The Camino Cafe

122 - Healing Hearts and Harmonies: Harold Payne's Transformational Journey on the Camino de Santiago

Leigh Brennan Episode 122

Join us at the Camino Cafe as the talented LA-based singer-songwriter Harold Payne takes us on his transformative journey along the Camino Portuguese. Harold opens up about the deeply personal motivations behind his walk, from his academic background in Spanish to the profound need for healing following his wife's passing. Along the way, he shares the exhilaration of completing the journey and the empowering sense of accomplishment it brings, interwoven with stories from his impressive music career, including collaborations with legends like Bobby Womack, Rod Stewart, and Snoop Dogg.

Ever gotten a black eye from a guidebook? Harold has, and he's here to tell the tale. We explore the balance between the physical challenges of the Camino, like heel pain and blisters, and the mystical, meaningful encounters that can happen on such a journey. Drawing parallels to his experience on an international peace walk in India, Harold reminisces about the spontaneous connections made along the way. To top it off, he treats us to a heartfelt performance of his original song "One Step," which captures the essence of taking small, meaningful actions.

Finally, we reflect on the lasting impact of the Camino de Santiago on Harold's life. Harold chats about his own love for travel and adventure, sharing insights on the importance of spontaneity and the value of accommodations that balance comfort and proximity to the action. With memorable advice for future travelers and an impromptu song aptly titled "The Camino Saved Me," Harold's reflections offer a heartfelt guide for anyone looking to embark on their own Camino journey.

Connect with Harold:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/haroldpaynemusic909
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HaroldPayneMusic

All songs are original songs written and performed by Harold Payne



Connect with Leigh:

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The Camino Cafe's intro and outro song with thanks to fellow Pilgrim, Jackson Maloney. Original Song - "Finnis Terre" - written and performed by Jackson Maloney - Singer, Musician, and Songwriter. Connect with Jackson: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3fdQsSqq9pDSwKcWlnBHKR

Speaker 1:

Hey everyone, welcome to the Camino Cafe podcast. And can I tell you, pinch me. Pinch me, because I am here with the Harold Payne and you guys have all heard his music. He is a famous singer-songwriter and he has been walking the Camino Portuguese and we've been having a blast. So welcome to the Camino Cafe podcast.

Speaker 3:

Thank you.

Speaker 1:

So we're going to do a little bit of an interview, we're going to do a few songs and well, we're going to be two pilgrims.

Speaker 3:

And have fun. Yeah, we're just here to talk.

Speaker 1:

All right, so let's just start off with how did you decide to walk the Camino?

Speaker 3:

Well, it started, really the first, my first knowledge of the Camino was at college, at at UCLA, where I was a Spanish major, and then linguistics and teaching English as the second language and I, of course, studying Spanish. I learned about the Camino and I thought well, 1200 years of people walking this path, how incredible. It seems that's a distant thing at the time. And then fast forward. Uh, several of my friends walked the Camino and I love to travel, and unfortunately my wife passed away, uh last November, and so there was a spiritual potion to it and I wanted to just take her with me on it, and so it's a combination of all those things really.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it was just the right time.

Speaker 3:

It was the right time.

Speaker 1:

And how did you decide to walk the Portuguese route?

Speaker 3:

No falo português but I don't speak Portuguese, but it just I really didn't have time to do the Frances, yeah, and it just seemed like a nice bite size thing to do. It's a little more than a bite, but uh, it was a mouthful, but a beautiful, tasty mouthful yes, and where did you start?

Speaker 1:

in porto, and this was your first camino. How are you feeling now? You got to santiago yesterday yes how did that feel walking into the city?

Speaker 3:

It felt exhilarating, to say the least. I mean, just, you feel proud that you can do that and you look back at the experiences and it makes you feel like you can do anything. You know, you feel like you. The things that you've had to deal with on your own, because I'm walking, walk down my own, which is another story, yes, but um, yeah, I just feel empowered to like that.

Speaker 3:

If I can do that I can walk for five, six, seven hours every day, then you know. Then I think I can walk to the store in California. We get in our car a lot that's true.

Speaker 1:

You probably don't do a whole lot of walking there but I haven't done, but not this much yeah, and so let's talk a little bit about your life. Prior to coming and walking in Camino, you've had quite the career as a singer-songwriter humbly because so I mean, I was very fortunate in that my brother, who is a yogi, yes before he was a yogi.

Speaker 3:

He was in the magazine world in advertising okay.

Speaker 3:

And one of the big contacts he made for me. He connected me with a guy named Bobby Womack, who is a R&B legend, and it opened up a lot of doors for me. I was fortunate to make my living starting when I was 20, playing music, and then I started getting into writing for other people and Bobby introduced me to his albums, and then there was a bunch of people that I did songs for Rod Stewart P. I started getting into writing for other people and Bobby introduced me to so his albums and then there was a bunch of people that I did songs for Rod Stewart, pag LaBelle, from Peter Paul and Mary to Snoop Dogg, basically that I've written songs for.

