that 'spark' in life that they somehow had lost.

I really wish I had a picture of the two young French girls who took a break and were painting their toenails.
There were so many wonderful peregrinos on the road with an amazing set of stories...

And of course, there was our group.

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I am just a couple of days from Santiago.  I am hoping to see many of these peregrinos there when I arrive.  Even if I don't, I will know that for a short time, all of us, regardless of our nationality, political views, backgrounds or heritage...we all traveled the same path for a few glorious moments.