“If you make a promise to someone, then you have to keep it.” This was shared with me today by Steven, a shamrock Pilgrim from Belfast. He speaks Spanish well and was explaining to me why some of our Spanish companions endure heat and other travails to walk with us across their country. You walk with the keeping of promises in mind. Steven
the Irishman has told me a good part of his story. His father, a literature professor and avid outdoorsman, has joined us here today in Fuente de Cantos (KM130). Father and son took their first Pilgrim walk together eight years ago. Thirty-ish and educated in animal husbandry, Steven has done scientific work in industry and qualified himself to teach at the Junior College level. He has lived in Spain, a country he clearly loves, off and on since he was first touched by the Camino spirit. Most recently he’s been working here as a secondary school teacher. He describes this work as self confidence challenging. Spanish students, he says, have their own ideas regarding classroom decorum and respect. So his summer on the Via de la Plata will rejuvenate him. Manuel, the Portuguese philosophy teacher, and I saw two shooting stars as we began walking this morning at 5:30 a.m.—real celestial splendor.
the Irishman has told me a good part of his story. His father, a literature professor and avid outdoorsman, has joined us here today in Fuente de Cantos (KM130). Father and son took their first Pilgrim walk together eight years ago. Thirty-ish and educated in animal husbandry, Steven has done scientific work in industry and qualified himself to teach at the Junior College level. He has lived in Spain, a country he clearly loves, off and on since he was first touched by the Camino spirit. Most recently he’s been working here as a secondary school teacher. He describes this work as self confidence challenging. Spanish students, he says, have their own ideas regarding classroom decorum and respect. So his summer on the Via de la Plata will rejuvenate him. Manuel, the Portuguese philosophy teacher, and I saw two shooting stars as we began walking this morning at 5:30 a.m.—real celestial splendor.
