May is back

May is back and we celebrated despite the wind on a terrace that at least was sheltered by the surrounding buildings. We were her friends: English, Scots, Danes, Canadians and an American or two. And there was champagne, nibblies and a buffet supper.

May wore shell earrings and her shell that proved she had accomplished the 800k+ or – kilometer walk of the St. James Compostelo pilgrimage. Those who complete the walk are awarded the shells. Because so many people wanted to talk to her, I will get more of the story next week or the week after when we can have a long chat over lunch when I hope more of the little details come out about her tendernitis, the weather, who she met, the conversations she held, what it was like to sleep in a room with eight snoring men.

One thing I did not want to know now led to a second natural question. The question was, “would you do it again?”

“Yes,” she replied. Her blue eyes flashed. May is a beautiful woman even in her sixties. “But I would do it differently.”

“Like?”

“When I started out I had washing liquid for my clothes, face soaps, shampoo. At the end I only carried shampoo. It is amazing how little we need.”

I also want to hear more about the Frenchmen whose phone number she lost. But we’ll save that for lunch.