Sept 12: musings from the trail

I went into the tourist info office in Portugalette yesterday to see what I could learn about the area. I ended up having this interesting conversation with this Spanish woman behind the counter. She couldn't understand why I as an American would be interested in doing this walk.  I mentioned that The Way movie inspired me like a lot of Americans. I also told her what better way to see a country but at the speed of walking. The act of walking is inherently slow compared to our fast paced lifestyle. It demands time, time that can be directed toward appreciating the beauty (natural and historic) of Spain.  It demands time, time that can be directed at others (peregrinos and local Spaniards) in forming meaningful connections.

After I told the woman how pleasantly surprised I have been with the reception by Spaniards, I asked her why might that be as if she might know the answer. The best she came up with is that Spaniards (and Italians) are culturally lovers of life, into connecting with others and out going. I imagine some of that is probably true generally speaking.

One thing that seems to be becoming more evident to me is that this walking the Camino is far more than about my so called singular willful act of walking X amount of miles to Y location.  If it wasn't for the critical support and active outgoing help of the Spanish locals, I could not succeed on this walk. It makes me realize how necessarily interdependent we really are. This walk has become for me the collective act of me and my interactions with others. For example, I was walking through this small town today and needed to find this street that wasn't marked at all.  I shared a kind glance with this older woman passing her on my way. She knew where I needed to turn and she yelled out after me with as much. Without her help, I would have probably burned 15 minutes of frustration trying to figure it out. So yes,  doing the Camino has become a collective act for me.