[Gocamino] Pilgrim's testimonial

[blaroli at aol.com]

Hello you all,
A Camino testimonial from a 71-years old pilgrim from Granada, Jose Garcia Mesas was published in the Correo Gallego. I thought you'd like to read it. 
Begging your pardon in advance for possible translation errors, it says:
 
" The Camino is long. The Camino is arduous. The Camino is full of mysteries. It is begun with enthusiasm, with illusions, with desires. Yet, there is the fear of not being able to complete it. Concerns about the feet, about possible blisters, cuts and sores. Then there is the rain, a little or none, the snow, the hail. All is ahead to be suffered, or enjoyed.
 
But in Galicia the rewards abound. To begin with, the people... so very nice. One finds them working next to their abodes. They greet you. They point you in the right direction in those crossroads without yellow arrows. They give you courage. They invigorate you with a smile as though they were saying "Go on, you are courageous, the Apostle awaits you and you are going to make it." And then the Camino becomes sweeter. You talk to the people at sundown and they tell you stories of their ancestors and of the pilgrims who have gone by, such a great many of them.  The Galicians are very nice. You have a beer with them, or a glass of wine, or an orujo** (or several) and you talk and you listen.  How pleasant it is to hear their Galician language, so sweet and so melodious. This is a fundamental part of the Camino: its people, their life, their habits, their humanitarian ways.
 
Also, the country sights. Green fields with a palette of hues. The lush forests. Trees. Trees and flowers. One's gaze is seduced in ecstasy by the wavy horizon of valleys or by the blushing red flowers, the purple rhododendrons, the yellow blossoms of the spiny bushes, or the aromatic white flowers of the prune and apple trees. Then there are the riches and riches of water in rivers, fountains, cascades or springs surging from the very bosom of the earth or the water-covered fields. Water, water, nature's blessings so valued by those if us who live in drier places. 
 
Machado's  "Caminante no hay Camino" has become the  Camino with the steps of thousands and thousands of pilgrims through hundreds of years.  It is a Camino forged with sufferings and hopes and aspirations and sorrows and joys and friendship and the faith in creating interior peace and peace for everyone. It is a walking effort seeking solidarity with those who depart and with those who remain. It is finding oneself and becoming able to better see the others.
 
You read a message carved in a large rock: "The ways do not end, only the steps do". And you think of the brevity of life and of the steps that must be taken to locate one's happiness and to be able to make others happy. 
 
We have walked the Camino together, four friends, and have met other pilgrims that sometimes were ahead of us and sometimes behind, but always saying hello, and smiling, and talking.  How beautiful the Camino is!. Such spirituality! Such humanity!. We shall walk it again, and soon. I cannot wait too long because I am 71 years old.
 
I have a small request to make of the Camino overseers:  Some portions of the Camino are over muddy and the feet suffer. A small repair effort will suffice.  Thank you for solving this small problem. Also, the signs should be gone over.  Some are missing and some are eroded or unreadable.  "  
 
 
Hugs!
 
Rosina
**** "Orujo" is a delicious brandy-like Galician drink.
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