Note: I’m writing out of sequence because:

1) I’m getting behind in posts. That creates internal pressure, which is the enemy of creativity. I may revisit some gap days and stories when I can do so.

2) The Meseta was not the scenic feast of La Rioja and Navarra. It was an “internal” part of the Camino — some great stories and beauty, to be sure, but harder to descriptively blog.

3) I’m hiking long days while fighting a respiratory infection, so I’m saving energy for the trail.

April 30: Astorga to Rabinal Del Camino

Time: 8:28 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Distance: 12.88 miles.

Steps: 26,815.

Elevation Gain: 981 feet.

Average Walking Speed: 4.4 mph.

It Started With a Cough

I’ve been coughing for days. It’s been on the edge of asthmatic. I’ve been to a doctor, taken antibiotics, have and use a nebulizer, have an asthma prevention drug, etc. And yet, it persists. It’s worse in the mornings — today was a mess — and evenings (which my dorm mates don’t appreciate).

I was sharing the trail with pilgrim friends John and Jane from Michigan. I met them the night before in Villar de Mazarife when we all lost power. Jane has a similar coughing/asthma thing going on, so she gets my predictament. She mentioned that in Astorga (a good-sized town with lots of pharmacies), she got an expectorant cough syrup that really helped her.

Great idea. Next town with a pharmacy, I’ll just grab me some cough syrup.

Not so fast. Pharmacies are very rare in small villages, and that’s all we have for now.

Then I was barraged by a quick rat-a-tat of acts of kindness by strangers.

Kindness #1: A bit later down the trail, Jane heard me coughing and offered me a dose of her precious cough medicine. I took it. It helped.

Kindness #2: A few gours later, a new pilgrim friend heard my coughing and offered me some of her medicine (which is some Spanish prescription). I researched the drug and found that folks with asthma should not take it. So, it’s not for me. Nonetheless, I was moved by her quick and kind generosity.

Kindness #3: I whipped up a new plan to take a taxi back to find a pharmacy for this medicine. [In Spain, such products are only available in pharmacies. You cannot get them at grocery stores.]. I asked the alberque owner, Bea, for help calling a taxi. Her English is very limited, and my Spanish consists of about a dozen words on a good day. Another pilgrim fluent in both languages instantly stepped in to bridge the communication gap.

Kindness #4: Bea made a couple of calls in Spanish and then told me that a taxi would be too expensive and that she’d drive me to a closer pharmacy. “Meet me out front and we’ll go there now,” she told me. She went out of her way to drive me to a pharmacy to help solve my practical problem.

Kindness #5: The pharmacist in the small village pharmacy had closed her business for siesta, but since Bea was a friend and I was a pilgrim in need, she opened the store just for me! I got what I needed. I am gobsmacked and overwhelmed with gratitude for the kindness of strangers.

Camino Update

I’m 68% done with this long walk across Spain. I’ve walked 325 miles so far. Only ten more hiking days and one rest day till I reach Santiago de Compostela and finish the Camino.

Today I left the vast plain of the Meseta and started climbing hills again. Tomorrow should be a spiritual high point — Cruz de Ferro (the famous iron cross).

Pilgrim Lesson: The Camino is a vibrant and affecting training ground for learning kindness and generosity. I’ve been taking notes.

Pilgrim Wisdom: Not all acts of kindness by strangers will fix your particular need. However, these are still precious acts of kindness.