June 13--What the Camino Is All About

Not gonna lie, the hike was great and everything, but since it was only 12 miles, and there weren’t a ton of stops, it was pretty much just beautiful scenery the whole time. There was one very cool moment of this leg of the journey – as we entered the edge of town (the one we would be staying in), there was this HUGE chestnut tree that is estimated to be 800 years old! I have to admit, having been to the Redwoods in California, I wasn’t like SUPER blown away, but it was a cool tree, and it’s amazing to think about how much history it has experienced, how many peregrinos have passed it on their way to Santiago, and how it has endured all of these years. 

Probably one of the two biggest highlights of the day is the hotel where we are staying. I mean this place is AWESOME! Sorry, maybe that was misleading--it isn’t necessarily the fanciest hotel, but it is so legit. It is about a mile and a half walk out of town, in the middle of farm fields. Made completely of stone and wooden beams, it is obviously a renovated space that has been converted into a hotel and it pulls the whole look and vibe off so well. It helps that it is just big enough for our whole group, but not too big that we have anybody else staying here. It has TWO common rooms that we can use however we see fit, a fridge in the basement stocked with water, and a bunch of random rooms where I can poke around. When I wanted to call my family today, there were ample places to go and have some privacy; when we played games, we didn’t have to worry about being quiet, and there were plenty of spaces to choose from. Right now I am able to write my blogpost in peace without disturbing my roommates.  It’s amazing. It is all so real and pure and nice. 

The other highlight of the day was Art. Art is an artist that has done the Camino (not only the Frances but several of the other routes) and it really impacted his life for the better. Within the past 15 years, he bought a house here in Triacastela and converted it into a studio where he paints. He has had ups and downs in life, but he has found a deeper connection to God and his purpose in life through the Camino and his experiences with people on it. It was really sweet, he talked about his childhood – he is from Britain by the way – and he talks about how strict his mother was, but he also talked about how much he loved her and still loves her now. I don’t know, I feel like a lot of kids bash on their parents' actions, but even though he talked about how he felt as a kid with a strict mother, he also talked about the lessons he learned from her not wanting a TV in the house, the beauty he learned to find in the outdoors, in the pictures of the encyclopedia, in the radio and music. He works primarily in water color and especially enjoys painting the outdoors. As a gift to the peregrinos, he gives them hand painted sellos that are simple water colors that he can do in about a minute or less. This sello is one of the most beautiful and personalized things I have seen! He does everyone’s individually – some are abstract, some are concrete, some have stamps in them, some don’t. This is mine, and I LOVE his hand written enscription on the side. I should’ve videoed him doing this, but I was so excited and enraptured by watching him live that I forgot. But here is the final product! Isn’t it lovely – so perfect but so simple. He also included stamps as well which is just a great touch in my book.

He actually ended up coming to dinner with us, and we will visit his studio tomorrow morning to sing for him. He is a great guy who has definitely found his place in life and has made peace with himself. Unfortunatley, I’m sick with a head cold and was having a hard time hearing stuff super clearly during dinner, so I couldn’t hear much of his voice over the dinner-time din, but he just seems like a sincere, heartfelt artist. It was so great to not only see him work but hear what his influences were – how, despite being forced to go to church as a child, he came to love God in his own way and in his own time. 

The night ended beautifully with a walk back to our hotel.  Originally, to get to dinner, the hotel owner had offered to shuttle us there (since it was a mile and a half walk). This meant eight of us crammed into his mini-van, taking up not only the seats, but the space in between seats and the trunk, and he took us all to town in two trips. Not needing to repeat that, and seeing the beautiful night, a group of us decided to walk back to the hotel and MAN was it beautiful and peaceful. Plus I got to call my mom and get a few more wedding plans finalized ;-)

The day wasn’t anything complicated – hike, call Gordon, arrive, shower, wash clothes, call parents, do homework, go to dinner, blog, go to sleep. But the whole atmosphere of the day was just so on-point. It felt so good and right and happy and relaxed. Unfortunately, we didn’t do anything fun like play games, or get a game of hide-and-go seek going when we got back to the hotel in the evening, but it was still a great day. Everybody who decided to flake and sleep is going to realize in a few days that we have less than a week till we are done hiking and hanging out and doing the Camino routine every day. It’s their loss. I just want to use this time for the opportunity it is – to see beauty, to create connections, to remember and reflect. But, I can do that on my own if no one but Isaac is willing to stay up past 10:30 ;)