Having a walking partner now meant having to compromise on what I imagined my walk for peace to look like. I was sleeping in hostels and pensions, but Alberto didn’t have the economic means to do that, or to enjoy a hot meal at the end of our cold days of walking. Cheese and bread were his staples.
He told me that, on the Camino, he met a pilgrim who walked without money. Every night, he called on the Church door for help and took whatever shelter they offered him, usually the floor of some hall they had. The pilgrim never asked for food, but was usually offered it.
Alberto wanted to do the same, but encouraged me to continue sleeping in hostels and eating in restaurants.
How could I, in all good conscience, leave him to sleep on some floor somewhere while I was in a warm, cozy bed? Or enjoy a hot bowl of soup while he was eating bread?
So, I chose to join him, calling on monastery and church doors every evening, explaining that we were pilgrims walking for peace, silently praying each time that they would take us in. Every night, we had a roof over our heads. Some nights, we had heating and hot water. The occasional night, we were invited to a meal.
In this photo, we are sleeping on the floor of the church hall, where the priest generously turned on the heaters on this brutally cold December night. With us is Biancospino, a pilgrim dog we met in a hermitage high atop a mountain, and who would accompany us to Assisi. Alberto is cutting out the letters that would eventually make up the signs we would carry on our backpacks.
He told me that, on the Camino, he met a pilgrim who walked without money. Every night, he called on the Church door for help and took whatever shelter they offered him, usually the floor of some hall they had. The pilgrim never asked for food, but was usually offered it.
Alberto wanted to do the same, but encouraged me to continue sleeping in hostels and eating in restaurants.
How could I, in all good conscience, leave him to sleep on some floor somewhere while I was in a warm, cozy bed? Or enjoy a hot bowl of soup while he was eating bread?
So, I chose to join him, calling on monastery and church doors every evening, explaining that we were pilgrims walking for peace, silently praying each time that they would take us in. Every night, we had a roof over our heads. Some nights, we had heating and hot water. The occasional night, we were invited to a meal.
In this photo, we are sleeping on the floor of the church hall, where the priest generously turned on the heaters on this brutally cold December night. With us is Biancospino, a pilgrim dog we met in a hermitage high atop a mountain, and who would accompany us to Assisi. Alberto is cutting out the letters that would eventually make up the signs we would carry on our backpacks.
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