Speaker 3:

And so but travel has always when I really first started writing. Travel is what inspired it. You know just higher highs and lower lows that you get from getting out of your comfort zone, especially traveling alone, and the less you bring with you, the more you assimilate to where you are. And that led me to this situation which I was coming with a friend and at the day of he had an illness and he couldn't come. Wow, the day of he had an illness and he couldn't come, and wow, which was unfortunate. But I don't mind traveling by myself, but he made all the arrangements and so I ended up being, you know, doing something. It would have been fine with a couple people, but, yeah, I was kind of staying in some apartments instead of being like next to the actual and talk about Tucson Tuesday.

Speaker 1:

This is something that you do every week.

Speaker 3:

Facebook live it's a little bit about what it is and maybe do one song okay, a Tucson Tuesday is something that really started with the pandemic and one of my favorite artists, bill Withers, passed away. I just felt compelled to go on and do a tribute to him and that and a lot of people showed up and I thought there's a mentor said look, this is the golden time for you to be online, because people are hanging out and need it and so I started doing this.

Speaker 3:

I first did it on Thursdays. It was like an hour or so, but I felt that I wanted a shorter version for me and for them, you know, because I don't you don't always want to hang out that long, yeah, so I came up with this idea for Tucson Tuesday. Alliteration always helps, yes, and so it's one cover song, one original and improv. So it's two, two song, tuesday plus okay, and so I usually start off with a cover song and then I do an improv and I take titles from the chat and pick one or all of them and do a song about it.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so Harold and I recorded this interview at my apartment and we had some technical glitches, so Harold was nice enough. After we recorded the show, he re-recorded some songs for us and that's what you'll be hearing throughout the interview. So here's the first song Out of Many One People, an original song by Harold Payne.

Speaker 2:

There's a colorful island nation in the greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea that has given more than its share of culture and music To humanity. Out of many one people, that's what they say in Jamaica. Out of many One people, that's the Jamaican way. The Spanish and the British and Jamaican Maroons, indigenous peoples and some pirates too, from Kingston to Ocho Rios to Montego Bay, indian, african, irish, chinese, scottish, german, syrian and Lebanese it turns out even better. Out of many one people, that's what they say in Jamaica. Out of many one people, that's the Jamaican way. Mentos car dancehall, rhythm of the reggae Dub toasting Dancehall, rhythm of the Reggae Dub Toasting Sound System, rocksteady so much good music to share with the world. Bob Marley, bunny Wailer, jimmy Cliff, peter Tosh, desmond Dekker, shabba Ranks it doesn't stop and it all comes together in a sweet Jamaican patois.

Speaker 2:

Out of many one people, that's what they say in Jamaica. Out of many one people, that's the Jamaican way. There's room enough for everyone and everything, including the Jamaican bobsled team. Out of many one people, that's what they say in Jamaica. Out of many one people, that's the Jamaican way. Oh oh oh. That's the Jamaican way. That's the Jamaican way.

Speaker 1:

Okay, that was Camino magic. Camino magic, it was beautiful, thank you. So you brought your guitar. Okay, I got to tell you that's my favorite kind of pilgrim that brings a guitar. I become very popular on the camino. So how was it carrying it? And, you know, were you bringing it out regularly or were you kind of just keeping it away until later, believe?

Speaker 3:

it or not. I'm a little shy about I it helps. That's where my friend had come. He's he would been my pr man hey um my friend's getting placed. So I it's hard for me to go up and you know, say hey, want to hear some music. But I had some really cool moments. One was the this korean couple that was getting engaged and this other korean woman that I walked with for a while how about you come and I'll tell you a little bit about them and you make up a song and surprise them.

Speaker 3:

So that was a really a nice moment wow but my, the amazing thing is my very first day on the Camino. I mean, it started off. I'm at the cathedral in Porto and I, first of all, I met this guy from Switzerland who showed me how my backpack wasn't on quite right then. And then this I was talking to him and some other guy from the US was there. We were speaking English and some Australian young woman comes up and I was asking where I could change some money and she said I'll help you and I go over there and my american express. I didn't know the password because usually I use my, my debit card. So she said what do you mean? I'll get you 50. Can I give you 50 euros? And I go you want to give me money? I'm not going to take money from you. So this is my first. You know my before I'm even starting the Camino, and so I go. How about I give you US dollars? So I gave her some US dollars for euros, but she was going to literally give me 50 euros.

Speaker 3:

Stranger I just met. So then I walk over and I'm getting ready to start walking. The Camino Cut me off if I'm taking this.

Speaker 1:

No, I love these answers. Are you kidding me?

