Day 6 – Walking to Los Arcos – Happy Easter – Date 4.20.2025

Today I started out on a day that was cool and with some sun.  The afternoon called for rain and they were right.  It wasn’t bad though so I was grateful.  I had my trusty rain coat packed in my back pack and pulled it out when I needed it.

So I had 2 angels interact with me while on today’s journey.  I was walking up a gravel road and saw a man walking down the same road with a backpack and hiking poles.  He was’t doing the Camino but he was hiking.  A few minutes later we passed each other and he starts talking to me in Spanish.  I don’t understand what he is saying and I’m trying to tell him this.  He is pointing to a path going off to the left from the road I am on.  I don’t figure out what he is telling me until I notice there is a yellow arrow on the pole sticking in the ground at that spot.  All signs for the Camino trail are not the same.  Some are more official and display a scalloped shell.  Some are just yellow arrows spray painted on various objects in the location where it is needed.  This pole was one of these objects and thus the yellow arrow.  The man could tell I was not following the arrow as I was continuing on the gravel road.  Once I saw the arrow I realized what he was saying and I thanked him.  I don’t know what would’ve happened to me had I kept going.  I thanked God, the Camino path, the spirits for the assistance.  What perfect timing as I saw the man walking about 5-7 minutes earlier at the top of the road.  I don’t believe the perfect timing was a coincidence.

My second angel was right next to me on the path but he was in a car.  I was leaving a small village and he was driving past me.  Suddenly I am on the ground with my left leg straight in front of me and my right leg bent backwards with my right foot near my butt.  The concrete just took my left foot out from under me and my right foot caused me to land on my knee and then laying on the ground.  The man stopped his car and got out to help me get up.  I was not hurt (thank you God) although my pants are now full of mud on the knee and the shin area.  Speaking in Spanish I assume he is asking me if I am okay and I said yes.  I put my hands together in a pray pose and bowed my head showing him I am fine.  He accepted my reply and got in this car and drove on.  He turned into a driveway about a block down the road.  In a few minutes I walked past his driveway.  He was outside and started talking to me again.  I’m sure he was asking me if I was okay.  He motions that he would take me in his car and drive me down the route.  I assured him I was fine and I left laughing at his genuine kindness.

I walked part of the way with Lynn – my new friend from Madison, WI!!  We both were talking about how the Camino seems to provide to each of us in so many ways.  Both of these angels were right near me when each of these situations happened.  I believe the timing of these situations are examples of gentle care for me as I travel.  Physical angels, guardian angels, pilgrim angels, etc.  Another pilgrim I met from Minneapolis talked about how he got the last room at one of the alberques the other night and how grateful he was to get it given the time of the evening and all he had to do yet before going to bed.

These are my Easter gifts for today.  Positive energy, kind people, strangers who become instant friends.  I want the entire world to walk the Camino!  We all have more things in common than differences yet crazy, busy lives pull that focus away for each of us.  One of the first angels I met back in St. Jean Pied de Port, France on day 1 told me “The Camino will change you.”  I believe it is doing so and for the better!

Blister count: 4

Traumatized toes: 1

Sore body parts: many but last night I could sleep without popping ibuprofen!

Still a big smile and a happy heart