(Originally posted on 5 September 2016)
Villarente/Villadangos del Páramo
It has been three days since I had the idea of this post. In my imagination, I had the perfect story, a spiritual message, a happy ending and a funny tone all-in-one. A writer’s dream (or at least my dream as a writer).
However, things did not go as hoped, and today I didn’t have the happy ending, nor the funny tone, or the perfect story. I just have a stronger spiritual message. For this reason, I decided to share it anyway, opting to post a double version of it: the one I wish I could have written and the real one.
Obviously I thought about writing only the first one, slightly twisting the reality, but I decided not to do it. It is not only a matter of respect for myself, for the story, for my professionalism and for all the ones interested in my adventure. It is a matter of respect for the Destiny. And the belief that the slightest cheating in the human world can have a huge consequence in the supernatural one.
Ps, spoiler alert for the fast readers. The two stories differ only in the last part, which I highlighted in different colors. My suggestion, however, is reading all of them…
The post I wish I could have written..
The Wave
I remember during my first Camino, it was the seventh day and I was sitting by myself in a cafeteria at St. Juan de Ortega. Some of the pilgrims in that cafeteria, I encountered them again the day after. And three days after. And five days after. I was surprised. We slept and ate in different places, started walking at different hours, crossing different routes, and we ended up meeting each other every now and then.
“It is the wave”. One of the experienced pilgrims told me. “You will finish the path with them, whether you like them or not”. I got to say that he was right, because they arrived at Santiago on the same day as me or just a day apart. I still do not know if it was a matter of personal rhythm or, as I prefer, destiny.
“The wave” reminds me of an episode during my interrail trip across Europe. I met a couple of Australian guys who were doing a 3-month Eurotrip in Prague. I had a dinner with them. We spent the following day together in Kutná Hora, then, once back to the hostel, we said goodbye to each other. I went to Luxembourg. They went to Berlin.
Two days later, I was in Brussels listening a guide speaking about the Grand Place, and I felt someone touching my shoulder. They were there. Indeed, they had decided to change their plans, spending fewer days in Germany, and I had decided to spend only one day in Luxembourg. Obviously we had made our respective change of plans independently.
Yes, the touristic locations are always the same. Yes, the capitals are the most visited places by the tourists. Yes, the Grand Place is one of the most beautiful European attractions. The reasons why we were bound to meet could numerous, but I am quite skeptical of coincidences..
**
On this Camino, because of my fast rhythm, I have left behind most of the pilgrims I met. It is part of the deal. You share some stories, you laugh together, then you realize that you have a different path. You say “Buen Camino” and continue walking. No Facebook or Whatsapp contact sharing. No visiting cards. Just the faith that if they are on the same road and you might come cross them again.
This does not mean that I don’t care about the wave, because I have been actively looking for it since day one..
On the 10th day, I finally had that feeling. When I was coming out of a monastery, I met a group of girls from different countries. I felt the shivers down on my spine when I overheard their conversation and learned that they had plans to reach Santiago on the same day as me. I realized it was the wave and started speaking about it with them full of enthusiasm. I skipped lunch (very unusual thing for me) just to stay with them. We spent the afternoon together crossing the Mesetas, and even though that night I slept in a different hostel, I met them today in front of the León cathedral. My feelings were right.
Even though we are more than 300 kilometres far from the end of the path, I would not be surprised of reaching Santiago together. It is just a matter of rhytm. Or, as I prefer, Destiny.
Ps, after the first encounter, I left my medical cream to one of the girls, who had pain in both her legs. When I stopped at the hostel, I have not asked for it back. Today, she asked me why. I told her, I was sure I would have met them again..
The real one
The Wave
I remember during my first Camino, it was the seventh day and I was sitting by myself in a cafeteria at St. Juan de Ortega. Some of the pilgrims in that cafeteria, I encountered them again the day after. And three days after. And five days after. I was surprised. We slept and ate in different places, started walking at different hours, crossing different routes, and we ended up meeting each other every now and then.
“It is the wave”. One of the experienced pilgrims told me. “You will finish the path with them, whether you like them or not”. I got to say that he was right, because they arrived at Santiago on the same day as me or just a day apart. I still do not know if it was a matter of personal rhythm or, as I prefer, destiny.
“The wave” reminds me of an episode during my interrail trip across Europe. I met a couple of Australian guys who were doing a 3-month Eurotrip in Prague. I had a dinner with them. We spent the following day together in Kutná Hora, then, once back to the hostel, we said goodbye to each other. I went to Luxembourg. They went to Berlin.
Two days later, I was in Brussels listening a guide speaking about the Grand Place, and I felt someone touching my shoulder. They were there. Indeed, they had decided to change their plans, spending fewer days in Germany, and I had decided to spend only one day in Luxembourg. Obviously we had made our respective change of plans independently.
Yes, the touristic locations are always the same. Yes, the capitals are the most visited places by the tourists. Yes, the Grand Place is one of the most beautiful European attractions. The reasons why we were bound to meet could numerous, but I am quite skeptical of coincidences..
**
On this Camino, because of my fast rhythm, I have left behind most of the pilgrims I met. It is part of the deal. You share some stories, you laugh together, then you realize that you have a different path. You say “Buen Camino” and continue walking. No Facebook or Whatsapp contact sharing. No visiting cards. Just the faith that if they are on the same road and you might come cross them again.
This does not mean that I don’t care about the wave, because I have been actively looking for it since day one..
That said, I am on the 14th day and I still haven’t found my wave. On my previous Camino I had the first feeling after a couple of days, and the “certainty” after the seventh. Maybe I have to reach Santiago alone, maybe my itenarery and my rhythms are too different from the ones of other pilgrims, maybe I will find it in the next few days. But I miss the part of the trip of walking with other people and sharing with them a period that lasts more than a couple of hours.
I had the illusion of having found the wave some days ago. I was coming out of a monastery and met some girls from different countries. I felt the shivers down on my spine when I overheard their conversation and learned that they had plans to reach Santiago on the same day as me. However, after an afternoon spent with them crossing the Mesetas, I didn’t meet them anymore. I woke up earlier in the last three days hoping to find them, because on the day I met them they did 10 kilometres more than me. But I haven’t found them. And it is highly probable that – as well as for all the other pilgrims – we won’t walk together the last part of the path.
Maybe my confidence of finding them during these days has been the main obstacle to our next meeting. Waking up earlier every day and trying with all my determination to reach them, I put obstacles to the natural flow of things. I tried to command the Destiny by relying on my sixth sense, and the Destiny rewarded me by showing me who really rules.
I left my medical cream for the ankles to one of the girls. She needed it more than me. But today, because of the pain to my Achilles’ tendon, I had to stop at a pharmacy in order to buy another one. The pharmacist, after seeing my heels, decided to give me a stronger cream, and gave me also an ankle support. So that’s it. Maybe I won’t have the wave, but at least now I have more possibilities of reaching the end of the path…
