The plan was to bus from Fromista to Leon. Rachel needed a break, our planned sabbath was coming up and the terrain was not conducive to healthy walking for injured feet. We got up and had a leisurely breakfast and then made our way to the bus stop at the end of the street where there is also a cafe. It should be noted that this morning was a typical Castilla morning…about 50 degrees with a chilling breeze blowing and mist blowing about (we were wearing most of our clothing to stay warm and dry) - as time pressed on, I began to have that same feeling I had at O’Hare as we waited news of our cancelled flight (see Rachel’s blog for those tidbits). Never the less, we calmly waited for the bus as more and more pilgrims arrived with the same idea. Two were from Alaska, they found the weather to warm and inviting…they were also a bit crazy! In all, about 18 folks were gathered for the bus. We waited till the appointed time, and then about 25 additional minutes. Finally the bus arrived. We were not rookies when it came to riding the Spanish buses. Everyone crowded around to put their packs in the storage under the bus, we walked around the other side of the bus to put ours in…and thats when it began. We weren't rookies, we had ridden the bus twice before and knew how to do it. But…it seems the driver didn't want to open this side of the undercarriage for bags, so we shlepped ours to the other side…and then after we had gotten our packs into the storage we got into the line to enter the bus. That’s when we noticed that everyone else had these little slips of white paper -TICKETS! No where else were tickets used. Even when we got on a bus from a major bus depot in Lagrono…just pay at the counter, OR pay the bus driver. Well, not here, here, in this town, in the town of Fromista, you bought a ticket, and without a ticket you did not get on the bus. So inside I ran only to be stopped by the cafe worker who made it quite clear…sold out! No more seats! What??? I have been sitting here for 90 minutes while everyone walked in and bought at ticket, and we missed out? ARGH!!!!! There goes that whole control thing again! Spontaneity is such a blow to planning…God seems to like that!
OK, so here’s the problem, we have reservations in our next village. There are no hotel rooms left here because they are booked for tonight…and we have no way to leave town! A true pilgrim experience…until the taxi driver entered the scene (not quite a true pilgrim experience, but angelic at least!). He got us to our hotel in half the time the bus would have taken and got us there dry too (for a few more euros) - we would have had to walk about 2 miles in heavy rains to get from the bus depot to our lodging. God is good, and we are not in control!
We are now sabbathing in Leon. We had to bus ahead several stages to reduce the number of miles we were walking each day. It is important to stay at 13 miles or less, preferably around 10 for Rachel’s comfort, and ours too.
As one person mentioned to us early on in the Camino, there is no right way to do the Camino…meaning there are many, many ways, and each way is unique to each person, yet all the ways lead to Santiago. It is important to find your way and follow that way. Our way, The Way, is marked by little yellow arrows always pointing the way. Just when we begin to feel uncertain, we look around and there is an arrow pointing the way for The Way. Wouldn't it be great if there were arrows marking our way through life? Take this job, go to that school, commit to this church, marry that person, have this many children - at these times, retire on this day…on and on it goes, major decisions to make each and seemingly every day of our lives.
And how do we know? Are we on the right way? Where are the arrows? As we learned, we are not in control of this Camino…oh we plan, we make decisions, and then we walk…and as we walk we find God, leading us and gently (or sometimes quite spontaneously) changing our direction…oh we are still headed for Santiago, but there are so many ways to get there, and this is the way God has for us. Maybe life is like that too…maybe planning is not a bad thing, maybe looking for the arrows in not a bad thing…and maybe spontaneous changes are not a bad thing either…but the important thing is take the step, don't quit, and let God lead us and guide us…
We are all headed to the same place, and maybe there is no right way to get there, no one single way that all of us must follow (you know what I mean, like how many seconds, minutes, or hours to spend in prayer, how must to give to the church or the needy, how many children to have or what profession to aim for, or what town to live in…) maybe there is no “right way”…but there is The Way…through Jesus Christ. As I have been learning on this Camino, keep looking for the arrows, keep on moving and be prepared for something spontaneous - God is like that, its the true pilgrim experience.
Ultreya my friends!