👣 Noire Pilgrim: Mérida

Aqueducto los Milagros at sunrise in Merida, Spain

The Paradox

My plan was to walk the camino alone. It is nice to be alone with yourself and your thoughts. It gets lonely on the trail, certainly. The camino is part dread, danger, pleasant surprises, and unexpected occurrences. Vigilance is required in the forest, mountains, for animals, or the weather. Those are the times when someone to share those experiences with is the thing you desire or even need.

Then out of nowhere, a fellow pilgrim crosses your path for a minute, an hour, a day, or even a week.

Several towns before Mérida, I met a zenful peregrina from Germany. Our conversations were the best I had with anyone in a long time. I was able to reexamine some long-held beliefs that impacted my life.

Occasionally we walked and talked together. Other times we separated and caught up with each other at cafes or an albergue.

We talked of many things. It was not long before we bonded as sisters – walking and talking – over two weeks before we reached Mérida.

That is part of the ebb and flow of the pilgrimage walk.

Anticipation for Mérida

The city of Mérida is on the horizon. I am glad there was no rain, but there was rain the night before. The hot sun dries the trail almost immediately. This red dirt road could have been a muddy mess!

Convergence

Mérida is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura. Importantly, it is the crossroads for pilgrims coming from camino routes originating from Sévilla, Jáen, Malaga, and Alméria. From here, the Mozárabe ends and the camino Via de la Plata begins, leading the way to Santiago de Compostela.

A popular tourist city, Mérida boasts ruins, ancient buildings and churches, battlegrounds, aqueducts, and other points of interest. The remains of a Roman theater are used for modern summer productions. An unearthed amphitheater, once used for gladiator battles and circuses, can be explored. In spite of the importance of the city, a UNESCO site, Mérida felt low-key and easy going – my kind of town.

The distance from Córdoba to Mérida is 239 kilometers. In between are towns that provide services appropriate to their size and desire to welcome pilgrims.

The Albergue in Mérida

My peregrina sister and I planned to spend one night at the albergue. Then we decided to share a room at a nice hotel for another night in town as a treat to ourselves.

The albergue was located in a park at the edge of the city. We registered with the hosts and were assigned beds in a large bunk room.

I was given an upper bunk which was not the best option for me or my sore feet. As usual, I made the best of the situation.

Gradually during the evening and night, the albergue filled with more pilgrims including one interesting fellow who travelled with a cart on the trail. I met a peregrina from Finland who started on the camino Madrid and ended up on the via de la Plata questioning her journey.

She and I sat outside for an unexpectedly long time talking about many things while our clothes dried on lines strung across the back of the patio. We soon realized that we were kindred souls. She moved on the next morning, continuing her pilgrimage. I am glad she did.

Saying Goodbye

It is time to bid farewell to Mérida and my favorite camino friends (so far). We ran into our favorite Spanish couple who were ending their camino trek here and returning to their home off the Spanish coast. They stayed at a very nice hotel near the square in celebration of the wife’s birthday. Very sweet! I admired their strength and tenacity. At home, they walk 10 kilometers every morning. Admirable!

My peregrina sister was finishing her journey in Mérida, too.

She left early the next morning to continue traveling through Spain. Her destination was Portugal to spend the remainder of the summer.

Meeting then “losing” people on the trail is difficult. The camino is a good place to learn to let go… every day.

An Important Question

When do you call someone a friend? After a day or almost a lifetime? I met people who are funny, sad, wise, silly, and serious. Some people are difficult to understand and I am not referring only to language. We have a common purpose – to walk this path – and to discover answers to the questions that plague us. Some people seem lost. Others admit to being happiest on the camino trail.

So, I try to not be nosy or intrusive unless a door is opened. I must admit that I was presented with many questions about my own reason for walking the camino. The answer is different almost everyday.

I also get questions about my country’s purpose. There is no definitive answer about that either! The questions do not surprise me at all. I am a black woman on the trail, the first that many locals and pilgrims can engage in thoughtful conversation. They may have learned something from me, but I learned a lot from them.

Out of the Vacuum

I set out on this trek with a goal of avoiding the “news” but I could not. That should not have been a surprise. These ancient towns exist in a modern world of Wi-Fi, the internet, GPS, language translation apps, and smartphones. Add the fact that a war is going on not very far from here, important political issues are covered in the newspapers and television news presentations.

Simply as a pilgrim, I shared accommodations and broke bread with people from places** that impacted the past. Some are in the headlines today.

**Brazil, South Korea, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, France, England, Morocco, Japan, Malaysia, China, Australia, Philippines, New Zealand, Netherlands, Basque Country and Galicia among the places already mentioned Germany, Finland, and the United States.

We are conducting our camino trek through towns and villages impacted by dictatorship and a civil war not long ended. The residue affects Spanish life and politics to this very day.

Uncontrolled economic growth, devastating recession, high unemployment, and contentious political elections are nothing new to me. My participation in these conversations, perhaps, will help me glean bits of hope and solutions to carry back home.

There was not much that was out of bounds to be discussed – asked or answered. I was asked any and everything about the United States from politics to healthcare to thirty-year old court cases. The conversations were surprising, provocative, thoughtful, and stimulating.

Shaped by the Past

Each of us has a story that forms part of who we are. Many of us are proud and happy to tell it. Some of us, depending on our country of origin and its mark in history, carry shame or guilt about it. Others are ambivalent. I appreciate and respect that.

None of us are immune. I concluded that acknowledging my own fear, hope, and sincerity about the future helps others to do the same. The past shaped us all, but we can and must shape the present and the future in order to save this planet and the people on it.

You know my mantra: There is a future being planned – on this planet and in space – and I want to be part of it. Don’t you? Each of us just have to determine how.

Still on the Way to Santiago de Compostela.

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Baadaye and Buen camino

Shirley J ♥️

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This and several posts this summer chronicle my pilgrimage in Spain where I am walking the 1400 kilometer-long camino Mozárabe and now camino Via de la Plata to Santiago de Compostela. Read my announcement here.