It was one of those days when the description in the guidebook bore absolutely no connection to the reality underfoot. We had left Burgos, its amazing cathedral with its diaphonous towers, jokester time-teller and the inscribed words, Misere Mei, that seemed so appropriate. We headed west, out of the city, aware that the day ahead was going to be a scorcher.
The guidebook told us that we were to walk along the road, cross over some railroad tracks and head into the next town. The description made things sound pretty easy so I was looking forward to zoning out and engaging in the heart-work that had begun to arise with the passing days of walking the Camino. As Jack says, “A pilgrimage is walking. You put one foot in front of the other, and there’s a rhythm. It’s a spiritual rhythm, a musical rhythm. You kind of swing into step — whether you want to or not.”
I never set out with a specific question when I walked. Instead, the question would present itself. Then it was for me to wrestle with it and perhaps, though not always, find an answer. I was dealing that day with a deep, intense and sad matter. So, given the guidebook description, I happily anticipated a mindless, yet spiritual, tromp.
Instead, we crossed over a busy highway, and then walked three sides of a considerable field. I was beginning to get testy. This detour had us going way out of our way, put us out in the blazing sun and was not what I was expecting. I knew the terrain changed regularly and guidebooks could not possibly keep up with construction and any other changes. But, how could the book be so far off???
When we got to the far side of the field, we saw that the Camino next took us under a busy highway with cars roaring overhead. My heart desperately wanted to stay in a quiet place to tackle the question that consumed it. But, how could it with this distraction?
To my heart’s surprise, not only did the Camino go under the highway but, better yet, there was lots of shade under the overpass. We rested by a burbling river. What finally made me weep, with tears of gratitude, was the simple tile on the bridge pylon that countless pilgrims have read: “Perdónanos este pequeño rodeo … ” Its tender words, “Forgive us this little detour … May your searches of infinite walking become reality. The River Arlanzón and we say to you, ‘Ultreia,’” spoke of and to my heart’s wanderings, its infinite searches, and the detours that have taken it into inhospitable and hospitable places. Sometimes my heart has taken the long way around and sometimes it has found gentleness in unexpected places and people. I walked the rest of the day, not thinking of my “big question,” but in gratitude for the people of the River Arlanzón who had provided such hospitality in a quiet, unassuming, but lovely manner.
Pilgrim Lee AlisonU.S.A.
inspirationpilgrimage.blogspot.com
Completed first Camino over four springs, from 2004-2007 Lee Crawford and her partner, Anne Brown, walked the Camino and Chemin de Saint Jacques from Le Puy, France to Santiago de Compostela (1570 km) over four springs, 2004-2007.