2022 Camino Day 14 (26)

Today started out wet. It was a slight rain that turned into a heavy drenching rain. There was a good portion of an uphill climb before the first village and in the heaviest of rains. Once we summited the hill, there was a welcoming bar to our right. They had the best empanadas I’ve ever eaten. I dried out a bit and Maren took off early. We were all feeling the strain of a group on the Camino. She decided to do about 40 km and was successful at it. Raja left next and I was after her. Another Camino group had broken up.

I started into the rain with just my normal pants on and a rain shell over my wool t-shirt. I passed Raja a little ways down and felt it was time to use my rain pants. She was kind and stopped to steady me as I put them on over my other pants.

I started walking again and passed her a little while later. The trail went up and then down and back up again. I started to play some music… Flogging Molly, “If I Ever Leave This World Alive.”. I had just left a trail protected by trees on both sides and turned so I was on the side of the mountain. The wind was whipping up from below and the rain was intense. The combination of the music, maelstrom, and solitude did me in. I sobbed and sang along as I walked.

The Camino does a great job of stripping a person down to the bare necessities. Food, drink, sleep and walking. Introduce any other item and the equilibrium can easily be thrown off. My other item was the memory of my grandparents. I don’t believe I ever got a true time to grieve for both. I was helping with funeral arrangements, family, and trying to be strong for others. I don’t have that luxury of a distraction here and it comes out whenever it needs to. The mountain walk in the tempest was one of those times.

I eventually walked about 20 miles and got a private room in Samos.

The evening was a series of failures and successes. The innkeeper told me that the last monastery tour was at 6:30. It wasn’t. Mass was at 7:30. It wasn’t either. I arrived at a tiny chapel in a huge monastery at 7:20. It was beautiful. I lit a candle for Grandma, Grandpa, and Fr. Solanus. I prayed for several minutes. Then, the priest came in and said that mass was cancelled.

If I were home and in my non-Camino life, I don’t think it would have bothered me, but I needed this mass and it hit me hard. The priest told me that I could stay as long as I wanted, just please, blow out the candles before I leave. I turned off the lights in the chapel and stayed about ten minutes more. Praying, weeping, and letting go.

Another pilgrim I met on the Camino, Giuliano joined me. We said a few final prayers and headed out. After, we talked, shared a couple glasses of wine and then I headed for dinner. It was a tough day, but rewarding. I can feel my grandparents with me most of the time here. I only hope I can feel them the same way when I get back to the real world.

The photos of the day: