The Hunger Games

I have passed the half way mark in my Camino and have left the Meseta behind.  As we get closer to Santiago the number of people on the Camino grows exponentially.  The result is that hostels and restaurants become crowded and sometimes there are not enough beds for everyone.  Sometimes grocery stores run out of bread or fruit or whatever else a pilgrim might need.

Some people approach this reality as if they were contestants on the Hunger Games. (Note: In the 2008 fiction novel by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle to the death until only one person remains.)

People form coalitions and work together to be first awake and walking and first in to a town so that they don't ever lose out.

Another option is to not play the game at all. The crowds are an opportunity to trust even more radically that God guides the way.

Yesterday my feet and legs were tired and the heat was intense. I arrived in Burgo de Ranero after the Municipal Albergue was already full.



I was directed to another albergue that was close by. I arrived in time to watch the Italian team claim the last beds.  The lady who ran the albergue offered to let me sleep on the ground near the kitchen and I could use the shower and bathroom. I gladly accepted.




On the way to El  Burgo  Raneros, I was worried that I was moving too slow to get in to town in time to hit the local grocery. As I walked, I saw this beautiful sign offering free fruit to pilgrims.

They even left out plastic bags so you could take as much fruit as you wanted.(The grocery store charges for bags). I now had fruit for breakfast and a shower and a place to sleep.
 
As a result of my special sleeping quarters, I was treated to Las Lagrimas del San Lorenzo. A meteor shower that takes place on or about August 10th.  It was amazing!

The walk into Leon from El Burgo Raneros is about 40 kilometers.  I knew it would be a hard day and so I started walking at 4 a.m. Most bars that serve coffee and breakfast don't open until 9.  After walking about 16 kilometers in 3 hours, I was really looking for some coffee and place to sit down.  I saw this crazy looking building with tables chairs, but no lights on.

Sinin serves up coffee

 I decided to sit and rest and have some water.  Soon other pilgrims arrived and sat down too. We all shared our grief at the lack of coffee.

About that time, a taxi came speeding up and out stumbled Sinin, who was just coming back from a fiesta at the neighboring town.  He was so excited to see us that he immediately opened Bar Elvis, turned on the music and started serving coffees to everyone for free.

Bar Elvis

People who had the minute before been tired and frustrated started to laugh, dance and sing.  Before long we had a street party with pilgrims continuing to arrive.  It was just the boost I needed to charge me up for the final 24 kilometers into Leon.

Sleep, hunger, coffee, and the fear of being in need can drive us into a variety of strange behaviors.  The call to trust and to accept what is constantly being offered is a daily call on the Camino.  The reading for this Sunday are sharp contrast with the Hunger Games that we see played out in so many different ways. God chose to make himself present to us as food for the journey.  It is no accident that when we fail to recognize him in bread that we fail to recognize him in flesh too.


Peace and Goodness,

FD