My Camino Sisters

I have been thinking throughout the long journey home in the past two days, about how much these past weeks have meant to me because of the good friendships that I was lucky enough to have along my way. Alvina quoted this to us early on in the trip and it is:
"Many people and events come into your life
This is because you have drawn them to you
What you choose to do with them
Is entirely up to you!"
I have missed the company, the laughter and the great conversations that we were so accustomed to in each of our days together. In our last evening together in Santiago, we decided to just camp out in our wonderful hotel room (the one with the bathroom, shower, toilet paper and soap!) We had a stash of wine, cheese, bread of course!, some meat and some treats that we had enjoyed so much along the way - white asparagus and olives - and then some chocolate. We had decided to spend some time simply sharing with each other what each had meant to our journey. This turned out to be a most emotional, but wonderfully authentic time for each of us to really get how we had been as a companion and friend during the days we walked together and for me it was a great insight as to how I occur for others - which is helping me to make a transition from the Camino back to my real life and to look at some choices that I want to make for my future.
I have been lucky to have found such great friends or that they found me or that we just happened through some other worldly karma to arrive at the right place at the appropriate time.
Kirsten was our Danish leader, finding the way each day, often going out in the evening to check for the yellow arrows so there would be no question when we started off in the dark the next morning. Of course she had her wonderful book that guided her in order to guide us and it was a constant joke to hear her say 'I have read it in my book' or 'my book says'. Kirsten is a fast walker and so we became very familiar with her back and for me I could tell her walking gait from hundreds of meters away if she was within sight. kirsten was also our story teller and to see her face light up as she told us stories was a wonderful experience because you could just feel the gift she has for this.
Barb was our socializer and with her wonderful expressive body language and her ability to engage everyone into conversation (whether she spoke the same language or not!) was a treat to watch. Her legs were the shortest, but she could really walk as fast as Kirsten and I do feel sorry for the group of morning walkers that she has waiting for her at home. Look out for the hills is all I can advise them. Barb provided me with such good advice and inspiration about my own life and career and has really been a model for how great and full life can be after retirement.
Alvina - what can I say about Alvina! Her wit, wisdom and joy of life was such a great source for us every day, starting with the first 'hola' and 'Buen Camino' each morning. She brought cheer to everyone, including us and if she was not making us laugh at something or other, she was providing us with insightful quotes to inspire the day. We will forever remember her for her encouragement and 'you can do it Sister Mary! story. Alvina is a former teacher, but never have I met such a passionate student of life, someone who is so interested in art and literature and is so intense about her interests. She is also a writer, and would spend many hours writing in her notebook or preparing letters and cards to her many good friends. Our schedule had to be arranged around picking up mail at various locations along the camino where she had requested that her friends send their letters - no kidding - at one town she picked up 6 letters!
Claire, we met in Leon, and then after bumping into her for a few days, she chose to travel with us for the last 7 days. Claire was a former grade 6 student of Alvina and so she became known along the way to others as 'the pupil'!. Claire had a wonderful sense of the moment and was the one who got me to just stop and stand still, often to look at something or to just listen to the silence. With Claire, I climbed O Cebreiro and I will never forget what a beautiful day that was, stopping just to take in the wonder of the views, the sounds and the feeling of all that lay around us. Claire and I walked slower than the rest and so often were at the back of the pack, distant from the others and taking our own breaks together.
For all 5 of us, there was something special about the bond that we shared and the commitment we had to being a group, while also being able to do our individual walk during the day. Often we walked alone in silence during the day and then met up for breaks, having decided each night how far we would walk the following day. At lunch we would discuss the favoured alberques in the town we were heading for and choose one. We followed a routine on arrival of choosing beds - some of us preferring upper and some preferring lower bunks, having a shower and then washing the clothes we had worn that day. After that, it was time for white wine and a snack, then writing in our journals and then later dinner, which was either a picnic or in a local restaurant, eating the menu del dia which was always good and cheap with plenty of red wine to go along with it.
It was an interesting experience for me to consider what made us such a good team as there were not others who stuck together like we did for the whole way. Even friends who came together often separated for a few days and casual acquaintances like ours did not seem to last more than 4 - 5 days or so. Each does the Camino in their own way. Ours was interesting as we each came fully prepared to be on our own, but so enjoyed what we created as a team, that we stayed with it to the very end.
This of course, made the process really fun and very meaningful for me and the others I believe. I can't imagine how it would have been to do it otherwise now that I reflect on the richness of it all. So I am thankful for my Camino Sisters, who really made my journey much more profound and special because of the access it gave me to such good friends as well as the access it gave me to myself and what I was looking for.
Again a quote from Alvina that I have mentioned before and it is
'Walk behind me, but I may not lead you
Walk in front of me, but I may not follow you
Walk beside me and be my friend'
It was my great fortune to have such great company and wonderful friendships along the way to Santiago.
Maggee