On my 2022 Camino, every day was a meaningful day when it came to meeting people.  During the first few days on the Camino, I met a woman from the town I am from in the United States.  I live in a medium sized community located on the northern banks of Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.  There are about 60,000 residents in the town and close to 200,000 in the county.  Not too big and not too small for my tastes.  Our meeting during those first few days was short, with no chance to talk.  The odds of meeting someone from Coeur d’Alene on the Camino are long.  I was hoping to see her again so we could talk.

              Walking the Camino and encountering people is like an accordion that goes in and out.  People have different agendas and some move faster and some slower and some take days off and some don’t.  There is no predicting that you will run into someone down the road because you do not know their agenda and how they are managing their trip as they move along the path.  Many of us would stay within a day of each other one way or the other and our paths would cross quite often.  After meeting Beth, I did not see her again much in the following days.  At about the 2-week mark on the Camino we were walking from Castrojerez to Fromista and I was walking that day with a young speedy fellow named Mike from Toronto, Canada.  Mike and I were walking and talking when we came to an unusual Albergue attached to a Monastery.  We stopped and I went to use the bathroom.  When I came out Mike was gone.  That is not unusual on the Camino as there are no expectations concerning any decision to walk together.  There is a code on the Camino that everyone is on their own journey.  My first thought when I saw Mike was gone was to simply let him go and bless him on his way.  What a concept in our daily life, just bless each person on their way. 

              I started walking and my first thought was “Wouldn’t it be nice to walk with Beth”.  You can imagine what I thought when a half hour later there is Beth on the side of the trail and was fixing her pack.  I stopped and asked her if she would be willing to walk together for a while.  She happily said yes and off we went walking and talking as though we had known each other our whole lives.  Beth told me the story of her journey and why she was on the Camino, and it is/was a compelling story indeed.  I felt honored to be witness to her story and the power of the Camino in providing transformational moments.  These heart opening moments are often an everyday experience in being witness to and honoring each other’s journey both on the Camino and in life. 

              Life stories are what make the Camino what it is and what it has become.  Can you imagine the Pilgrims in the middle ages sharing their stories with each other and the people who cared for them.  Indeed, that experience in my opinion, is a big part of the healing and transformation that takes place on this most amazing journey.  There are no judgments or people trying to fix each other, just compassionate listening and sharing of one’s own journey.  It is not my intention in these blogs to share people’s story, rather to affirm the process of living and sharing our stories with each other and finding open hearts and listening ears and warm acceptance in the moment. 

              By the end of this Camino Beth had become part of our Camino Family and she walked with us into Santiago on that last day.  She has become a friend and when she is in Coeur d’Alene we try and get together for a walk or two.  It is the way of the Camino, it just gets into your heart and soul and continues to do its work on a deep level. 

Buen Camino,

Stephen Towles