The Sounds of the Camino

By Wendi Bernau

We stopped for the night at a place that is built on a river; it used to be a mill so all the outdoor tables and front porch are made of mill stones. There are many walnut trees, fig trees, and a large garden—all of which have been very fruitful this year. There are baskets of walnuts everywhere. When we arrived, a man showed us how to take a walnut and crack it open on the millstone table by laying it on its side and pounding on it with a fist.

I had some time in the late afternoon and I dug my hand through a basket of (whole) walnuts. It made such an interesting sound; walnuts clicking against each other’s shells. It reminded me of us as a group—from the outside we all look vaguely alike but we are different. During this walk my fellow pilgrims and I will undoubtedly be clicking up against one another. I hope we make sounds as beautiful as these walnuts.