We finished our second day, a 15-miler, at about 8:00 p.m. We are enjoying the days… taking our time… stopping at the local “bars” for a “café con leche” or a coke (not to mention a “ban[y]o”!)… enjoying conversations with our new friends… still inspired by the beautiful countryside…
Today we took a little side trip, by van, to visit a 13th century Greco-Roman Church. It’s old beauty was oddly awe-inspiring. The members of our group had heard a hint of our family singing somewhere along the way, and made a request while at this church. Before we could sing another group had gathered, but our friends insisted, so our guide inquired of the church attendant. When we walked back into this vaulted stone cathedral, to our surprise, the gathering of pilgrims had taken seats, as if preparing for a concert. This was not what we signed up for! But we quietly took our place in the apse, behind the altar, beneath the high dome covered in fading frescos of saints and martyrs, and Bennett began the 10-bar prayer that has become something of an anthem for our trip: “Do not be afraid…” When we finished the last notes, “Peace, be still.” There was complete silence except for the harmonies swirling high overhead. Though our serendipitously-gathered “congregation” were mostly non-English speaking pilgrims, the harmonies communicated, even when the words could not, and to our amazement, there were tears on several faces as we walked quietly out into the world and back onto the Camino for our final 5 kilometers.
There is a surprising expectancy to the spiritual aspect of this walk – which is, undoubtedly, why the path to Santiago has now been worn by countless thousands of pilgrims, Christian and otherwise, spiritual and those who begin the pilgrimage as non-spiritual pilgrims (I don’t know that anyone finishes it with no spiritual insights gleaned). We’re not seeking absolution. Not offering penance. We have no need to pay homage to St. James… but there is something more than a 62 mile walk across a beautiful countryside that is attracting us to that cathedral. Something more.
Something more.
Which is, after all, what we came in search of.
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