Two men going east

Passing through the small town of Burlada on my way to Pamplona, a man walking in the opposite direction approached me and asked if I were a "peregrino." After a brief back and forth with possible languages of communication, I discovered that he was Italian with a strong command of English.The  strange part was that he was dressed in a habit/robe. Although I never asked him if he were in a religious order, he had an off-white colored habit with a rope cincture and carried travel gear along with his Bible. The stranger part was that he already walked from Lourdes to Santiago then to Fatima then to Avila back to Santiago and now heading east (against the "current") toward Jerusalem. His intent is using his pilgrimage to "pray for peace in the world." After speaking with him I could not find any hints of insanity, only a very strong passion. He seemed genuinely appreciative when I agreed with many of his points about the evils of war and violence and my quoting biblical verses in support ("Amate i vostri nemici..."). He gave me his email address; at some point I'll have to see how he's doing. With smiles and sincerity he wished me a "Buen Camino" and we both parted going in opposite directions.

Close to leaving Pamplona another man walking in the opposite direction of the clearly marked path through the city - a silver haired man dress slacks and dress shirt but no tie - asked me if I were a pilgrim, which actually was pretty obvious given my backpack and walking stick. He was so friendly and genuine. After my usual "hablo muy poco espanol" he switched right into fluent but accented English. He told me that he worked a few years in Madison at the University of Wisconsin until the president of the Universidad de Navarra convinced him to come back to Spain. A professor of bio-chemistry, I shared with him about my own profession as physics and religion teacher. With smiles and sincerity he wished me a "Buen Camino" and we both parted in opposite directions.

Giovanni LoPresti and Estaban Santiago, I will always remember entering and leaving Pamplona.