June 15, 2024

Did you feel the earth wobble on its axis a few hours ago?

That was because my father was eating KALE SOUP.

We sat down to the table and there were EDIBLE FLOWERS in our bowls. And he ate those, too!!

Two years ago had I stumbled into the garden of a Camino albergue down the street from our hotel and been invited to join them for a dinner of kale soup and a vegetable main course, I would have said, “I’d love to but I’m here with my father and he’s a bit of a picky eater.” I probably would have returned to our hotel and said something like, “They invited us to dinner but I knew you wouldn’t want to eat kale soup,” and my father would have given a face of disgust and said, “KALE SOUP?!”

But we’ve grown, apparently.

Dad’s asleep at the moment (we walked 16 miles today, after all), so I still have no idea why he said yes to any of this.

Lucky for him, the second course was pasta primavera. We were encouraged to add some sweet Thai chili sauce to it. I was engaged in another conversation so I didn’t see if Dad did so. If tomorrow you hear reports of me fainting, it will be because he told me he tried it.

After dinner, some of us stayed for the evening meditation. Dad opted to go back to the hotel instead. I’m guessing he’d had enough Camino adventure for one night.

People used to ask why I go back and do the same Camino routes sometimes. This is one of the many reasons why. You never know who you’ll meet. New places will open. Others will close. People will surprise you— with their stories, their kindness, their generosity.

You’ll be walking down the street with a woman you met just hours ago or a few days ago,
you’ll follow a sign welcoming pilgrims to step into the garden by the river,
you’ll be welcomed to have a look around,
you’ll know this place wasn’t here the last time you were on this route,
you’ll be told it opened in December.
You’ll meet the owner.
You’ll learn he walked his first Camino just five years ago and “within the first 2.5 hours” he knew this was what he had to do.
You’ll marvel at the calming, welcoming space he has created,
you’ll feel the warmth of his open heart.
You’ll be invited to dinner.
Your dad will—miraculously— join you and surprise you by not only trying but EATING A WHOLE BOWL of KALE soup.
You’ll converse and laugh with pilgrims from Taiwan, Australia, France, and theee US states.
You’ll do your best to pull the only non-English speaker into the conversation by pulling up your long-lost French.
You’ll meditate with them.
You’ll hug them all at the end and some will hold you longer and harder than anyone has in a long while.
You’ll hear others say that this is a night they will always remember.
You’ll think, “This. This.”
And give up trying to explain it to yourself or anyone else.

———-
I remember standing in the Madrid metro station after our first Camino together. Dad said, “Is it always like this?”

“Like what?”

“Do you always meet people like this, have experiences like this?”

“Every single time.”