Serendipity on the Camino: Sarria to Portomarin - September 8, 2024

Have you ever had a moment when you thought the universe had aligned to make everything right for you? The day I lost and found my tiniest gadget, a 1x0.5 inch flat remote control button, was such an example.

Today’s walk might have been like any other except something exceptional happened. My friends, Carla, Giulia and her husband John, and I had to cover at least 24 kilometres to go from Sarria to Portomarin, our next stop. It seemed like a long time ago since we started the Camino in O Cebreiro, but it was a mere two days and 50+- kilometres ago. The weather looked promising with no discernible rain clouds, and just cool enough for me to wear a light jacket over my hoodie and t-shirt.

We got an early start around 8:30 am, and it looked like most pilgrims shared the same idea. The numbers had swelled massively from the day before. There were hundreds of people making their way out of the town. Pilgrims need to walk no less than 100 kilometres to reach Santiago de Compostela and qualify for the Compostela certificate. Sarria is the ideal starting point for this. 

Before leaving the town, Carla led us to a church that also served as a pension for pilgrims who needed an affordable place to spend the night. Here she showed Giulia an array of walking sticks. They were left there by others who no longer needed them and anyone could take one or more in exchange for a small donation. It was perfect for Giulia who had been suffering from knee pain since the day before. She found one to her liking and then we joined the rest of the crowd exiting the town.

Outside the town, the roads quickly turned into steep forest trails. Less than an hour later I started sweating and needed to shed one layer of clothing. I removed my selfie stick I’d tucked behind my belt bag, took off my jacket and tied it around my waist. This was probably when the tiny Bluetooth remote control button fell off the stick. I had no idea I’d left the tiny gadget behind. After a kilometre or more, we emerged from the forest. As we walked along an open field I glanced down at my selfie stick and noticed the remote-control button was no longer in its cradle.

“Hold on,” I said stopping, “I think I’ve lost my selfie’s remote.” My friends waited as I searched my pouch and anywhere it might have fallen. John said, “Let’s go back and see if we can find it.” I said doubtfully, “What are my chances of finding it? The most likely place where it could have fallen would be where we took off our jackets. That’s at least a kilometre away.” John said, “I’ll go back with you. Carla and Giules can wait here.”

I wasn’t hopeful we could find something so small in the forest, and I didn’t want to delay our group. But John insisted on walking back with me. Gratefully I accepted his help. We waved to the hordes of pilgrims coming towards us. Someone called out, “You’re going the wrong way.” I grinned as we weaved through the crowds avoiding being trampled on, we two being the only ones heading in reverse. 

When we got to the place where I thought I’d lost the remote—the forest trails all looked the same—, we started to scan the ground. A lady with a backpack and a walking stick came trudging up the hill. She approached me and asked in Spanish if we were looking for something. I showed her my selfie stick and pointed at the now empty cradle. She gestured for John and I to stay while she began to fish about inside her pocket. I understood with my limited Spanish that she wanted to show us something. After she’d pulled out a few items she retrieved a small, flat black plastic. I took one look at it and yelled with excitement, “That’s my remote!”  

I couldn’t believe my eyes and my luck. This little Spanish lady walking by herself had saved my day. She managed to convey that she’d seen this tiny gadget and intuited it was probably useful to someone. I just couldn’t believe how the universe had brought her to us at the precise moment when John and I were searching the grounds.

John took a photo of her with me before we said goodbye. After thanking her profusely we hurried back to join Carla and Giulia. Later we met this angel again near a church. I told her I’d like to buy her coffee at the next rest stop, but she waved me off and said my smile was enough for her. Our paths never crossed again, but I’ll never forget this amazing experience. I’m so grateful to have met someone like her. Her name is Maria Jose and I’ll always have this wonderful story to share about my Camino. She’ll remain one of the best highlights of my Camino memories.

For the rest of the day, this wonderful sense of well-being never left me. From the bucolic scene of a shepherd running after sheeps straying away from the herd, to the cows grazing in pastoral tranquility, all communicated peace and harmony. The walk was challenging right up to the last moment when we climbed a long flight of stairs to get to our hotel. 

That night, I didn’t dwell on my fatigue or all the body parts that hurt. Instead I thought about all the wonderful people I met that day. I thought about Maria Jose who found my remote-control button and made my day. I thought about the friendly waiter at dinner whose smile never left his face and who also introduced us to Portomarin’s version of the Santiago almond pie--it was moist and delicious. We loved it so much we bought one each to take home to Canada.

The day had been perfect. It reaffirmed my faith that kindness was alive and well. I felt a kinship for the people I met that day. The deep-rooted reasons that brought us here bound us together. It couldn’t just be for the fun of the blistering and back-breaking trek. Some of us might have looked for a purpose, to make sense of past events, or to find deeper meaning to life. Regardless of the reasons, it was possible to find your inner self or maybe experience serendipity like I did. I no longer dreaded the next four days of walking, but looked forward to meeting more people on this road to Santiago de Compostela. And I did meet some interesting folks over the next few days. Stay tuned for those blogs.