Children's screams echoed up the valley.

We looked below and saw two figures waving frantically to us from a boulder at the river’s edge. We waved back, brandishing our trekking poles aloft like exotic insects. 

As we wandered along the jungle trail, passing exotic fruit trees and herbal leaves, we heard the strange sound. It was like a man straining to do hefty work, only not a normal man: a monster man. 

In 2012, I walked 550 miles on the Camino de Santiago from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela, and onto Finisterre on the coast. The Camino is a thousand year old pilgrim trail to Santiago de Compostella where the remains of St. James the Apostle are kept. The route I walked, the Camino Frances, is just one of many pilgrim roads to Santiago, but it is the most popular and well marked. It was featured in the movie, The Way, starring Martin Sheen, and several Camino books. 

Why You in Comoros?
“Why you in Comoros?” asked the security official inside Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport. I looked at the man, sweat already dribbling down my forehead due to the lack of air conditioning inside the poky terminal building. A small group of people had gathered to observe the hassle I was receiving.