If you are unaware, St. James (Santiago) is the whole focus of the Camino de Santiago, and the New York City American Pilgrims on the Camino organization held a "Caminito" to celebrate his feast day (July 25th). We were to walk from 72nd St in Manhattan along the Hudson River for about 7 miles to a tapas bar in Soho. The hike was scheduled for 9 am, in part to avoid the heat of the afternoon (93 degrees). I had been warned via email that they would leave promptly at 9 am.
Checking my Moovit ap, I saw I needed to catch a 2 subway train by leaving my apartment at 7:40 and walking up the hill to the subway station (it's actually elevated above the road in my neighborhood). Unfortunately, I was just reaching the station as the train pulled in and I made the platform in time to see it start up and head toward Manhattan. The next train was in ten minutes, and I arrived at the meeting place (a memorial statue of Eleanor Roosevelt) at 9:03. There was nobody there.
Well, I had spent an hour and twenty minutes getting there, and I had never hiked the Hudson River walkway, so I thought, "Might as well, maybe I'll catch up." Well, I'm slower than your average Manhattan walker these days, so I never did catch up until the very end. But I still enjoyed the hike. I had a bottle of recently frozen water with me and some grapes, and I was wearing sunglasses. The only hazard on the trail is there a lot of runners who don't like to slow down (got to keep that blood pumping!). Manhattanites are different than Bronxites. They are thinner, taller, whiter, and more fashion conscious. So I did a lot of people watching as well as river watching as I went.
The walkway is comparatively new, and much of it is an extended park (Hudson River Park) along the river's edge. I walked by playgrounds, lots of benches and picnic areas. To my right was the river, the Intrepid, tug boats, cruise lines, and ferries. Chelsea piers is a complex with restaurants and very clean bathrooms (needed by me at that point). It was easy to pull aside to have a drink of water and munch on a few grapes. I was always looking for my fellow pilgrims (peregrinos), but didn't see them.
The end of the walk was to be a meal at a Spanish tapas bar called "Despana Foods." With my Google maps app, I tracked it down. I ordered a couple of small sandwiches (pintxos) with Iberico ham and sausage and a hard apple cider. Then I found my fellow pilgrims and joined them. I managed to sit next to a couple who had just completed the Camino Portuguese, and I learned a few things from them. After lunch, I strolled over to REI to pick up new hiking shoes and socks.
So did I learn anything from my Caminito?
"Our world is saturated with grace, and the lurking presence of God is revealed not only in spirit, but in matter...God intended for us to discover his loving presence in the world around us." Brennan Manning in The Ragamuffin Gospel.
I have been thinking about why I feel drawn to the Camino, it has been more a feeling than an idea so far. But on a recent training walk, I realized how much I was focused on all the sights and sounds around me. I didn't have to concentrate on what I was doing or where I was going, so I was open to the blue skies, the birds singing, people talking and laughing, even the sight and sound of cars passing me as I walked.
I do Centering Prayer almost daily, and the focus is to empty yourself of thoughts and open yourself up to God. I don't know how it works, but somehow over the years that I've been doing it, I feel Centering Prayer has changed my life for the better. I am more positive, I am more focused on other people than myself, I am more willing to share with other people, and I look for opportunities to pray and help other people. I think hiking the Camino will be a walking form of Centering Prayer, and I look forward to what blessings I will find by walking it.
On this Caminito, I learned I have little control over what will happen, but by persevering when things go wrong, by staying open to what's in front of me, I will find what I feel drawn to. It may be entirely different than what I expected, but that's okay, because I believe that God is in everyone and everything I encounter.
Buen Camino!
