Last year on the Camino, I met a lot of people, many for just a moment, some I will not forget but I know that I will never see them again and then, there’s another category, those I now consider to be my friends.
Some of these people live close by, like Leo, my first Camino friend. The Professors, Steve and Chris Mark I’ve seen on multiple occasions including last week in Colorado Bend as they prepare for their second Camino. There are also the A&M (former) students, Greg, Madison and Sarah, I’m glad that I’ve been able to stay connected with each of them.
Another group are my new international friends. Dawn and Nallie from South Africa, Alex from Berlin, Katja from Frankfurt and Bernie and Nigel from Northern Ireland.
Susan and I were able to meet Dawn and Nallie last September in NOLA and I hope one day to visit them in South Africa. I genuinely like them both.
Alex was always one of my favorites because he was so open and honest. He’s incredibly complex and he’s just a good man, I wish he were not 5000 miles away. We will see him this summer on our vacation when we visit Berlin and I very much look forward to it.
Mi Amiga, Katja, we’ve stayed in touch via email and have even done a couple Skype sessions. Her love of the outdoors and especially the Camino is both shared and appreciated. Susan and I will also see her while we’re in Frankfurt this summer. She is one of the people that apparently I was supposed to meet on my journey.
There are two people that I was also supposed to meet apparently, Bernie and Nigel. I met them early on my Camino but, I think our friendship began at a bar in Estella, the day I parted ways with my first friend Leo, I wrote before about one door closing and another opening.
B&N were also the last friends that I saw as we all left Santiago, I was concerned that I would not see them before I left and poof, they magically appeared and, they were a site for sore eyes.
I contacted them about maybe visiting while we were in Ireland on our vacation, they graciously offered to let us stay with them and then, they went so far beyond that I struggle with how to thank them. Nigel wrote back offering to pick us up in Dublin and show us the western part of Ireland, Kerry and the Dingle peninsula, sharing their love and knowledge of the area.
Being dumbfounded by their generosity is an understatement. Two people that I met a year ago on my Camino offering to take the time to do this is hard to comprehend in this day and age. I want to let them know in public and in writing that I will never be able to repay their generosity but, as a friend, I will never stop trying.
Like my last meeting with them in Santiago, I know that my reunion with them in Dublin will for me be a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
Treasure your friends and let them know what they mean to you.