My daughter Sam is back in Brooklyn. She is preparing to perform with the puppet theater Great Small Works at La Mama ETC, for six decades New York City’s Mecca for experimental theater.
Levke from Germany, my first Camino friend, the young woman who was so kind to me and helped me from Biarritz to Bayonne to St. Jean and into my first albergue, finished in the town of Ages, just short of Burgos. She is now enjoying Oktoberfest in her home town of Munich. She is already talking about her next Camino.
Peter from Australia, my senior at 74, with two bandaged knees when I met him first on the climb from St. Jean to Roncevalles, reached Santiago several days before me, left before I could see him or hear his stories, and is now back home.
Elizabeth from Ireland, who had planned to celebrate her 73rd birthday in Santiago, was forced to leave the Camino after Viana in La Rioja because of temperatures in the upper 90s, several times reaching over 100 degrees. She told me that an English peregrino died from heatstroke, and others were hospitalized. Now she plans to resume her walk next year in time to reach Santiago for her 74th birthday.
Felicidad and Marilo, the twins from Bilbao, left the Camino as they had planned after Burgos, then went on to visit Prague. Next summer they will resume the Camino, starting where they left off.
Kristian from Denmark was last seen by Marianne in a hotel California hippie albergue community near Carrion de los Condes. She thinks he may never leave.
Danny from Nashville, who took care of me when I fell on my face, ‘blew out his knee’ coming down the steep hill after the Cruz de Ferro. After medical attention and two weeks rest, he still could not walk, so he has returned to the States. He intends to train over the winter, and return to finish the Camino in the spring.
Marianne from Canada had to leave the Camino after Leon to return to work. She says she is trying to apply to her life what she has learned from the Camino, but she hasn’t yet told me what that is.
Sam and I returned to Santiago from Fisterra late Monday afternoon. We decided to have supper outside the Hotel Gastronomico about an hour before the overnight bus to Madrid. Sam ordered prawn ravioli with a sea urchin sauce. I ordered a beer.
In a perfect Camino moment, a perfect Santiago reunion, Lena from Germany appeared in the hotel door! She had been in in Rabadiso, 40 kilometers east of Santiago, when she got food poisoning, and was taken to a hospital in Santiago for treatment. Even though she walked 750 out of the 790 kilometers, starting from St. Jean the same day I did, she will not get her Compostela because she has not walked all of the final 100 kilometers. She is not concerned: This is her second Camino, and she already has a Compostela.
For me, these friendships were the best part of the Camino.
After Toni’s death, I was overwhelmed to hear from so many of her students that she had changed their lives, that she had given them strength and confidence. Well, I was one of Toni’s students. When we met I was pathologically shy. I became a teacher because the only way I could face people was from behind a lectern. Over the course of forty years, Toni convinced me that I was not a failure, that I had value as a human being, that I could have friends. This Camino I owe to her.
My Camino with Toni 
Chris,
I have been following your blog and have had you in my thoughts every single day since Toni has passed. I walk into her office and touch the plaque outside her door, grateful for her care, her history, her love of Sem, her infectious energy to know more, her passion for the arts, her taking me under her wing and for who she is as a woman. I have been sending you warmth and love and have felt that returned to me from Toni – with every wonderful memory that has resurfaced and every play that I have shared with the girls. Her presence is strong and I am so happy to have it in my realm, every time I teach in her space. It has made me a better teacher and person. I sincerely would not have been at Sem if it wasn’t for her. She is in everything I do and I have been grateful since day one to know that I could always lean on her if I needed. I do my very best to honor her space and will forever – her memory.
Much love and respect,
Susan
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So beautifully stated. And you are beautiful,Chris. Toni is proud of you. Mazes tov, we made it! Love you, R
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Where are they now? In your heart and memory and that’s where they’ll be forever. And, you are in theirs. Because you are in theirs, Toni is with them too.
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Toni left her imprint on every life she touched and I will always cherish the ache of missing her. Thank you for letting so many of us share this glorious adventure. It is a fitting memorial not only to Toni but to the gifts you gave each other. For Toni, you were not just the ‘wind beneath her wings’ but also the safe place to go home to when the effort of flying left her drained.
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Chris – I was looking for quotes on failure and success online, and this one made me laugh. I hope it brings a smile to you as well. Welcome home! Well done…
“To truly fail in life is to never try. When you fall on your face, it is an opportunity for you to find the road again. It may remind you how hard the road is, but you will never forget its presence once you make contact.”
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Love will do that- just as Toni brought out the best in you, you brought out the best in her. This Camino was yet another shared experience, and typical of both you and Toni, you generously shared it with us. Thanks.
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Dearest Chris,
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with me and others. Although I understand this was an emotional, intense experience healing for you, it has also helped bring me back to the present, and a focus on living ….really living! So I thank you and Sam and especially Toni. Best and Warmest.
Your student, your friend…….
Helga
Helga Gregory
Senior Project Controls | Project Manager
Arup
77 Water Street New York NY 10005 USA
t: +1 212 896 3000 d: +1 212 896 3223
m: +1 646 296 1939
http://www.arup.com
Explore innovation in the built environment on Doggerel
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Dearest Chris,
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with me and others. Although I understand this was an emotional, intense healing experience for you, it has also helped bring me back to the present, and a focus on living ….really living! So I thank you and Sam and especially Toni. Best and Warmest.
Your student, your friend…….
Helga
Helga Gregory
Senior Project Controls | Project Manager
Arup
77 Water Street New York NY 10005 USA
t: +1 212 896 3000 d: +1 212 896 3223
m: +1 646 296 1939
http://www.arup.com
Explore innovation in the built environment on Doggerel
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thank you for these writings, chris. see you soon we hope. xox denny et al
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Chris I have a coworker who’/ taken this walk a couple of times now. You and Sam walked with Toni. I took an RV and drove across the US and saw the scenery Bert and I had seen together over the years. After 46 years for us it is hard to process he’s gone. And so is Toni. God bless you all.
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Chris I’ve really enjoyed reading of your journey, and thanks for the follow up on the people you met along the way. Hope you have more posts as you process this life changing adventure, best wishes
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Your journey on the Camino is a fitting tribute to Toni. It occurs to me that, like her, it’s unique, special, (anything but run-of-the-mill), inspiring, but down to earth, people-centered, educational, engaging, beautiful, spirited, filled w/ an interest in the things of man & the world, and w/ a certain flair & an element of drama. And art. And grace. And goodness. One word I wouldn’t want to leave out that, to me, describes an aspect of Toni, is one I wouldn’t think to apply to a peregrino journey – elegance – but I think your blogs had their own element of that. They also included humor & wit – other aspects of her as well. Also, theater involves narrative. You write well, and by way of the blogs & Camino you walked us through a tapestry of sorts, Chris – a living story. (I know this journey was yours & Sam’s – a deeply personal one – but I was grateful & honored to be along. It also helped bring me to a place of more peace, which I needed. I hope it brought some of that for you & Sam as well.) Theater shows us things, too – sometimes important things. By this means (& others), including through the last play she directed, Toni did her part to engage with the world & share with it her perspective & energy. You & Sam did her proud. For Toni: Thank you – and vaya con Dios.
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