The last few days have been some of my best on the Camino so far. Yes, the weather was beautiful and the scenery interesting, but that has little to do with my enjoyment of the past few days. It is the people whom I have spent it with that have made is what it has been. For the past few days I have been walking with 3 Australian men, 2 my age and one, a catholic brother who is a little older , a young women from Dusseldorf who is a recent college grad (thankfully fluent in Spanish and English – our little roving bands translator) , another German – this one a man in his early forties who has the energy (and personality) of a 12 year old from Berlin, he is great fun and a young Japanese women.
While we walk in and out of the lives of the same 50ish people (our own little UN)- we have chosen to travel together. This happened without conversation or agreement – it just happened.

Sometimes there are conversations, at other times we walk spread out lost in our on thoughts. We eat together and we relax together – but most importantly we journey together. Life stories have been told, jokes laughed at and sadnesses and joys shared. We are all walking our own Camino, but for now we walk it together.
Today was a rare day for me – my head and heart and feet were just not into the walking. Most days I love to walk, even with a few pains, but not today. I don’t know why – I just wasn’t. David one of the Aussies must have sensed this and made a point of walking and talking with me for hours, making the time pass much faster. A kindness that I had done for him a couple of days ago when his feet were not doing very well. Nobody says anything about it, it just happens. David is a great guy, funny, crass at times and very caring. After 25+ years of working for a telecommunications company in Queensland he has quit his job and is going back to school to become an elementary school teach (a life long dream). He is a big hairy man with a strong accent, loud laugh and will make a wonderful teacher of small children. This is just one example of the people I am meeting on The Way.

Here it comes and you knew it was – This has, once again, all reinforced my faith and belief in the power of community. Life is full of these little moments – lives weave in and out of each other, effecting a moment, a day and sometimes a lifetime. God is alive and well on the Camino. In the simple hola, help with a blister, quick joke, coffee paid for or in a long silent walk.
God is good – Always