I met two people abroad who’ve completed the Camino de Santiago both at the end of their pilgrimages.
I’ll focus on the second one in this post because whenever I’m trying to find new shoes to buy – more specifically when I’m browsing any Adidas – it reminds of her. I was doing exactly that the last two days.
Back in 2019, I decided to go to CDMX for a week superbly last minute. I recall booking the ticket Friday afternoon to depart the next day and stayed through the Friday after Thanksgiving.
This was the trip I would meet Ernest, a friend with whom I would travel with a bunch, most recently to Mexico again last August.
It was funny how we met. Briefly: we both went on the hostel tour of Condesa and La Roma neighborhoods. I heard him talking to someone and I casually said, “you sound American, where are you from?” which led to “which dorm are you in?” to “oh, cool we’re in the same one.” We became fast friends after that on the trip.
We trio’d up with an Australian girl, Dre, for the rest of the week playing tourist. One night clubbing with the hostel we both tried to hook up with the same Chinese girl, Tiffany, from the Bay Area who ended up drunk flirting with everyone from the hostel (the rest of that story doesn’t matter. Well, Ernest made out with her but got the cold shoulder the next night drinking with atop the hostel rooftop).
Anyway, that same night I would finally hang out with Anja, the German girl who completed the Camino. Dre introduces me to her while we queue to get into the second club. The first thing she does is look me up and down analyzing my outfit.
Sort of in these words: “Wow, you’re fashionable. [To the girls] He’s wearing a Patta pullover (kind of an obscure brand from the Netherlands that I just got the week before) and some cool Adidas. [To me] They’re called Nite Joggers, right?”
I was a bit speechless after her call outs. Her comments were lost with the others but after I remember she wouldn’t let me out of her sight.
Arms linked going into the club we exclusively danced together and we were buying each other drinks for the rest of the night.
We hail an Uber back to the hostel with Dre, Ernest and the Scottish girl, Sheona. Anja was sitting middle seat still on my arm, resting her head on my shoulder like we’d been dating for a while.
Taqueria Los Cocuyos was around the corner from the hostel and was still open so I led everyone there, Anja and I holding hands.
This is where her story ends.
Mexico was the last leg of her trip; her reward for completing the Camino. That night was her last day before flying home to Germany.
After we return to the hostel we walked straight to the landing of the stairs that branched off to other dorms. We hug, we kissed, and then she was gone for good. She left for the airport before everyone woke up. In the solo traveler’s dilemma, she was one I didn’t trade information with. I was cool with that.
So now here I am, unhappy with the current Adidas website selection turning to GOAT two days in row wanting to buy that same pair of Nite Joggers but they’re $511. I can wait. I wish I didn’t run my original pair into the ground. Am I interested in them again because of that memory? Could be, but damn diese schuhe sind so modisch, ja?
Anja if you ever see this post I hope you’re doing well.
graveyard shiftin 