My Camino Family
My Camino Family
by Mark LaRocca-Pitts | Atlanta, GA
After walking from Paris, I was ready to see my brother, Doug, who joined me in Pamplona. As boys we spent many weeks together hiking the trails of North America. But along came life, families, and careers, and years passed before we found ourselves together again on the trail.
My brother had only hiked wilderness trails and quickly fell in love with the rhythms of the Camino: café con leches in the mornings, wine in the afternoons, scotch in the evenings; good food in cafés along the way; a warm bed and shower in the evenings; interesting people from all over the world as companions. My brother, being the gregarious one, engaged all whom we met along the Way, greatly expanding my Camino family. We realized once again that we make great trail companions and that we missed our times together, and are planning future Caminos.
After a week, my brother left and in León my twin children, Ellie and Joe, joined me. My daughter was a seasoned pilgrim, having walked both the Camino Francés and the Camino Portugués. She walked every step of the Way with me and continuously added four-leaf clovers to her collection, including a five-leaf clover at Cruz de Ferro. My son was new to hiking. After the first day he realized that his full beard and waist-length beautiful blond hair were too much for the Spanish heat, so in La Virgen del Camino we experienced our first “Turkish Barber.”
Three days later, while enjoying an early morning glass of homemade wine with Joss, the proprietor of Over the Hill café, and getting his trademark laminated four-leaf clover credential stamp, we devised a plan where Joe would walk part of the day with us and then taxi ahead to our lodging. Of course, by the time Ellie and I arrived at our night’s lodging, Joe was best friends with our host and knew the lay of the town.
I have walked three Caminos and have enjoyed Camino families for weeks at a time. I cherish these relationships. But I never felt such deep and abiding joy as when my brother and my children journeyed with me. There is little to compare to enjoying a grand adventure with the ones you love. Having my family as my Camino family will remain one of my greatest joys.
