[at-l] My Favorite Christmas Story - and written by a hiker

[lbooher at pure.net (Leslie Booher)]

Mine has been posted before.  It's not about Christmas, but it is about a trail experience and about connections of the human spirit.  Best wishes to all for a lovely Christmas.  anklebear

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In June of 2002, my husband David and our youngest child Maggie hiked a lot of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain.  Opinions were mixed on whether or not it was a good idea to learn some Spanish before we left.  David and I tried and failed.  Others said that they learned a little, but, when they would use it, the Spanish person to whom they were speaking would assume that they knew more than they did and just start rattling on, so it proved as unsuccessful in the end as our efforts.  

One afternoon late in the hike, David had gone up ahead a little and Maggie and I passed the ubiquitous little stone house with a 4' stone wall around it.  Inside the wall were growing absolutely fabulous calla lillies, which seemed to be native to northern Spain.  There was the homeowner grubbing in the dirt in the garden, all muddy and ragged.  I tried to make some comment on her flowers.  "Buenos flores."  Blank stare.  "Bien flora."  She got up, but still looked blank.  "Pretty flowers."  She made some motion to indicate that she would give me some.  "No, gracias."  "Agua?"  "No, gracias."  At that point, she came through the gate and took my head in her hands and kissed me on both cheeks, then did the same for Maggie.  I could feel those kisses for hours.  It was the defining moment in my whole hike.