A Daily Record of Camino Angels
A Daily Record of Camino Angels
by Margo Erme | New Franklin, OH
Despite speaking with people, reading guidebooks, and perusing Facebook posts, I was still not sure what to expect or how to add meaning to my first walk on the Camino Francés in 2024. I had decided to dedicate each day to a person or group I cared about, but it did not seem like enough. One thing everyone mentioned to me during my pre-trip preparations was that “the Camino provides.” I thought of that concept in a more material perspective, such as help finding lodging or a store to replace something I lost or forgot. However, as I journaled each day, I found it applied more to the emotional, psychological, and spiritual benevolence I received from fellow pilgrims.
So I began documenting daily Camino angels. In Irache, two South Korean men, without asking, helped me retrieve a hiking pole that fell through a fence onto the concrete pad a story below. A young woman from Sardinia agreed to walk two kilometers with me when I felt a rare loneliness on the trail. There were the young men from Brazil, happily bopping and singing along the Camino to a lively song coming from a Bluetooth speaker; their joy in being there was infectious and raised spirits on a chilly, albeit sunny, day. The proprietor of a bar warned me about a treacherous trail ahead, and later a couple from Canada checked on me by email after I had a health event. (We became close friends; I visited them this past summer in Canada.)
Now, as I reread the journal with the recording of each day’s Camino angel, I am still struck by the kindness of people along the Way, even when they were not aware of the significance of their words or actions. It is one lesson of the Camino that I have tried to carry with me, and one every pilgrim should remember.
