As I indicated yesterday, God surprised me with a private room last night! As the lady showed me to my room, there were two single beds, and I was confused and said, “Now will there be somebody else in the other bed?”
She said, “No, this is all yours!”
I thought, “Oh my word - this is absolutely incredible.” It had a private bath as well. I was just stunned at God‘s goodness to me. Now mind you, this was not a Holiday Inn. It wasn’t even on the level of a Super 8 or a Motel 6. But after where I had been staying, this was the Marriott! I felt so pampered! I was the only one in my room which meant I could go to the bathroom whenever I wanted! What a blessing. Thank you, God!
While I’m on the subject of my room, let me try to give you a brief description of the typical hostel. More commonly, it is referred to an Albergue here in Spain, but we know them as hostels. As I arrive in the city or village, the first thing I do is walk up to the door to see what check-in time is. The earliest will be 12:00, but more typically it is 1:00 or 2:00 pm, with one of my hostels actually having a 4:00 pm check-in time. Since I’m an early riser and an early starter, I normally end up having to wait an hour or two before I can even check in. So when I see the check-in time, I get my backpack in the queue.
When the Albergue finally opens, you go in the order of the line of backpacks. The first thing is to present your country passport. They take all the information off your passport, and then you present your Pilgrim Passport. Some of the hostels won’t even let you stay there unless you have that. I got my Pilgrim Passport a couple of months before I left the US. They stamp that just to indicate that you have been there.
Then, they will take you to your shared room, which typically will have anywhere from 8 up to 28 beds in the room. Most of the time they are bunk beds. The upper bunk generally is not tall enough from the lower bunk so that you can sit up straight in the lower bunk — you have to slouch down and be careful when you get out of bed, or you will crack your head open! The bunks are also typically very close together, frequently too close to set your bag between them.
The bunks have a mattress and a pillow, but no sheets and typically no blankets. Sometimes they will give you disposable sheets if there has been a problem with bed bugs, but the first time you turn over in bed, those disposable sheets tear or come off — they are pretty much worthless.
Then, they take you and show you the bathroom. Typically you’ll have 2 to 3 toilets for 18 to 24 pilgrims and about the same amount of showers. In the bathrooms there is toilet paper, but no paper towels or soap. Of course, you provide your own towel, and a wash cloth if you choose. There’s a little bit of privacy with curtains, because it generally is for mixed company, but if you are super modest, you will still freak out! I’ll admit, the first night or two in the hostels, I was a bit in shock — I’m just not used to those types of living quarters. But you get used to it and deal with it. After walking 15 to 17 miles each day, it really doesn’t matter now! As long as you’ve got a bed and a warm shower, it’s all good!
Anyway, back to my private room. This sounds totally crazy, but would you believe, there in the privacy of my room that I was enjoying so much last night, I began to feel guilty! I felt guilty that I was enjoying myself in a private room, while the pilgrims I’ve gotten to know (because we’ve pretty much walked the same stages each day) were in a shared room. And this is totally nuts, but I began missing them! Can you believe that? Yes, I was grateful for this private room, and it allowed me to get the best night of rest I’ve had in the two and a half weeks I’ve been here, but I was missing my fellow pilgrims! These pilgrims, who snore and make all kinds of other noises and smells, were all the family I had on the Camino!
Well, I was trying to sort through that, and it just occurred to me that God created us with a need for community. We were not built to be lone rangers. God created us so that we would need each other. A few days ago on the trail I walked by some anthills. We’ve all seen hundreds of them throughout our lives. The old Joe would have just simply walked right past them. And I did initially, but then I came back to them, and I looked at them and took some pictures. I was thinking, “The ant is an amazing creature.”
In fact, the book of Proverbs says to consider the ant! The context is from the standpoint of their work ethic. God is saying the ant has a work ethic that people need to imitate. And, of course, it’s directed to those who are lazy and don’t want to work. But I think ants should also be considered because of the community they build. If they don’t work together, they can’t build their home or their hill. We need that community too! I know our lives are stressful. Some of us deal with people all day in our jobs — sometimes annoying people who are not fun to be around. And the natural tendency is to withdraw and try to get away from people. But God created us to need each other.
I think that’s why last night, in my welcomed private room, I was missing my pilgrim friends! Because again, on the Camino, these Croatians, these Brazilians, these Australians, these Koreans, and many other people from far-away places — they are my family! They’re all I have here!
Well, briefly, let me talk about my journey today. Part of the trail took me over a Roman road that had been built 2,000 years ago. It had had some gravel placed on it, but it was built by the Romans.
On a road built by the Romans 2,000 years ago
Yesterday I told my family that I was a little bit concerned about today. Since I had developed a fever and the respiratory infection a few days ago, I felt I had lost 5 to 6 miles of fitness per day. Today’s walk was nearly 17 miles. I didn’t know how my body would handle the distance. So I left a little earlier than normal. But I have to say that God was so amazing! The moment I stepped out into the dark street, it was as if God just flooded me with His energy and presence. I walked the trail, singing worship songs and lifting my praises to Him. It was an incredible morning.
Now, I had read in the trail book the night before that today’s walk on the Camino was brutal. This is mainly because for a 17-kilometer stretch, or a little over 10 miles, there was no village nor place to fill your water bottle. So, it said to stock up on water and food, because you’re on your own for that long stretch. But about the halfway point of that stretch, an hour and a half into my walk, I saw something up ahead of me that made my heart skip a beat. Dawn was just beginning to break. But would you believe there was a coffee/snack shop out in the middle of nowhere? Not only had God provided me a private room last night, but He provided a coffee shop just for me 😁 to break up that 10 mile stretch.
I marched up to the counter and said, “I’ll take a café con leche.” There was also a piece of coffee cake that had my name on it, and the lady was so kind that she threw in a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice! I faced the sunrise and enjoyed my coffee and just thanked God for that little — no, actually huge — blessing that He had provided there along the Camino.
As I got up and continued my journey, my heart just rejoiced over God‘s goodness. That 17-km area that the book and app said was so desolate wasn’t actually desolate — it not only had a coffee shop along the way, but God was also walking with me!
But then to top things off, I got to walk with a Brazilian man the last segment of my walk today. We talked about a lot of things, but I then asked him where he was in his spiritual journey? He told me that on the Camino, God had really been stirring within him. And he was taking steps towards Him. I encouraged him to keep on seeking God. It was a good time of sharing with him.
About that time, I came to my hostel and he was continuing on the trail a bit further, so we stopped to say our goodbyes. He hesitated a bit and called me by name. He said, “José, do you mind if I give you a hug?” I hadn’t been hugged since that nun hugged me a few days ago, so I was all in — we embraced! Again, he was part of my Camino family! What an excellent Lord’s day on the Camino de Santiago!
Thanks for taking time to walk it with me!
Look how tall I’ve gotten on the Camino!
Peaceful trail
Approximate total mileage: 560
(To Finisterre - “end of the earth”)
Approximate miles walked today: 17
Approximate miles remaining: 310