It is very hard to describe the feeling I get doing this walk. It's excitement, a feeling of serenity, and also one of community. It's exciting seeing new things and places, starting out on dark streets looking for the yellow arrows. The quiet of the morning and the walking in the country just hearing your foot steps on the dirt path. The community is one of the best aspects of this journey. For one thing you met people from all over the world and every one is a pilgrim so we are all the same.
Many of the same people who started with me in France move along the camino together. Not in the sense that we are walking together, but we are staying in the same towns, leaving in the morning and ending up at the next stop. We may not be staying in the same hotel, albergue or hostel, but we all gather together in the town square for beer and wine and talk of the day. This is your camino family. Sometimes you may walk with one or more of them for the day or a few minutes. Perhaps they will be at the same lunch stop as you. You pass them when they stop to rest and they pass you when you are resting. It is a great feeling to be traveling with this family and being alone at the same time. As we pass someone or they pass us there is always the greeting, "buen camino". Many times you hear this greeting from locals who you come in contact with.
Sometimes you walk with someone for several hours, then you don't see them again for several days. Then it's old home week. "How are you, where did you stay last night, how are your feet?
I think I mentioned Lee from Singapore before. We started together in France and crossed the Pyrenees together. Sometimes we walked together and other times he was behind me. Lee started having real problems with his feet and his toes hitting the inside of his boots on the downhills. After Pamplona he could only walk half a day, so he has fallen behind. I get facebook updates from him so his camino family can keep track of his location and his condition. He's still moving, but walking slowly and backwards when he goes downhills.
Today I met Kelly from Taiwan and we walked together the second half of the day. She laughs all the time and is a great walking companion. We may walk together for a day or two, but it is alway understood on the camino, that it is your camino and you must walked for yourself and not someone else. So, if I want to walk alone or Kelly wants to walk alone there are no hard feelings when one moves on.
April 15th
As I write this I am in Logroño after a 17 miles walk. So far I've covered 101 miles in 8 days of walking. Tomorrow is a 18 mile day and rain is forecast. Oh, the life of a pilgrim.
April 16th
This morning I left the albergue where I was staying. (I had a private room) and Kelly from Taiwan left with me. We found a cafe for breakfast of orange juice, cafe con leche and a chocolate croissant. Sometimes in cities, and Logroño is a big city, you lose the camino. When we make a wrong turn, a local always points us in the right direction. After about 30 minutes, but still in the city, Kelly told me she need to stop for a short rest. She didn't look well, her eyes were swollen, she had to keep blowing her nose and she had shortness of breath. It looked like she was having an allergic reaction. I had given her some of my ibuprofen and I thought that was the problem. We waited a few minutes and she was getting worse. Two pilgrim girls from Barcelona, part of the camino family, stopped and together we decided that Kelly had go go the the hospital. We stopped a man jogging and asked for help. He called for an ambulance and stayed with us, talking to the emergency personnel on the phone.
In a few minutes an ambulance arrived and out came two nurses, a paramedic and a doctor. It was decided to take her to the emergency room. After being checked out by the doctor, they decided to keep her for observation. As I feel somewhat responsible for giving her the ibuprofen, I will wait to make sure she is ok. I had planned on taking some days off, so this will be a day off.
Update later the same day.
I am now back were I stayed last night and Kelly is still in the hospital. She is expected to be released tomorrow. So in the morning I will go and make sure she gets back on the camino and walk with her for a while. She is expecting a friend of hers to arrive from Taiwan tonight. Her friend will stay at my albergue and she can go with me to the hospital in the morning.
All is well.
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It really sounds like Kelly was fortunate to have had you there, to recognize that she was in trouble and to find help. Sounds like she'll be fine and you'll have a long time friend. (The watch over someone you've saved thing is mythology derived from fictional stories, usually in books from what I've read).
ReplyDeleteWalk on Dana. Cheers.
Mental note: take benadryl in my backpack for my camino. Thanks Dana. Hope Kelly is able to walk with you tomorrow. You are a good friend to your "family". 101 miles in 8 days is amazing. Keep up the good spirit. Buen Camino.
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