Reunion & Presentation

 By Maryanna Gabriel

Book Presentation

The first thing I did upon returning to my home turf was visit the home where I grew up. It made me so happy to see it. It looked loved and cared for with even more fabulous decks.

I am fortunate to have good friends. It was tons of fun seeing everybody with two reunions that were back to back, one from our high school at West Vancouver Secondary, and one from our  old Outdoor Club. The bonding from both is still intense and it is possible the intervening shut-down with the pandemic helped us enjoy ourselves even more. The weather was ideal and quite honestly, we were enormously blessed to have had what we had.

Banyen Books

I also managed to visit my mother-in-law who is quietly losing weight and sleeping most of the time in extended care. She opened her eyes and gave me the biggest smiles as I told her little stories. I wish I was closer. She is one of the most comforting people I know. The trip into Vancouver also led me to Banyen Books, one of the greatest bookstores, and was it ever exciting to find my book on the "Travel, Pilgrimages, & Sacred Places" shelf. 

The presentation for the book at the West Vancouver Memorial Libary went really well. It takes a lot of energy to get up in front of people and I worked hard at perfecting the slides beforehand. They were an appreciative audience and so it was a highly rewarding experience, especially the interesting discussions that were engendered. 

And now coming home, my heart is warm with the memory and a little sad it is all over. 

Hospitalero; Return To The Camino

 By Maryanna Gabriel 

Who knew? There is a lot to this.

I just came through an intense weekend of training along with nine others so that I may return to the Camino as someone who assists in the refugios. Sounds like a a good way to help out and keep the Camino spirit going. Mary Virtue, who heads the Victoria Chapter for the Camino, is a going concern. She and Daphne, another experienced volunteer, led us through every contingency as we prepared for the experience together. It was a bit like grown-up summer camp except it was very much in the Camino way. The Camino way is hard to describe. 

For one thing it involves Basaque cake, empanadas, bean soup, chorizo, olives, and of course dry wine, as we laughed, cried, poured over maps, sang, role-played, shared information, wisdom, and talked about the current state of the Camino, the needs and wants of those walking it now and those who were there as hospitaleros at present, and a man who had just returned. And of course how best to make a contribution without keeling over in a dead feint. 

We even got recipes. The cake below was made by Mary and is often found on the Camino. I loved every minute of it. The camaraderie was indisputable and it was wonderful to talk about it with people who immediately "got it" and who had so many stories to share.