Go With the Paco & Flo
Go With the Paco & Flo
by Kurt Fauser | Keller, TX
Being a seasoned pilgrim, I thought I had experienced much of what the Camino offers. Then I met Paco, a native Spaniard, just completing the French Way with his wife Flo. On a hot September day, we met having some beers at the foot pond. Paco and I bonded immediately. He started off saying “I no can speak too good English.” Luckily my Spanish was good enough, so our conversation took off. We shared too many similar stories and were hurting from the laughter. Eventually, the need for dinner arose. Inside the albergue, we noticed our bunks were side by side. Our wives had met and were quietly resting when we entered laughing uncontrollably. I stated we should get a different room if anybody wanted any sleep (visualize six-year-olds at a sleepover). Following dinner we settled down for a restful sleep. After departure the next morning we would not meet up again until Santiago a few days later. We shared dinner and went to the Pilgrim’s Mass, then returned home to our respective lives.
Two years passed. We returned for another Camino on the del Norte. We invited Paco and Flo to join us. They had just bought a motor home and were touring Asturias. One day I got a call from Paco inquiring about our whereabouts, and suggesting we meet for dinner. It was a Sunday and after an hour of searching we realized nothing was open. Paco says “get in the motor home” and we drove 15 minutes to a larger town. (That trip would take more than two hours on foot the next day.) After finding a good restaurant, it quickly became midnight. We’d never stayed out so late on any camino! We parted ways and thought that was it.
Two days later, Paco calls asking, “Where are you?” We were one village behind them so we agreed to meet them there for breakfast. The good times rolled and it became 11:00. I realized we had a four-hour climb ahead and about 20 kilometers thereafter. Paco sympathized, checked the surroundings, and commanded ”get in the motor home.” Soon we were at the top of the hill, saying our goodbyes.
We plan to reunite on our next Camino. Our friends shared their abundant generosity and compassion. It didn’t matter that we broke the rules, that’s the best rule of the Camino. There are no rules—sometimes you just have to go with the Paco and Flo!
