Pilgrim. Noun.

Definition: A person on a journey
 
ALL we heard was “Week in Spain... meet new people... craic”.  
 
We – my two friends and me, AKA ‘The Barrack Birds’ – were out for dinner and Jo Egan, our other buddy, is telling us about her plan to walk the Camino. The plane tickets were booked five minutes later.  What Jo actually said was: “Lads, I’m doing the Camino – it’s a 500-kilometre walking trek over four weeks in Northern Spain . A pilgrimage. I’ll stay in hostels, walk around 20 kilometres a day. It’s tough going, but you get to meet loads of new people and it’s great craic." 
 
She didn’t officially invite us, but there we were four weeks later standing in the reception of a hostel in Puento la Reina in the Basque Country, not a pair of gutties between the three of us Camino-jackers.  

“Hostel?” says I. “I don’t think so. Jo, how far is it from here to San Sebastian?” 

We started walking the next day. It took us about eight hours to do the first 10 kilometres, the Barrack Birds crying – no, not crying, wailing, for most of it.  After that first 10 we three had reached hysteria and threw ourselves on to a bench in a wee town called Lorca proclaiming we needed to get a taxi for the last hike of the day.  

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Barrack Birds on the Camino in 2010. Jo Egan is back left
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ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Barrack Birds on the Camino in 2010. Jo Egan is back left

Taxi arrived, Jo absolutely scundered by us forcing her into a cab on the Camino. A Barrack Bird sits in the front passenger seat dripping with sweat and with a face the colour of a slapped arse.

“Mister, we’re so glad to see you, you’ve saved us this day. what’s your name?”

“Jesus,” says he!

“Oh, Jesus!’” screams I. “Jesus saves!” shouts the Barrack Bird in the back, all of us now in stitches. Jo had forgiven us.
 
The craic continued and eventually over the next few days we became certified pilgrims as we worked out our journey together. “Lay it all down on the road,” Jo said, and that we did. For six days we hijacked Jo’s Camino. We pilgrims laughed, sang, danced, ate, drank and cried our way down the road and it was hands down one of the best experiences of my life. No amount of therapy would ever impact on me like that trip with those girls at that time.

Jo Egan would’ve been 64 this week. She passed away on Christmas Eve 2022. These memories of her more precious now than ever, each of them like a treasure trove find.   As we get older our friendship circle gets smaller but stronger.
 
In the last conversation I had with Jo before she passed, we both said: “Let’s meet up soon.” But we never got the chance.  

Don’t think about it. Lift the phone, send a text, WhatsApp, Messenger, jump in the car, get on a plane; whatever it takes, set a date to catch up with your fellow pilgrims and share the journey. 
 
As the old Irish saying has it"  'Giorraíonn beirt bóthar.’ ‘Two shorten the road.’