The Kindness of Strangers

One aspect of the Camino that I love is that strangers will often wish you ‘Buen Camino’.  You can be walking through downtown Pamplona early on Wednesday morning and a complete stranger, who walking in the opposite direction on their way into work, will look you in the eye as you pass and wish you ‘Buen Camino’.  I’ve lived in places in the UK where neighbours who have lived near me for years and I see just about everyday will struggle to acknowledge a greeting from me.  Furthermore, I live in Sheffield, which within the UK, has a reputation for being a city that is inhabited by warm friendly people.

I don’t think that anyone gets to Santiago without the help of others.  This can range from somebody noticing that I’m having difficulty finding a lighter from depths of my rucksack and offering me a light to someone who walks beside me a listens quietly and attentively to me as I explain the difficulties and frustrations of managing mental health problem.  In my experience on the Camino similar things happen frequently on any given day.  I suspect in regard to showing kindness to strangers, that people behave differently on the streets of Leon, the bars of Santa Domingo de la Calzada and the footpaths of Galicia than they do back home on the streets of San Francisco, gastropubs of Norfolk and the tracks of the Black Forest.

Since I decided to undertake this venture, I have been overwhelmed by the messages of love and encouragement and of the financial support that I have received from others.  People who I barely know, but I am aware that they are struggling to make ends meet have sent me money to help me along the way.  I’ve received a significant number of messages of support from others.  These messages have boosted my level of self esteem and helped me in my determination to overcome the physical and psychological barriers of getting to Santiago.