8 Days on the Via de la Plata - DAY 1 - Miracle 1

Those of you who've followed my blog for a while have heard this story. A few months ago, my blog was somehow compromised and I lost many pages, so please forgive me as I post this again for those who have not read it. This story appears in Sylvia Nilsen's book YOUR CAMINO and is one of the many Camino miracles I experienced while on one route or another of The Way.

The Miracle of the Abanico (Fan)

While in Seville I bought a beautiful Abanico (decorated fan) from a gypsy woman for only 3 euro. The fan was very useful, and many people, both tourist and local, were seen using a fan during the heat wave. I thought I´d use it while there, then take it home to Emma, my eldest granddaughter, with the story that "This is the fan Grandma carried across Spain."

I used it the two days we were there. Then the morning we left for Italica, I was getting ready to leave the hotel and had to use the toilet suddenly. I had the fan in the back pocket of my traveling pants. I enjoyed my lovely BM, then got up to flush the toilet, and saw, in HORROR, that my beautiful painted fan was swimming in the toilet!!!

Using a plastic bag as a glove, I fished it out, rinsed it off, and disposed of it, saddened at my bad luck and at the same time laughing at my stupidity.

I soon forgot the fan as I enjoyed the sights in Italica. Then came the long walk to Guillena.

As we approached the village, the waymarking was confusing... do we go RIGHT across the streambed or do we go LEFT across the bridge? It was extremely hot. We were out of water and our main goal was finding something to drink. We were unfortunately approaching the village during the siesta hours when EVERY single place is locked up tight from 2 pm until 5 pm.

On a gut feeling, I told Joe, "let´s go THIS way." It was too hot to argue. We walked across the stream bed, straight into an alley and about a kilometer later we stumbled into a square with a fountain. But... it was dry!

As we lamented our poor luck, two local gentlemen passed by, and seeing our dilema, showed us how to open a metal door on the side of the fountain, turn a screw, and viola! WATER!

We were dunking our heads in the lukewarm water when I heard a voice, "Perigrinos! Perigrinos!"

I looked to see where the voice was coming from and saw a hand sticking out from between the bars of a window across the narrow lane. Walking to the window, the hand retreated, then quickly returned, holding a frosty 1.5 litre bottle of COLD WATER!!!

The lady asked us,"Quieres agua fria¨?...."Would you like cold water?"

Would we EVER! We accepted with gusto, drinking down the entire bottle. She then insisted on giving us another one to carry along with us.

Blessing her, and thanking her profusely, I gave her one of the St. James Chaplets I had made and brought along for just such occasions.

She told me to wait, then returned and handed me a gift.

It was a lovely painted fan, identical to the one I'd ruined that morning.

Emma with "The Fan Grandma Carried Across Spain"

 The Camino is indeed Magic and provides all our needs!

* * * 

For those of you who'd love to walk the Camino Santiago but aren't quite ready to walk alone, please consider joining amaWalkers USA for one of our small, affordable Camino walks. For more information see our website at the following link:
AnnieWalkersCamino