Part Two -- People we've met ... friends we've made

It's not unusual to share meals on the Camino.  

Sharing meals and stories...

Walking the Camino de Santiago is a unique shared experience.  Someone described it as an accordion -- you meet people, they walk on....you meet them again later in an unexpected place.  You share an experience that really can't be described...






These new friends have added both color and wonder to our walk.  We have given away all 100 of our Camino pins.  

Here are some folks we've met -- and their stories. 

Before leaving, John's sister Jude asked us to look out for a friend -- Linda. We had no other contact information.... 

Imagine our surprise when we actually did meet Linda on the Camino - out of thousands of people.  We'd been connecting with her for days ... it just took John a while to connect the dots!  

Sheila, from Portland, is a strong walker and loves to meet new people.  She was walking with Linda.  

Elaine is another Camino sister.  She just turned 50 and is meeting her daughter in Sarria to finish the Camino together.  Being from Canada, she spoke beautiful French...

Bill was a vice-admiral in the US Navy and lives in Maryland.  A devout Catholic, he found a chapel devoted to the Patron saint of sailors in a small town where we all stayed in Spain.  

This is Hugo, our Camino son from South Korea.  Hugo spent his teen years with a family in Australia and spoke perfect English -- with an Australian accent!  A devout Catholic, he plans to visit Fatima, Portugal after the Camino.  

Colleen is from Canada and collects vintage jewelry. Despite carrying her own pack, she made sure to wear matching sparkle every day.  My kind of girl...

Meet the littlest pilgrim -- 9 months old -- Oscar from Ottowa, Canada.  His parents are carrying him on the Camino. He has his own Camino passport to earn a compostela.

Frank is a Packer Backer from Green Bay, Wisconsin.  To train for the Camino, Frank wore his fully loaded pack and walked 10 miles on the local YMCA track each day -- going up and down stairs to simulate the mountains.  He said he even trained on wine drinking! He embodied the joy one can find by embracing adventure...

Jan is from Holland -- and loves his Harley Motorcycle.  

Johnny had been a US Marine. Ex-military people do well on the Camino....they're used to hiking with heavy packs. Johnny is a successful real estate entrepreneur in Texas.

Luis is a professor in Barcelona, Spain and helped us understand Spanish cuisine.  He's walking the Camino in stages every year.