Who are these Pilgrims?

Today we took a day of rest. Yesterday we checked into a hotel in Logroño, a pretty city in the Rioja region of Spain. It felt good (after our longest walk yesterday of 28 kilometers) to know we could unpack our backpacks and not have to repack them in a few hours. We took long hot showers and a glorious, much needed nap. 

Rested, we headed into the city center to find friends we have made along the way. Many pilgrims have a tight schedule and never can take a break. We wanted to spend time with them and say our farewells. 

One of the things that makes this experience so unique and pleasurable is the camaraderie between Peregrinos. Pilgrims develop a bond sharing meals, conversations, stories, and yes, the pain. We have met so many lovely people. 

There’s Alice and Paul from Melbourne who are teachers and must walk continuously so they can catch their return flight to Australia and begin teaching the next day. Colleen (a Brit living in Burgundy) who is a “Caminoholic” and taught us much about Brexit. Brigitta and Berlina began their walk years ago when they stepped out their door in Germany and have walked in stages. Yongbae Lee has walked numerous days beside us or near us. We smile a lot with each other because he knows very little English. Alain is a lawyer from Montreal and he never fails to carry on interesting discussions. 

We don’t know if we’ll ever see these people again, but we appreciate how they have enriched our lives this past week. We look forward to (hopefully) seeing some of these same people as we journey on tomorrow, but we know we have so many more to meet.