Elia from France looks like he could be 20 or 50. A boyish face with messy hair, bright patient eyes and smile creases all over. I guessed 26. He said his oldest daughter is 13 and I guessed 38, correctly. He started walking the Camino in Le Puy, has been to Santiago, and is on his way back to Le Puy. He said he’s walking to keep a promise and didn’t go into any more detail. As an executive for a major water treatment company, he speaks English, German, obviously French, who knows what else. He's lived in London, Prague, Munich...you get the picture.

I wondered how someone with such serious business could take the time to walk from Le Puy to Santiago and back. He said he just asked for the time off and got it. “People have a lot more freedom than they think,” he said. No complaining about the third person plural there.