Friday, November 18, 2016 5Brooklin Town Crier Brad's El Camino - Part 3: The shooting star and the Purple Heart BTC contributor Brad McIlwain has been documenting his 800 km-plus El Camino de Santiago walk. This is the third installment in the four part series. One evening, in the mountain village of Santa Catalina, I was hanging my wet clothes to dry in the courtyard and admiring the Milky Way. A shooting star with a bright golden tail lit up the sky. It was a magical moment and one of many spectacular Camino sights. The shooting star filled me with a sense of wonder for what was ahead. I was still about 14 days from Santiago but that night, after my walk, I didn't feel well. I asked one of the staff where I was staying if there was a pharmacy nearby. No, the closest one was in a city two days away, so I settled my stomach with tea and bananas. With another long hike the next day, I needed energy. A few weeks into my Camino I developed a pain in my right knee. I wore a tensor bandage Graham from Australia had given me before parting in Viana. It helped at first, but as the terrain changed, my knee worsened. One night, during a pilgrim dinner, Liana, whom I met earlier, asked how I was doing. I told her about the knee pain. She's a physician and distance runner from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She examined my knee and determined it was my medial collateral ligament that was stressed from continuous walking. She taped it and cut some extra strips I could use later. I was grateful for her kindness and friendship. One memorable thing about walking the Camino is the camaraderie and people offering help, whether it's sharing supplies, preparing a meal at a hostel, or wishing someone Buen Camino to brighten their day. You form intense bonds with people you've have only known for a short time and although you might not see them for several weeks, suddenly they emerge from a cafe or crowded street corner and it's like reuniting with a best friend. In Leon, it was raining and I was exhausted. I was sipping hot chocolate in a shop when I looked up and saw a pilgrim passing by. I recognized the green poncho and rushed to the street. It was Silvia from Italy. Together we walked for three days, exploring abandoned churches and drinking espresso. We had this saying: La vida bella è con il cioccolato. Life is beautiful with chocolate! The day after Halloween would be a challenging and rewarding day. I'd be climbing to O'Cebreiro, originally an ancient Celtic settlement in the region of Galacia and the highest point on the Camino.. Terry, the U.S. army vet, and I stopped at a roadside bar, about 15 km into our day, for a quick break to talk about our next plan. I ordered us two cafe americanos. "I have bad news - and more bad news," Terry said. "Which one do you want first?" I asked for the bad news. "It's going to rain a lot sooner than we thought." "What's the more bad news?" "We have to climb O'Cebreiro today." O'Cebreiro is at about 1,300 meters, I was still tired from my push to Cruz de Ferro two days earlier. It would mean another 15 km up a slope. With inclement weather coming, we had no choice but to try. We reached the base at about 3 pm. The hills were steep and even the animals seemed to have a hard time. A donkey fell on its side, then quickly pulled itself to its feet like a prize fighter. When we finally reached O'Cebreiro, it was dusk and drops of rain began to fall. We got the last room at an inn and shared a single with two double beds. I was thankful for a place to rest. The room had wood paneling and stone walls. We opened the shutters to reveal a brilliant view of the church, which glowed in the dark. "I think this is one of my proudest moments...and the coolest," Terry said. I knew what an accomplishment it was for him. He'd seen the movie The Way and decided to make it his goal to try and walk again. You see, Terry was wounded in the Iraq war and was a recipient of the Purple Heart. Read Brad's story in the Dec. 2 issue where he describes the completion of his long journey. Brad on his approach to the ancient village of O'Cebreiro.