Suddenly up ahead, I spot this perfect image of what, if only in my mind, constitutes an old grandmotherly peasant woman. She is walking the camino route and holding onto a stick cane for some support. I assume her home is somewhere nearby and she was just visiting a neighbor. And without much fuss or fanfare from a distance away I pull out my iPhone from its secure pouch, held firm on my left front backpack strap.
Still from a considerable distance away I began to zoom in. I shoot and quickly frame a few pictures without slowing down or stopping. My body is on autopilot. Before long I am to the point of catching up to the old woman.
I continue walking and as I come up beside her I say to her in Spanish. “Senora, do you recognize this woman in the picture? Her eyes suddenly light up; as she now recognizes an image of herself on my phones screen.
A huge grin now emerges from her full face. I notice but, a few teeth in her smile. Still, she is beautiful to me. A country grandmother, much like the grandmother that I may have had as a toddler prior to my parents fleeing Cuba. I don’t remember growing up with grandparents but, I do know they were there for me, till about the age of three.
She embarrassingly tells me, you are “muy amiable” and reaches over to offer a friendship hug. The word amiable implies that one is good natured, and has qualities that make one liked and is cheerful and helpful. I could not have received a finer compliment today. Still we continue walking and never once stopped during our conversation. We were now “hablando sobre el clima” (weather talk) which is the ultimate icebreaker in the smallest of smalltalk or you can move onto the rain in Spain song by Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. Only I’ll bet my walking shoes that she’s never heard of it.
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
By George, she’s got it!
By George, she’s got it!
Now, once again where does it rain?
On the plain! On the plain!
And where’s that soggy plain?
In Spain! In Spain!
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
In Hartford, Hereford, and Hampshire…?
Hurricanes hardly happen.
How kind of you to let me come!
Now once again, where does it rain?
On the plain! On the plain!
And where’s that blasted plain?
In Spain! In Spain!
Soon I get back to my original walking pace. This moment was simple but, one that did touch me down to my very humanity core and soul. Tears welled up inside me as soon as I walked away from the grandmother. I never did think to ask her her name.
That is but one example of a moment in time that often takes place on a camino when you least expect it. Walking long distances may not be for everyone but, it’s one of the most natural things and the best thing humanely possible that us humans can do and it’s totally free.
Add a little purpose to walking to your walking like for example a little exploration, a little chatter or exercise or even plans for a far off goal of reaching the city of Santiago de Compostela. Your soul will forever be fulfilled – I guarantee it!
As I continued walking towards Santiago de Compostela in Spain on the Camino Frances, my mind tends to wander allot. One of the begging questions in my head was; were pilgrims walking the Camino during what the civilized world referred to as the roaring 20’s and 30’s, or even during America’s Great Depression? And the answer is yes. So when did it begin to fall out of favor was my next question.
At the time of our U.S. era world depression, the USA was a fairly new country and also the only country in the industrialized world did not offer any form of unemployment insurance or social security for its people.
People today are walking the camino Frances from border to border across Spain. Approximately 790 kilometers. Apparently they were still doing something similar something like a 1,000 years or so ago but, for drastically different reasons like receiving a cure for a terminal illness.
I originally wrote this little story sometime ago while on the camino but, never completed it. So here it is today in a short and revised form.
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