Peligro Pilgrims

We have arrived in Leon, a wonderful old town with a cathedral to savour. The journey today was less than aesthetically wonderful yet thankfully short. We predominantly followed the main artery road into the city; the terrain was as you might imagine uneventful and sadly industrial but here we are safe and sound. As I walked I chatted to a number of fellow pilgrims and it was then that I realised that indeed this pilgrim life is ‘muy peligroso’ or very dangerous to me or you. I hear you chuckle and scoff mildly at this statement which is why I feel I owe it to all future pilgrims to warn you of the uncertain peril we face.Elvis from beyond the grave and wet weather are all deemed to be dangerous in Espania. Hopefully I now have you sitting on the edge of your seat with the police, fire and ambulance on speed dial.

Can I first explain that a humble pilgrim bed can be a dangerous place on two counts. First, if you’re on the top bunk a slat or two can be easily dislodged by any vigorously wriggling pilgrim (note to colette here) not to mention a distinct shortage of actual ladders to ascend or descend….the result, propelling the tired sleeping body above tumbling down and crushing the unsuspecting pilgrim below. It’s a devastating end! In Davies case, thankfully he was on the bottom bunk when his bed slats let out an almighty crack after he catapulted himself backwards with what I can only describe as great force. The resulting slumped and inverted mattress immediately fell through the newly formed cavity and sent Davie into a vertically folded position with his legs and arms pinned together in the air much like a bronze cast synchronised swimmer cacooned in a mattress, all firmly held in place. He was lucky not to be impaled on the broken slats and of course the resulting hyperventilating laughter was indeed a threat in itself that we all narrowly escaped.

Then there’s the swarm of rampant killer bees along the way from Hermanillos de la Calzada to Mansilla de las Mulas. On a desolate section of the way, with little shelter or hope of any place to run the bees swarmed around our heads while we tried to walk quickly without making too much commotion. Unfortunately for a good few other pilgrims the bees attacked and stung them with vicious intent. Bee warned! The fellow above actually rang the environmental police to have these irritated honey makers moved, based on the attack he narrowly bolted from with 3 stings. It was kind of him in many ways as he was walking ahead and realised how threatening this could be to us. The Camino is full of this kind of sentimental caring. Long bee it continue!I suppose I should mention Davie the sword weilding crusader who has become a deadly danger in his own right after his twin set of deadly spears, aka walking sticks made their mark on an unsuspecting Italian victim earlier today; she had her stomach impailled mildly on our way into Leon. She did at least have the good sense to back off with a smile and a sharp intake of breath!

My last pilgrim threat involves a few salivating, vicious hounds who chased a pilgrim today as she walked towards the city. She fought them off with her stick but it seems that at every turn there’s a ‘tail’ of peril! The list of dangers are vast. It is clearly very possible to become incoherent from exposure to both cold and heat but also to fall victim to ‘pilgrimititis’. This is when you meet persuasive thirsty pilgrims and opt to drink multiple bottles of 5euro wine like water…..funny how the threat of a broken bunk goes right out the window after that eh😆. Seriously though….on the way pilgrims do die. There are many crosses to mark this. Peace be with them all and may God please envelop us in a protective blanket so that we might take each step safely. We, like many others made a small cross on our way into Leon to mark our need to be loved and protected; may God hear what we pray for and carry us on the way.