This morning started quite nice. The albergue last night was one of the best on the Camino. I met quite a wonderful group of pilgrims. The couple running the albergue treated every pilgrim like family. I was one of the first to leave this morning in an effort to beat the mid day heat. The sunrise was brilliant. 

About two hours into my walk I finally found a place for coffee. Soon I was joined by several of the pilgrims from last night. We had some more lovely conversation over coffee. I departed a bit before the others. The path wound through the trees next to the irrigation ditch which added the nice sound o running water. Soon the Camino came to a point where you must cross the interstate. As I stood waiting for a clear crossing an ambulance raced by with its lights on.  I said a prayer for whomever was in the back.

After crossing the Camino paralleled the road. It was straight and flat. A little more walking and I could see in the distance a lot of cars putting on their brakes and traffic in both directions stopping with some cars vereing around. Obviously an accident of some sort. A group of bicyclists passed by me but when they reached the traffic they all dumped their bikes and jumped off. 
As I got close I could see a car at an odd angle and then I saw the motorcycle! The right front end of the car was wrecked and in front was the motorcycle that had been stood back up but obviously severely damaged.  My heart sunk as I recalled the ambulance just a bit earlier. There was something so visceral it hit me like a ton of bricks.  A sudden flood of emotion took over. I kept walking for a few minutes and then sat down on the side of the Camino. I sat there trying to not get emotional but couldn’t seem to help myself. I prayed for the rider of the motorcycle. A few pilgrims passed me. Then a few of the pilgrims from the night before stopped and started to take of their packs. I said hello but tried to hide the wreck I had jus become.  They didn’t seem to notice but then another pilgrim from the albergue directly approached me and took off his pack, sat down next to me, & just hugged me. For several minutes he didn’t say anything. It was interesting how some people see nothing and others zero in from the heart.

Once I had relaxed a bit I asked if we could pray for the rider. “No, no! He is OK! I talked with the police and they said it was a miracle. Only the car and bike were damaged badly but the rider is OK.” I was so relieved. The whole incident left me a bit raw. The pilgrim ended up walkin with me for the rest  the day. Just before the next town he asked if I would share my story about going through the accident because he thought it would benefit some o the other pilgrims with what they were dealing with. So at the next stop I shared with the other five Italians and one translated. It was not easy in that moment with the raw emotions of the morning but I hope that in some way it helped.