‘As always we are enjoying our time here at Emmaus and have loved meeting passing pilgrims. On our first day here we were visited by a couple from Switzerland, Marcel and Melanie. They were on day 78 of walking… They had left their home in Winterthur, about 20 kms north east of Zurich. Carrying in their rucksacks the vestiges of all their material possessions, they were walking all the way to Santiago.. and beyond to Muxia… who knows where else?
For each daily stage of their walk they had uploaded onto YouTube a short video of the places they had visited. Their YouTube channel is called meschmasch and we are included in Tag078 – see the link below
On they day they came to Emmaus, the bakery in Arthez was closed for holidays and they had struggled to get served food or drink in town. We offered to make them a baguette for their lunch and so we sat and chatted whilst they enjoyed their lunch! This explains the caption ‘wenn ich Hunge habe’. A fitting expression perhaps for this place of hospitality on the Way..
The next few days were very quiet.. pilgrims were tip tapping along but no one joined us.. but then a bit like the frequency of buses.. we had a flurry of visitors. At one point three separate groups of visitors sat together with Geoff and I in the garden.. it was a beautiful day .. each had their own story to share.. some were walking with friends, two were sisters, which was lovely.. and reminded me of my sister who if she was still alive would have loved to walk with me along the Way. We also welcomed a gentleman from Quebec who had taken advantage as soon as he could of the lifting of Covid restrictions in Canada to walk the Way..
This morning we welcomed a young french woman taking a couple of months to walk to Santiago..
So there are plenty of new faces to add to the pilgrims gallery… it’s funny how good news travels fast.. one of the visitors on our busy morning stopped by because her friend who in May this year had been here, and told her about the Emmaus welcome… she was delighted to see her friend’s photograph with volunteer Kathy..
Geoff and I have been surprised at the not insignificant number of pilgrims passing.. we get the feeling that Covid restrictions have grounded so many people for so long that now gradually, they are starting to rediscover the Way..
And so it is for Geoff and I.. we have been blessed by our rediscovery of the joy that comes with the spirit of Emmaus and the Camino.’
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And here are Melanie and Marcel at Emmaüs with Sue.
