I’ve had a run of Irish companions on the Camino today (meaning the past 24 hours).
There is my perennial friend Eoghan (Owen) who I encounter every couple of days.
Last night in Burgos, Kate from Tasmania and Martin from Bristol (Eng.) joined me for some tapas before calling it a night.
As we sat at the outdoor table, two of my favorite Dubliners strolled by, Mark and Patrick. Introductions all around, some bright chat, and I suddenly realized that I was the only one without an accent!
Mark and Patrick always brighten the day. This is their fourth Camino together and they will soon be featured in a book on the Camino under the chapter, My Two Camino Uncles.
Mark told me that some years ago, back to back family tragedies left him devastated. Patrick called him and said “Let’s go for a little walk.”
“We haven’t stopped since,” said Mark.
Around midnight, a third roommate quietly stole into the bunkroom Martin and I were sharing.
In the morning, I met Hugh, from outside Galway. He’d been bussing and flying and walking to get to Burgos for a couple of days to resume a walk cut short last year by foot injury.
I was able to offer him a perfectly functional walking stick for his Camino. He was hoping to buy one down the road. That worked out well.
As I walked today, Steve from Dublin and I struck up a conversation. He has an interesting way of interjecting questions like, “What is an adult?” and “What is education?”
Steve also reflected on the prospect that the presence of the mineral iron (which carries oxygen to our blood) on earth could plausibly be the result of supernova star explosions billions of years ago.
That was before we stopped for the first coffee of the day.
Like Hugh, this was Steve‘s first day on the Camino. Likewise, Elizabeth from Milan, who joined us briefly, begins a Camino today. She is on a tight schedule as she begins medical school in three weeks.
A sample of the art encountered today between Burgos and Hornillos del Camino:
I love these little Cameos people make in our lives as we walk.
I decided the other night that some people will continue to drop in on your life during the Camino until you figure out what the message is supposed to be.
Everyone on the Camino has a purpose that has nothing to do with the reasons they are here.
Some of us may never know why. Some may alter the life of another ever so slightly. Some may encounter a life changing meeting.
You have to be open to the possibility and just let it happen. And the more I keep meeting the same people, the more I ask myself, “What is it I am to learn from this encounter?”
Speaking of encounters, I met Sister Teresa today. She looks after the small chapel Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Monasterio just outside the mural-filled village of Rabé de las Calzadas.
A nun of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (Hijas de la Caridad), Sister Teresa and others welcome pilgrims into the hermitage.
She asks you your name and where you are from, then slips a Miraculous Medal (Medalla Milagrosa) around your neck.
She leans her head in toward yours and touches the side of your head as she offers a blessing for a successful Camino.
It is absolutely electric and the most spiritually enriching moment I have yet experienced.
All the statuary, gold leafing, and majestic grandeur of the Burgos Cathedral did not move me the was Sister Teresa did when she prayed over me.
Tonight I stay in Hornillos del Camino, a little town full of auberges.
The walk today felt like the first breaking day of Autumn: Gray skies, chill winds, a light drizzle of rain, yellow leaves falling from the sky — perhaps it is time to break out the jacket and poncho?
