On the trail, there is a common bond for all pilgrims, or peregrinos as they are called in Spanish. We are all suffering in someway, and we are all loving our own little challenges and trimuphs that make up our day. Also, we come from all over the world. It is hard to count all the different languages I have heard, or think I have heard. One thing does keep the lines of communication rolling amongst the pilgrims however, and that is obviously the Spanish language.
The standard greeting is to say buen camino, which literally translates to good road, but is like the English equavalent of happy trails. Also, according to one mountain biker we rode with some, this greeting is only common on the el Camino de Santiago. Anyhow, because all the pilgrims are going in one direction (another subtle but unique part of this experience), Dena and I find ourselves saying buen camino, or buenos dias, or pardon por favor (because we are on bikes which move a bit faster than walkers). This happens all day and is quite commonj on the trail.
So the other day I was struggling up a mountain. This might have been the steepest climb I have ever done, but I´ll save those details for another blog post. Anyhow, I had pulled away from Dena, my security blanket when it comes to the Spanish language. There was a group of Spaniards ahead of me on the road, and I was not moving fast as they were because we were climbing the aforementioned mountain. They say buen camino to me. I replied with the common response: gracias, buen camino. But the conversation did not end there.
One of the fluent Spanish speakers hit me with a pile of words and I didn´t understand any of them. Instead of going to the trouble of saying: no hablo mucho espanol (I don´t speak much Spanish), I just said all I could muster for the effort I was putting into the mountain: estoy cansado, tambien. When I later expained this to Dena, we guessed that they probably were commenting on the view or the weather. If that was the case, the conversation would have sounded something like this:
Spanish speaker: Heck of a view huh? These hills are beautiful, especially this time of year.
Patrick: I am tired, also.
