A Camino moment. Tomorrow I start a long Camino to Santiago with a 30 day trek across Manaslu and Annapurna. Then to the west of Ireland to start a 3+ month walk from my ancestral home to Santiago, Spain. At the permit office in Kathmandu a smiling woman approached me, Silvia Martellotti from Italy, a fellow hospitalero from Albergue Verde in Hospital de Orbigo, Spain. We met last July there both volunteering to help peregrinos (pilgrims). What great karma for the start of a long journey that will take me back to Santiago and hopefully a night or two at the oasis Albergue Verde.
Walking to the permit office I asked the woman selling flower necklaces if I could take her photo. She said yes but I would have to buy a necklace for 100 rupees($1). I normally never pay for photos but I agreed this time for some reason as I was happy, having minutes before finalized my trekking plans with the start being the following morning. Walking back after my reunion with Silvia, i passed her and found someone who spoke English to ask her in Nepali what the symbolism of the necklace was. “Good luck” was her reply.
Earlier today, i had breakfast with Lance Collins, an expat American holistic Osteopathic Healer from Chang Rai, Thailand. He is Healer to many Buddhist monks and has a deep knowledge of Buddhism. Here he is giving a 3 hour talk on Dharma to 300 Monks and 600 lay people. We met unexpectedly at breakfast yesterday and agreed to trek together. After finalizing our plans to leave tomorrow he mentioned our meeting was synchronicity ( which was introduced to the west by Carl Jung in 1951 but part of Buddhist thinking for a thousand years). Lance wanted to do Dolpo but for various reasons, Manaslu was suggested and we switched plans. He went on the internet to research Manaslu and saw some pictures of the Tsum Valley side route and felt he was supposed to go there. Made me recall being here in 1994 with Patrick Duffy when we planned to do Manaslu but were talked into walking Everest Base Camp trek.
Yes…Synchronicity….should be an interesting 30 days.