Day Two. 9 miles (14.4 kilometers) written on April 21, 2012.

Surprises and Celebration on the Camino.

Vern is shown here on his birthday with an ancient Camino de Santiago marker in the background.

This morning I signed and sealed the birthday card that I had brought with me from the U.S. and handed to Vern for his 60th birthday. Aloin, (who we now refer to as Nice Boy), Evelyne, and Yannick said happy birthday to Vern. Soon it was time for us to leave.

We had been on the trail for awhile when Evelyne, Yannick, and Aloin caught up with us. They immediately started singing Happy Birthday to Vern in perfect English! A few miles further we saw a note on a stick. We thought it was some information about the trail. It was a note with “Happy Birthday Vern” written on it. How thoughtful! They are fast walkers, but not walking so fast that they are not thinking of others. So as we walked further and the hours went by there were more wonderful and thoughtful messages to Vern.

It was a good day for surprises! The hike was steep, up and down over slick boulders and roots. It was a good second day of walking thanks to our friends and the warmth of the “French Camino”.