The Day I Transformed from Tourist to Pilgrim
The Day I Transformed from Tourist to Pilgrim
by Rupert Reyes with Lesley Clark | Austin, TX, and York, England
The Camino would be a great vacation. It would be unlike my earlier walks, which were filled with deep meditations, emotional releases, and making discoveries about myself and others. I looked forward to the picturesque villages, the local food and wine, and meeting interesting and like-minded people. I would be a tourist on a great vacation.
That all changed in June. I met Lesley Clark at the small shrine to the Virgin Mary just outside of Uterga. The heat had been intense this day, and the walk up and down the Alto de Perdón was challenging, with temperatures in the upper 90s Fahrenheit. Her hair wet from sweat and face red, the heat had taken a toll on her. I introduced myself and asked if she was OK. She indicated she was and was glad she only had a short distance to go further to Uterga. I offered to walk with her, and she accepted.
The next day, we met again at a small park on the edge of Cirauqui. We enjoyed a cold drink at a café. My wife, JoAnn, was not feeling well and left in a taxi. I don’t recall the conversation; Lesley and I agreed to walk together. We were about a half mile from a bar when Lesley said she felt nauseated, a sign she was headed toward heat exhaustion.
Then something happened. I poured water on her head and neck and gathered up her backpack, and we began our walk toward Lorca. It took us four hours from there.
We walked in silence, yet we connected. Without words, we checked on each other. Me nurturing her body, she nurturing my soul. I learned nothing about Lesley’s life, present or past, and she learned nothing about mine.
When we paused in the cool shadow of the tunnel under the N-111, there was a field of wheat. In the distance, a line of trees stood at the fence line. One tree formed a silhouette of St. James the Pilgrim. We knew now, our walk was one which we would recall for a long, long time.
I transformed from tourist to pilgrim that day. I rediscovered the hidden love we all have for others regardless of who they are or from where they come. A love given with concern for the other before the needs of self. Once a pilgrim, always a pilgrim.
