I passed by another flock of fruit-laden fields and this time easily resisted the temptation to partake of the same, and then flowed smoothly into the city of Moissac – initially through its outskirts (where I paused briefly to compliment a local resident on her phenomenally beautiful rose garden) and then into the center of the city proper. And it was there in the middle of town that I promptly saw a sign for the nearby “Pilgrim’s House” – a welcome center that was supposedly established to offer assistance to any pilgrims who were passing through …

And so it was that I entered Pilgrim’s House that day with high hopes (always a subtle danger) – not hopes that were in any way tied to dreams of cold water or edible sustenance, but simply hopes for a measure of friendliness – and even possibly a smidgen of appreciation. And yet the Camino, like life, had other plans – plans that flew directly against the flow of even the faintest of my expectations (as is so often the case, eh?) … For the woman on hand to greet me therein was anything but friendly, and anything but impressed with the tale of my Walk – and indeed was brazen enough to openly doubt my telling of the same ( :O ) … She scoffed when I told her I had walked all the way from Germany, smiled in flagrant disbelief when I told her my end destination was the United States (this particular doubt I don’t begrudge her), and even smirked when I mentioned that I had walked the whole way without sing any money whatsoever. It was a truly bizarre encounter, to be sure, and the more I felt her incredulous disbelief, the more determined I became to share my amazing journey with her. I mentioned the beauty of some of the other cities where I had passed through, I relayed some of the amazing kindnesses I had both given and received along the way, and I even pulled out my Walk’s travel journal to “prove” that I was indeed doing what I had humbly claimed. And yet all of these efforts proved to be of no avail. Not only was no assistance going to be forthcoming here, but not even a hint of kindness was going to be offered either … 🙁

Understandably saddened by this surprisingly callous meeting, I bid her a heartfelt adieu and headed across the room towards the bathroom to wash up before heading out once more. Unbeknownst to myself, this was also the direction where free coffee and cake had been left out for any & all visiting pilgrims to enjoy. Then, still somehow convinced that I was an impostor (seriously?!?) and that I was heading over to somehow “steal” the free foodstuffs (I mean, Seriously?!?!?), my non-benefactor rushed over to me, stood directly in my path, and asked: “Where to you think you’re going?” :O I, of course, told her that I was simply going to the bathroom – if that was even allowed – and that I would be walking westward to America again shortly thereafter … :O

It was at this point that Martin, a pilgrim I had briefly met before, walked in and said hello. I immediately gathered from his accent that he was German, and we commenced enjoying a quite animated conversation – in German, mind you – about our respective pilgrimages. Needless to say, the greeter was much taken aback by this exchange – an obviously “legitimate pilgrim” treating me like an equally-worthy traveler, and I admittedly found great amusement in glancing at her mouth agape while we both chatted quite jovially … 🙂

To her credit, it was then that she tried to make amends for her previous lack of compassion by leading me inside (while wearing her ironically emblazoned “Just Rock and Love” shirt) and offering me a piece of the aforementioned cake. I smiled gently and thanked her sincerely while politely declining the same – explaining that Peace Pilgrims are vegan, and as such refuse to partake of any foods containing the suffering &/or death of animals. This statement took her aback as well (understandably – after all, I certainly looked like I was very hungry; which I was), and yet again to her credit, she didn’t take offense, and we were able despite it all to part on happily amicable terms … 😀

“Humility is a twofold phenomenon. First, it is thinking more of your Self by thinking less of your opinions & convictions. And second, it is striving less for your own desires by actively providing for the needs of others.” ~ anonymous

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019) by Scaughdt