Cold, hungry, wet, and miserable, we finally arrived in our third city on the Camino De Santiago. This town was called Santo Domingo. This day would turn out to be one of our most difficult days out on the trail. I actually thought to myself many times during the day,
“If this is what everyday will be like. I’m not gonna make it.”
(This is the view as you approach Santo Domingo, Spain.)
Side note… If it helps put things into perspective, later that evening I found out that I had received stage-one frostbite on my left hand because the conditions were so brutal. It was rough.
Upon arrival in Santo Domingo, we quickly checked into our cold albergue and did our best to get settled in. Tonight we would be sleeping in a monastery run by nuns.
Later that evening we all gathered in the dinning area for supper and eventually at 9pm we would do our nightly Bible study.
As we set at the dinner table, there was a man by the name of Artur (pronounced the same as Arthur, just spelled differently). He was from Poland and was doing the Camino as a means of connecting with God, or rather, trying to figure out what “truth” is.
After some small talk and some food, we invited him to stay for our Bible study.
(One of our nightly Bible studies.)
I’d say from the get-go, he seen something different in our group, and intrigued by us, he decided to stay.
One thing I specifically remember him saying was, “The Camino has its way with everybody individually. Groups don’t last on the Camino. Everybody has their own experience.” This would turn out to be true, however, our team would beat the odds stacked against us, and finish strong as one unit in the end.
Anyways, Artur joined us that evening and little did we know that would be the beginning of something special.
Fast-forward.
(Our team with Artur. He's next to me in the tan clothes.)
Several days passed and Artur continued to stick by our side. Eventually, I’d say he even became part of our team and when we would check into our albergues in the evenings, we were no longer a team of 6, but we would say we had 7.
Every evening without fail, 9pm Bible study would roll around, and Artur would be patiently waiting for us to start. It was beautiful!
Artur stuck with our group for a solid 5 or 6 days.
One evening in the town of Castrojeriz, I was talking to Artur about the next day being Colby’s birthday and how we were excited to have him celebrate with us. He too was excited and couldn’t wait.
(Entering Castrojeriz, Spain.)
Later that evening, Artur came to me and said, “I remembered. Tomorrow is the anniversary of my Mom’s passing. I think I will go alone tomorrow.” After a quick pause, he looked back up at me and said, “I was with her when she took her last breath.”
I was heartbroken for him, but inside rejoiced that he would share this with me. Up to this point he hadn’t shared much and stayed pretty quiet.
I told him I knew that he would need some time alone, but hoped he would join us again that evening for a celebration for Colby's birthday, and to celebrate his Mother as well. I thought it would be great to hear about her life if he’d like to share.
The next morning when we awoke, Artur was already on his way to the next city.
To Be Continued…
