I couldn’t be happier

 Una nieta y su abuelo

Eight years ago Lorraine and I were walking our first Camino. 

On Sept 14 in a sleepy little hamlet called Itera De la Vega we met a man named Marlin. Over the next four weeks we walked and ate often with Marlin, and became good friends. 

Marlin was struggling with a couple health issues and some days the Camino was hard on him. But there was something that kept him going; something that wouldn’t let him quit. On Saturday, Oct 4 he was going to meet his daughter and granddaughter, and they were going to walk the last 5 days with him. 

I could swear his breathing was better day by day. His legs didn’t hurt quite as much as they did before. He could manage the Camino stresses because on Saturday his daughter and granddaughter would meet him in Sarria and together they would walk the final stretch. It was magical watching Marlin prepare for that day. 

And now, eight years later, here I am. It’s the middle of the night, I haven’t been to bed in 44 hours, I’m on an ALSA bus somewhere between Madrid and Oviedo Spain. I’m tired and maybe a little cranky. And I couldn’t be happier. 

We missed our day time bus because someone in Montreal bumped our plane with a service vehicle, putting it out of service for several hours. (The fourth time this summer according to our flight attendant.). Last night at 3:33 AM the flight attendants woke us up and fed us a full chicken dinner.  Yes. You read that right. 3:33 am - a full chicken dinner. But I couldn’t be happier. 

We slept on an airport floor for a while today. 69 year old me sound asleep on a cement floor. And I couldn’t be happier. 

I’m getting ready to throw on a backpack every day for the next few weeks. I plan on walking the Camino Primitivo - the original Camino and many suggest the most strenuous. It’s 320 km from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela and that 320 km consists of 30,000 feet of elevation gain and 30,000 feet of elevation loss. To put it into perspective, our plane was 30000 feet of altitude last night.  That means we will be walking very close to 6 miles up and back down. And I couldn’t be happier. 

Why the happiness?  

Perhaps you’ve guessed by now. Sitting across the aisle on this bus is my oldest granddaughter Emily. She sat beside me on the. plane last night. She slept near me on the concrete floor. She’s tired and maybe a little cranky, but that’s ok 

Because it’s the middle of the night on an ALSA bus somewhere between Madrid and Oviedo. We haven’t been to sleep for 44 hours, but on Monday we’re going to walk the Camino … together. 

An old man and a young woman 

A child and her grandfather. 

Un abuelo y su nieta major. 

Together. Juntos. 

And just like Marlon, I could t be happier. My cup is full. 

Buen Camino Emily. Buen camino indeed.