I was a bit fatigued and overheated when I pulled into the outskirts of the town of Charre, and was overly blessed to come across yet another perfectly place pathside donativo – this one nestled cozily into the garage of Thierry & Celine Duhau*, a couple who had apparently lost their daughter at some point and had decided to honor her with a Camino-side pilgrim waystation. Despite being located in a place usually reserved for automobiles, there was a profound Peace in this place, and I rested there with great gratitude for many a moment before continuing onward … And it was somehow fitting that I was blessed to once more cross paths with Sasha, the German pilgrim I had first met in Condom several days prior. I had actually been lamenting the odd way we two had parted company back in Eauze, and had been somehow wishing to see him again to exchange more heartfelt pleasantries. And so it was with great thankfulness and joy that I was able to see him again and walk with him aways in a fellowship that was much more open and kind.

“The last several years I have more or less constantly been on the road, seemingly always leaving and never arriving – a spontaneous rhythm which also means constantly leaving the people I meet along the way. And so it is that I have loved and lost and miss. And no matter how many times I leave, start over, achieve success or travel to new places it’s always other people that really matter. People, friends, family, lovers, strangers – they are the ones who forever stay with you, even if only through memory. And so I’ve grown to appreciate people to the deepest core, and I’m learning how to tell them what I want to tell them when I have the chance, before we part ways and it’s too late.” ~ via Charlotte Eriksson

*Thierry & Celine Duhau, 1 D244 Route de Saison, 64190 Charre, France

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