No reservations

Today left my heart full. I decided to let go of control and declined to reserve a place to stay and instead opted to try my chance at getting into a first come first serve albergue (pilgrims hostel).

I had a particular hostel in mind. Betania, named after Saint Martha de Betania, who showed hospitality to Jesus in the gospels. The albergue has only 20 beds and included a pilgrim’s dinner, in which we all eat together family style. 

Committed to staying there, I got an early start out of Zubiri, pre-sunrise. Too early it would seem. I hauled ass thinking there would be a queue. The doors opened at 1 and I arrived at 11. I was the first one to arrive

I took a seat on the stoop assuming I’d have to wait around for 2 hours. 

Luck was on my side. Not 2 minutes after sitting, Leah, one of the volunteers helping to run the albergue, unlocked the door and came outside to take the trash out. She confirmed the doors opened at 1 and that I’d have to wait. We got to talking. I told her my story, where I had come from and where I was going. She saw my bag - all 10 kilos of it - and said “you know what, why don’t you drop off your bag here. That way you can explore town for a bit without the extra weight.”  Leah clearly exemplified Saint Martha. I thanked her emphatically and went on my way. 

Fast forward to later that afternoon.

I returned to the albergue and was assigned a bed. 

Not long after, one of the fellow pilgrims, Velda from Finland, was playing guitar in the common room, specifically Imagine by John Lennon. I felt inspired to join in and sing with her. 

One of the other albergue volunteers heard me singing. She let me know that after dinner, there would be a reflection in the 400 year old church attached to the albergue and asked whether I’d like to sing. “The acoustics are amazing.” She just said the song would need to be religious. 

I told her I used to sing Ave Maria all the time at family weddings. Perfect, she said

She and I went down to the chapel a few minutes early to check out the space and test the acoustics A moment later the other pilgrims arrived. None of them knew what Kiersten and I had conspired

At the end of the prayer service, Fr. Cesar announced now we’ll end with a song to the Virgin Mother. That was my cue. I walked up, played the piano accompaniment on my phone and began.

What’s funny, too, is that Vedla almost didn’t stay at Betania. She explained to us that she had actually reserved a spot at another albergue. She got there, got to her bed, sat down, and said that, for her, the energy felt off. And so she left and found Betania instead. Had she not made that decision, there would have been no one to play the guitar, no singing, and no Ave Maria.

It was a moment I’ll remember forever. Without my knowing it, Kiersten and another pilgrim, Scott, recorded it, and I’d like to share a portion below.

Trust the process. Sometimes the best memories are unplanned.