As you may well know, a pilgrim is a person who walks in foreign lands, like a migratory bird, such as the peregrine falcon. We’re not saying it, dictionaries do. Furthermore, this word is also an adjective that indicates that something, an idea, or a situation is rare, special, strange, or seldom seen. On the Camino, pilgrims experience peculiar things, and in this post, we want to tell you the most surreal and amusing anecdotes of the Camino de Santiago.
A Deceptive Arrow
Well, it turns out that on a dark November day, a German pilgrim was cheerfully walking; to maintain his anonymity, we’ll call him Hermann. He was completing the stage that connects Portomarín and Palas de Rei, in the last 100 km of the French Way to Santiago de Compostela. Being a diligent Teutonic pilgrim, he set off from his private hostel around 6 in the morning because he liked to walk very early.
Visibility that morning deteriorated as the hours passed, due to the sudden appearance of dense fog. When he reached the place called Hospital, he continued his journey following a yellow arrow on a vertical sign. About 150 meters later, he left behind a bar and the small town, heading back into the Galician countryside.
After walking 2 kilometers without seeing any signs, Hermann began to get worried. In the opposite direction, a shepherd with cows appeared, pointing in the direction Hermann had come from, saying, “Camino, Camino!” Faced with the absence of signs, the directions from the local, and the keyword, Hermann understood that he was lost and decided to turn back.
Upon reaching the bar he had passed 2 kilometers earlier, he entered and asked, “Camino?” The bartender, who spoke English, told him where it was, but Hermann said the sign indicated where he had been. And what happened in the end? The sign was pointing to the bar, although there was another, the official one, that the fog prevented Hermann from seeing in order to follow the correct path and not deviate and get lost.
What moral does this Camino anecdote teach us? Be cautious of arrows that indicate bars and hostels outside of the Camino.
French Way sign that induces confusion and creates anecdotes of the Camino.
A Strange Pilgrim Night
Let’s return to the French Way, one of the most traversed of all the Jacobean routes and, therefore, full of anecdotes of the Camino. In this case, two friends decided to spend their holidays together on the Way from León to Santiago by bicycle in the month of August. Following the rule of anonymity, we’ll call them Manolo and Benito. The morning they started the fourth stage between O Cebreiro and Portomarín began, to say the least, in a somewhat surreal manner.
Tired after ascending the mythical peak of O Cebreiro, the previous night they decided to treat themselves to a feast: empanada, Galician broth, and octopus until they couldn’t eat anymore, all washed down with a good Mencía wine and, as a finale, Santiago cake and coffee liqueur. These are the best dishes of the entire Galician gastronomic route, so to speak. They went to bed past midnight, and the next day, at 6 sharp, Benito’s alarm went off.
He groggily got up and, looking under his bunk, saw that Manolo wasn’t there, although he noticed that his things were still in his locker, including his mobile phone. Imagining he was in the shower, he went to the bathroom but couldn’t find him. A little alarmed, he headed to the common area and found him sleepwalking, standing by a window. Nervous but very carefully, he guided him back to bed and let him sleep until he woke up naturally, two hours later.
Female friends pilgrims on the Portuguese Way.
The Birthday of Her Life
Following the rule of anonymity, let’s tell you the anecdote of Salomé and the celebration of her 20th birthday. She, originally from Zamora, always had the dream of visiting Ibiza. To celebrate her 20th birthday, she decided to do it on this beautiful Mediterranean island, coinciding with the exact date of her birthday, July 25. So, a few weeks before, she meets with her five best friends at a brewery in Plaza Mayor to propose her birthday trip idea.
Her friends, who cared for her deeply, suggested that they would organize everything. The only condition they imposed was that they wouldn’t give her any details. In other words, a consensual trip, but with a surprise element.
With their bags packed, and on August 20, 2021, they go to pick her up by car. They blindfold her and tell her they’re going to Madrid’s airport. They say they have plenty of time to check in and that they’ll have lunch at an airport restaurant before that. Salomé is a bit perplexed because instead of hearing announcements, the hustle and bustle of people, and luggage, she hears a lot of Galician accents.
Once at the restaurant table, they remove the blindfold, and Salomé doesn’t recognize the place as such. When she asks where she is, her excited friends tell her that instead of Ibiza, they are in Tui. They are going to do the last 100 km of the Portuguese Way in an organized group during a Holy Year! You can’t imagine what an amazing birthday gift it was for her: tears of joy flowed from her eyes in the Plaza del Obradoiro, at the end of her Camino on the Apostle’s Day, July 25.
A “Stolen” Backpack
An anonymous Italian pilgrim, let’s call him Salvatore, told us what happened with his backpack after completing the entire French Way from Roncesvalles in private hostels. He did it in April, a very good time to do the Camino. In his fourteenth stage, after two weeks of walking, tiredness was already noticeable.
The night he slept in Hornillos del Camino was not very good: fatigue and the slight cold he caught the previous, very rainy day, didn’t allow him to sleep well.
His awakening was a bit off. Half groggy and still half asleep, he grabbed his backpack, which he had prepared the night before for the day’s walk. After breakfast and taking some cold medication, he started the stage and began to feel better. But he noticed something strange, like his backpack was too heavy.
The day was cool but sunny, he felt better, and he didn’t pay much attention to the weight of the backpack. He continued walking at a very good pace without stopping, and finally arrived in Castrojeriz, a very short stage. When he got to the hostel, he took off the heavy backpack to get his credential and documentation, and finally understood why it weighed so much: he had taken another pilgrim’s backpack! At first, he was all nerves, but fortunately, the backpack had a label with the owner’s personal information and phone number. He contacted him (curiously, also Italian), and he got his backpack back by contacting a luggage transport service. In the end, it all remained one of the many anecdotes of the Camino de Santiago.
Trust in an agency specialized in the Camino de Santiago
Curious, exciting, and surreal anecdotes of the Camino de Santiago, right? On the Way, as in life, strange and peculiar situations sometimes occur, becoming the most amusing anecdotes that stay etched in memory. As an agency specialized in the Camino de Santiago, we want to be part of and assist you in an experience that will change your life. Because reality always surpasses fiction.
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