On the Camino!

Greetings, all!

I am writing from a hostel -- or albergue -- in Sarria, Spain. Our group just enjoyed a tasty pilgrims´ supper and are resting our feet after our first day of walking. Our journey began in the sweltering bustle of Madrid, and several of us were oriented to the area via a bus tour. The first experience along the pilgrimage route was really yesterday: in the morning, we took a train to León, the capital of northwest Spain and a key city along the Camino (or Path) to Santiago. While there, we met a gentleman from Germany who had been traveling the route for six weeks. . . whereas we have only about seven days of trekking in our journey.

One question that has arisen in our group is, ´´Why are we on this journey?´´ First and foremost, we each have our own questions to ponder, and it has been wonderful to think about these questions in sacred places where the curtain between heaven and earth is just a bit thinner. One of my nicknames on this trip is solar, as I am interested in solar energy. We have passed hills lined with photovoltaics and capped with wind turbines along the way. Yet while the sun and wind can power our homes and businesses, what powers us? Where do we find the tenacity to power through our challenges?

The word camino is an interesting one that has resonated throughout this trip. I noticed while in Galicia today that the word camiño is used on the signposts. . . a slight regional variation of the word. My grandmother´s heritage is in this region of Spain, and in a whoa moment I remembered that her family name is Camiña. I feel very comfortable and strangely at home around here, perhaps because deep down inside I am connected to this very green area of Spain. My grandmother´s favorite song is ¨Camino Verde,¨and this has been a true camino verde.

We could also be called on this pilgrimage for the sake of others. The strength we find on this journey may be needed by our family, our friends, or even complete strangers. While on the train to León, several of us sat near a kind woman named -- believe it or not -- María Camino. Her husband worked for a while near Huntsville, Alabama, where two members of our pilgrimage group are from. María excitedly called up her husband so that we could speak with him, and he asked us to cheer her up. . . because her sister, Lola, had just died the previous night. The beautiful thing is that María was already laughing and cheerful, enjoying the happenstance of our encounter. We were happy to be there for María in a way we could have never planned, and her presence in our travels emphasized the added level of meaning that pilgrimages can have.

Those are my nuggets for today. Hopefully you´ll hear soon about shells and yellow arrows, coins of prayer and reconciliation, and bags of green peas for sore feet. So many meaningful adventures already, and we´ve only just begun.