Snippets of The Way: Pilgrims’ Arrival

Standing at my gate in Madrid

Waiting to board a flight to Santiago de Compostela

I first spotted them

Scallop seashells

Dangling from the backpacks of pilgrims

With tears involuntarily filling my eyes

I watch these souls,

a group of girlfriends

a mother and daughter

a man all alone

a gray-haired couple

Fellow pilgrims, my soon-to-be companions

along The Way.

I know I am nearing sacred ground

I am on the brink of beautiful

I feel this beginning of a journey,

different somehow from other trails I’ve walked.

This path I will walk with my feet

But experience with my heart

I gather the anticipation in my arms like a child to be nurtured

I want to stop time for a minute and hold tight

This first glimpse of understanding a certain truth about The Way

The next ten days

will fly

and flood

until I am drunk with the knowledge of this truth.

But here in the airport

And on the streets of Santiago

before I become

Saturated with the stories of saints

I already know

This long walk

This wandering through gorgeous Spanish countryside

This pilgrimage called The Way

will be all about the people.

The people with whom I will walk

And the people who will feed me and give me shelter.

The people who will light up when I say Buen Camino

And the people who will say it to me.

The people who will laugh and the people who will cry.

The people who will take slow, labored steps and the people who will zing by on bicycles.

This walk will be full of people.

And I am ready to embrace them.

Our journey along The Camino de Santiago was made possible by Macs Adventure, who found us the most wonderful places to sleep and made our giant suitcases magically appear in our rooms each night.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like to read more about the Camino de Santiago. Or consider subscribing to receive stories in your inbox.