The Camino can be along narrow dirt paths, country roads or a busy highway.

I had definitely chosen the wrong route. I stared in dismay at what seemed like miles of highway ahead of me and remembered my professor telling our class that our Camino would only occasionally involve walking along the road. As I frantically wondered how I would contact my classmates to tell them of my mistake, I came across an elderly couple I had met a few days before, and the two introduced me to their companion, Bernhard.

After asking me about my class and learning of my task to gather healing stories, Bernhard quickly ushered me ahead of the couple to tell me his reason for walking the Camino. “I want you to write about my story,” he eagerly stated, and I could not help but smile at his jolliness and look forward to what he would say.

The author with Bernhard.

A man of 43, Bernhard had worked as a manager at a factory that manufactured LED lights for 20 years but had lost himself in his work. He had few activities outside of his career that he genuinely enjoyed, and the lack of such flow had brought back the depression that he had thought was in the past. When his own thoughts became unbearable, Bernhard visited his doctor, who offered him few options. After a few more months of attempting to cope on his own, he learned of the Camino, returned to his doctor’s office, and stated his wish to die on the Camino de Santiago.

I was stunned. I would never have imagined that a man so jovial could have wished for something so devastating. Seeing my perplexed face, Bernhard stopped his story to reassure me, “Everything is wonderful, Nush, despite the past. Smile like before please.” He went on to say that he had been institutionalized for 6 weeks and out of that experience, he had emerged feeling blessed and happy, for he had realized others had problems much worse than he did. With a much lighter heart, he had decided to embark on the Camino as a test of his own mental hardiness.

Bernhard talked to many people on his way, enjoying the effortless and entertaining walking companionship of several men and women who exchanged stories with him. At other times, he journeyed alone, thinking of how he hoped to change his life and wondering whether he had really gotten better or not.

His first test was when he stood on a cliff and looked out into a foggy unknown. His second test for himself was to stand on the tall wall of a church.  At each of these, Bernhard stood for several minutes and contemplated his own death. Yet, he ultimately chose to live. Triumphantly, he stated how those experiences demonstrated to him that he was better, that the Camino and the people on it were slowly healing him.

To express his gratefulness towards the Camino, Bernhard continues to share his story with the pilgrims whom he meets, hoping to show them that they are not alone and that everything will be okay.

We spent the rest of our walk together discussing our families and our daily lives. As we were saying goodbye, I told him I had accidentally taken the wrong path, but I was so glad to have done so because I had met him. He laughed, “Nush, there is no ‘wrong’ way on the Camino, only different ones.” After a dramatic pause, he added, “The Camino makes no accidents. We met for a reason.”

As he walked away from me, I thought about his words. In his eyes, the Camino seemed to have a powerful magic, healing people and bringing them together. Although I still wasn’t quite sure where I stood on that topic myself, meeting him made me want to believe that there was something more.