Day 11 to 13 - The Magic of the Camino

Once in a blue moon the stars align and magic occurs.  Maybe is happens on the Camino often. It happened for me over a four day period. You walk into hundreds of churches but you walk into one in a tiny village and the energy surrounding you transports somewhere you can’t explain. You pass thousands of trees but the one you are laying under becomes the most beautiful tree you’ve every seen.

Four of us converged on a hill by chance. The laughter began immediately. We were kindred spirits already hours behind the other pilgrims who march to the next destination with determination and grit. We would walk an hour and then stop at the cafe for two hours. We’d make it to our final destination just in time for dinner. We’d leave the next day when pilgrims from the previous town were arriving for lunch. We laughed at new words like habibi and rocknstella (don’t look that one up) We didn’t know each other’s past and we didn’t focus on the future. We were suspended in the present and it was glorious.

Maybe what helped make it magical is that it ended as quickly as it began…before it could peter out. One left for a plane back home, one hopped on a bike for the next adventure, one headed back to the camino as the pounds melted away and one continued on looking for his countess.

Tarja told us that in Finland rarely (even in marriage) do people say I love you. It is just not done.. Of course, the laughter kicked in again as we created scenarios to express your love in Finland like killing a reindeer and bringing it home with a smile.

She woke me up at 6am this morning to say goodbye as her taxi had arrived.  After two hugs she turned to leave. I said “Love you” without thinking. It is what I say when filled with emotion. She didn’t turn around, just kept walking. But I knew she held the same feeling that we all felt from our four day journey even if she would never verbalize it.

Today’s post is dedicated to Elijah and Derrick at Fanaka 1. It was a magical moment for me a year ago when I was in Kenya. They tugged at my sleeve and shyly gave me a shell with a hole in it. I felt then that it was their way of thanking me for making a difference in their little lives. Enough of a difference that they wanted to share their secret gift with me.