Camino: people met along the way

One of my reasons for hiking a camino was to see who I'd meet. Here's a summary of 3 of interest:

The French juvenile delinquent (if that's the right thing to call him). He was walking with a social worker and she told me about this system of treatment. They'd been walking almost 3 months, from France along the Camino Frances to Santiago de Compostela, and then backwards along the Via de la Plata. Both had heavy packs and didn't have the cool gear that makes a pack lighter (like travel towels, and high tech sports wear). She said it was meant that in 3 months (they were almost finished) he'd have had time to reflect on the crimes he'd done and about changes he could make to improve his future.

I spoke to him too, and asked what he would do when he got home, he said he'd go back to school and hopefully help sick people. She'd told me he'd had a terrible upbringing. He's 18.


The ex-Political Prisoner. Honestly when I heard this it had taken me by surprise. But this man had been East German and imprisoned from, I think, 1971-1975. His English wasn't so good, so I couldn't get a lot of information. He said something about secret service.
I only found out about this because he checked into an albergue just after me and was distressed to find the room had no window. He said after bring imprisoned he really preferred to have a window.


The man with a Donkey: I met him in Seville and he left a few days before me, first going North East to pick up a donkey he'd bought to do the camino with. I later ran into him a couple of times more. He looked like he was having a really difficult time, perhaps he hadn't realised how difficult donkeys can be? He said the donkey was stubborn and progress was difficult, especially through town. Later I tried to assist him when he requested, but hurt my knee again in the process.