The Most Colorful Character on the First Half of the Camino

I have had the pleasure of meeting many colorful characters so far on the Camino, and it is time to name the most colorful of the first half of the walk.  My friend, Peter K. hopes it will be a German.  But, before the listing the nominees, a short update.  I am in Mansilla, 18.6 km from Leon.  The past three nights and mornings have been cold - I´d guess upper 30´s to mid 40´s before warming up nicely during the day.  Last night I stayed in a small farm town along a Roman road.  Our Albergue, the only one in town had 16 beds, and I think we were full.  One of the other pilgrims made a nice fire in the Albergues´s fireplace. Another pilgrim, a French priest, said mass at the local church.  I felt like a little kid as I rang the church bell to let the town folks know that mass would be offered.  About 5% of the town´s  and half the pilgrims attended.

The runner´s up for most colorful pilgrim first half are;  1.  The young redheaded American who cooks outside in the courtyard on a packpackers stove even when the Albergue has a kitchen.  2.  The Spaniard who always has a posse with him although he started the Camino alone. I wrote about him hosting a dinner party in an earlier post.  3.  The Basque, with the kind but strong face, who led the singing at the dinner party.  4.  The Aussie who thinks he is on walkabout.  5.  The cynical young ex pat who hates the US for all its lies.  I don´t even think he likes our new prince of peace.  He also doesn´t like the Albergues because there are too many people in them. 

The winner is a Cuban who has lived in Madrid for the past 20 years.  Some think he is a flirt.  I think he has a zest for life.  He will run (yes, run with pack on) to a group of tired pilgrims and sing to them to lift their spirits.  I have seen him writing notes in the dirt for others to read.  At breakfast, he greets everyone in the room. And, what put him over the top as the most colorful were his antics from three or four days ago.  I was sitting on a sidewalk with a Frenchmen (who was sharing his lunch with me).  We were the only two on the street.  I looked up and there was the Cuban acting the part of drum major marching down the street with his walking stick held high with two band members marching in formation (can two march in formation?) behind him.

Sorry Peter, no Germans in the finals. I have met many great Germans.  Some have been crazy enough to start the Camino at their own houses, walking from Augsburg (as reported earlier) and Munich.  Most of the Germans have read the comedians book on the Camino but none so far has admitted that he influenced their decision to walk.  Among the Germans, there is a good mix of Catholics from the south and Lutherans from the north.  Great folks, but not among the six most colorful characters.

Tomorrow I make it to Leon where I will rest Sunday.  On Monday, I head out again, joined by two friends from Austin, Bill and Mark.