Day 2

We were heading out of Puente La Reina and stopped at some stores to buy food for the walk, so I had a plastic bag full of bread, cheese, jamon and chocolate. I started tucking into the food while we were waking so I chucked my gloves into the same bag.

A little while later, I noticed that one glove had gone missing. Ah well, I thought, that’s one less thing to carry.

Mary was late checking out of the albergue as usual. As she was exiting Puente La Reina, she noticed a glove on the ground. It was a clean glove and hadn’t been trampled on so she knew a pilgrim ahead of her had lost it. She picked it up and, when she caught up with some pilgrims, she asked them if they had lost a glove. One of the pilgrims she caught up with was Jaku, from South Africa.

Day 3

The next morning, as I was repacking my backpack, I thought of throwing out the remaining glove. And then I thought that one warm hand was better than two freezing ones so I kept it.

On our way out of Estella, we stopped to buy trinkets from a metal worker.

From a distance ahead, I recognized Ann, from Australia, heading towards us. We had met her on our first day. She was walking with Bernie, from the U.K. via Australia, and Barry, from Ireland, and Juan, from Mexico. They lost Barry and Juan at Zariquiegui that same day due to blisters, but she seemed to have lost Bernie as well since she was now with a Californian woman named Mary.

“You’re going the wrong way,” I said to her as she neared us.

“We can’t find the wine fountain,” she wailed.

“I’m pretty sure you passed it. It’s by the Church.”

We clarified its location with the shop owner and, sure enough, she and Mary had overshot it.

After we finished buying our trinkets…

… we caught up with Ann and Mary at the fountain.

Ann lent me her clam shell to drink from the fountain, while Mary took my photo.

Throughout the day, we crisscrossed paths along the way and, later on in the evening in Los Arcos, it was to Ann and Mary that our grumpy receptionist at the albergue wanted to give our beds because we hadn’t turned up yet.

That night, Bernie was also staying at our albergue and I reunited him with his former walking partner, Ann.

Day 4

Bumped into Ann along the road. She had walked on ahead of Bernie. Later, Mary walked by. It seemed that everyone that day was walking on their own.

As we were going through some hills, I myself walked ahead of the boys. Behind me, they had gotten to talking to a group. As I slowed down, the group caught up with me. The girls with them called a quick hello and walked ahead, while the boys lagged behind. I was left talking to Jaku, a South African.

He told me that he had underestimated the time it would take to Santiago so that he was going to have to take the bus soon so that he could finish the Camino.

We talked about a lot of other things and, somehow, my lost glove also came up in conversation.

“Ah! I know who has your glove,” he exclaimed.

“What??? No way!”

“Yes. Mary has it.”

“Mary from California?”

“Yes, Mary from California.”

“Mary, the one I’ve been seeing on and off the entire day yesterday? Don’t tell me that, In this entire Camino, there is only one Mary from California???”

I had passed Mary earlier at one of the towns and, sure enough, later, she walked by.

“Mary! You have my glove!”

“Woohoo,” she cheered, “Yes, I do! It’s a black Mamut!”

“Oh, no, that’s not my glove. Mine is a Marmot.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure that’s it. It starts with an M. Woohoo! I was just about to post a sign at an albergue for it. I’ve been carrying it everyday but, today, it’s in my backpack which I’ve sent ahead to Logroño. I’m sure I’ll see you there tonight.”

We made more whooping sounds and hugged, glad for this happy ending for my glove.

That night, we saw Jaku again at our albergue. It was his last night on the Camino with us. He was taking the bus to Sarria the next day.

Day 6

I sent an email to Ann. Was intending to wait for her reply before inquiring about Mary and my glove but I didn’t hear back from her until two days later.

Day 8, Villafranca Montes de la Oca

In one of the towns along the way, I saw Bernie again and finally met his granddaughter, Maddy. I was sitting in the grass at the albergue, drinking wine, kicking myself for not taking their photo when I had the chance. Who knew when I’d see them again?

Then it was dinner time and, as I got up to head for the dining hall, standing near the entrance to the albergue were Bernie, Maddy, and Mary!

As I yelled out their names, Mary whipped out my glove from her bag! We whooped and hugged.

At dinner, I told her about wanting to email Ann to ask her to tell Mary not to leave my glove at an albergue, but to keep it with her because we would surely meet again.

Then she told me what happened after we parted ways.

Day 4, Evening

Mary, Ann, and Bernie all ended up at the same albergue in Logroño.

“Remember that one, Bernie? It was an odd one because it had all these different keys and different sections at the albergue…”

She forgot where I said I would be staying so she wanted to leave my glove with Ann because she was sure that Ann and I would meet up before she and I did. But then all the keys and sections at the albergue were confusing so she left a note at the mailbox for Ann together with the glove.

Day 5

Mary was the last one out of the albergue again. Before she left, she checked the mailbox and the note and the glove were gone. “Oh, good,” she thought, “Ann got the message and took the glove.”

She left the albergue and started following the Camino signs that would take her outside of town. Before she could get very far, she remembered that she had left her food for the day in the refrigerator back at the albergue. She hurried back and rang the doorbell since she had already surrendered her keys.

Note: Had she stayed at a different albergue, the chances of her getting back in might have been difficult since, some of the alburgues where we stayed had no staff until about 10 AM and, once you are out the door, you can’t get back in unless there are other pilgrims still at the hostel at that time who can open the door for you from the inside.

Mary went straight to the kitchen to retrieve her food and, on the kitchen counter, she found her note and the glove! Somebody else must have removed it from the box and left it in the kitchen. She stuffed the glove in her purse and vowed never to remove it until she saw me, and she had been carrying it ever since.

“Why do you think I had it in my purse when I was going out to dinner?”

That night, I got a reply back from Ann: “Mary still has your glove.” I happily told her that we were all at the same albergue and all’s well that ends well.

Day 14, Leon

I got an email from Mary this morning saying that she is traveling again with Bernie and Maddy. They were in Fromista last night and will be in Carrion de los Condes tonight.

Ann has been running into Stephen and Raffy and they’ve been sending photos.

I still hope to see all of them along the road to Santiago.

Meanwhile, in the chilly mornings, I have two gloves that keep my hands warm.