This has been an extremely reflective and emotional day for me.
My foot was no better when we woke, still swollen – so the plans we made last night remained unchanged.
Today, day 17 of our pilgrimage, we took a taxi and two buses to reach Santiago de Compostela. I’m not going home without seeing one of the most beautiful and iconic cathedrals in the world. While I didn’t have a real choice about finishing this trip and earning the Compostela, I’ve come to realize we can always return and finish another time. But just in case we never make it back, I’m determined to see what I came here to see!
I am truly humbled by the many people who have appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, at just the right moment to help us.
Honestly, some of our encounters have felt beyond explanation.
It seems as though we’ve experienced Divine Intervention multiple times today, and really, throughout this journey.
This morning, a young Irish man (yes, another one) we met just yesterday during our train travels, reappeared at the bus station. He was also nursing an injury, walking when he could, and using transportation to supplement his Camino. He reminded me of my nephew, Sean, who has a ruggedly handsome face, bright eyes, a huge, caring smile, and full of compassion for two sorry-butt travelers struggling with basic Spanish. He found us the correct bus. God bless that young man.
As soon as we said goodbye to our “Sean look-alike,” a young woman stepped in to translate for us with the bus driver so we could get our tickets. She had left her 2-year-old at home to walk part of the Camino with her mother to see if she might want to do a longer one in the future. How lovely is that?
But here’s the thing… she said she was on the same bus as us, but we never saw her on it. When we arrived in Lugo, where we needed to change buses, she suddenly appeared again, right beside us …… just in time to help with the transfer, speaking directly with the drivers on our behalf. I never saw her mother. And then, just like that, she was gone.
Both of these guardians spoke perfect English and Spanish and went to great lengths to help us navigate a system that had us feeling completely lost.
I genuinely don’t know what we would’ve done without those angels in disguise. Our greatest challenge on this trip, aside from the physical aches and pains, has been the language barrier, especially in the western regions of Spain.
We found many younger Spaniards do speak some English, but in the Asturias and Galicia regions, even that was rare.
Thank God for those two today, and for all those who’ve helped us before. We have been blessed in so many unexpected ways on this crazy journey of ours.
Maybe these moments were coincidental. Maybe it was just luck – being in the right place at the right time.
But to me, they’ve all been enigmatic, almost sacred. And there have been other such moments earlier on the Camino that defy explanation.
This belief may not resonate with everyone, but I do believe angels walk among us, appearing as kind strangers, familiar faces, or people who remind us of a loved one.
As for me? I definitely, unequivocally, without a doubt, believe in Divine Intervention.
Today, I am filled with gratitude. Also, I am reminded that even when the road shifts beneath us, we are never truly walking alone.
Xoxo, Kate