Speaker 3:

and so these, uh, two Dutch women are there and they further adjusted my back. I've never worn a backpack before. I'm such a rookie, so I love it. Uh. So, and then we're talking. Her husband's name is Harold, so we kind of bonded, we talked for a little bit and then she said well, you, I see somebody starting the camino right there, and it was a woman from sweden. She said maybe you should walk with her. That'd be great. So I walked with her for a couple hours. We stopped at a cafe this is my first day and, uh, there was no seats available outside, so there's one young woman sitting by herself. So I wouldn't have done this. But she walked up and said can we sit at your table? Yeah, so of course. So we start talking. And a half hour later she you know, she asked me what I do and and I get invited to her mother's paella party. This is my first day on the Camino your.

Speaker 1:

This is your first day. You had an epic first day. Yeah, I mean all these things happen.

Speaker 3:

And so I get invited. She says why don't you come and take Uber over and I'll take you home? On the way back, and they were having a choir sing there the other singers and so I sang and ate and had this incredible thing there's a mile long table of food, including paella. That was my first day on the Camino.

Speaker 1:

Your first day. Yeah, that at all. Yeah, wow, camino angels, camino magic.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, no really.

Speaker 1:

Now I was watching one of your videos. I think it was last Tuesday's video. And you can't see it today, but you had a bit of a black eye.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I had some interesting experiences. I was on the train from Porto and I was taking my bag off of the top rack and apparently the zipper was undone and a book came flying out and hit me right here and gave me a big thing. And guess what book it was? What Briarley, your Briarley.

Speaker 1:

Guidebook. What briarley, your briarley, my briarley guide, your briarley guidebook, literally fell he was going you better read my book more I had a big old black eye, it's just barely you know briarley. He's still with us. He's still with us really that is something else.

Speaker 3:

Well, it looks a lot better now, so thank you, yes, but I wore it as a magic one well, and, and you know, I think with briarley let's talk a little bit.

Speaker 1:

You know, briarley always used to talk about the practical and the mystical sides of our walks right and for the tucson tuesday people.

Speaker 3:

These are the he's the godfather of, of the Camino and right, 25 years of walking the Camino, writing guidebooks.

Speaker 1:

I mean, he, he's the guy that probably is why we're sitting here today. We wouldn't know about it. So so we used to talk about. You know, there were two sides, you know, of the Camino. There's the practical side and the mystical side, the spiritual side. So let's talk a little bit about the practicality. It sounds like you're not a big hiker. This isn't something you're regularly doing in LA.

Speaker 3:

I walk fairly okay and I I have hiked. I live in an area and I live in San Pedro, in the Los Angeles area, and there's right next to Palo Verdes and there's a lot of nice places to walk there and I do that fairly often.

Speaker 1:

But I'm not, I don't call myself, a hiker and I definitely am not not doing 10, 12, 15 mile hikes on a regular basis, no, especially in LA right, yeah, really okay, so from a practicality, because I think sometimes we Camino veterans, you know, we can kind of romanticize a little bit about our Camino, right, because the pain's done, now we've arrived, we forget about maybe blisters or whatever. So let's talk a little bit about, aside from the black eye, what was the toughest part for you physically.

Speaker 3:

Well, in my case, I had a heel issue before I came and it stopped me from training and so and the doctor said, well, it's probably not going to get better. You might want to postpone this, but it's not going to hurt your heel, but it's just going to hurt. So it wasn't horrible. It was about a two and a half or three at the beginning of the day and about a four at the end of the day. But you know, every time I stop and I take my shoes off and everybody you talk to of course had either blisters or whatever I mean.

Speaker 3:

But that's part of learning how to take care of that self, and taking a needle and doing that and putting padding around it and it people tell you, but to experience it yourself, uh, and and to like, go, okay, I can do this. And even more empowering is the fact that that you can walk through the pain a little bit and it was vale la pena, it's worth it, you know, um, so that was really my home, that and a few blisters that I learned how to manage myself. Um, and, of course, the fatigue a little bit, sometimes when it was a really long walk and a really steep hill yes you know, but I it.

Speaker 3:

It was more like the feeling, if I can do this, I can, there's possibilities are wide open.

Speaker 1:

That's really something coming from you, because you've had such great accomplishments in your life. I mean you know not I mean very few of us get to do the type of work you do and have the success that you've had. Yet you're finding that coming and walking has given you new empowerment absolutely. And I walked, did a walk in India, the international peace walk many years ago okay and it was a similar sort of thing wow, and did you feel that way after that as well?

Speaker 3:

yeah, I, yeah, I definitely felt, you know, and the idea of meeting people along the way from wherever and the spontaneity of just landing where you land and meeting who you meet, and it's a romantic notion that is actually true. That counterbalances the blisters and the whatever you know. There's the two sided coin and we all, most of us, at the end tell the romantic side.

Speaker 1:

Yes, absolutely. Well, how about we do another song? Here's Harold with another original song. This song he wrote about a walk in India. It's titled One Step.

Speaker 2:

I walk in the footsteps of those who've gone before, and this road I travel on will lift me up and make me strong. So when people ask me what this journey's for, I say if I take one step in the right direction, the right direction, if I touch one heart along the way, if that one step becomes a chain reaction, then my journey has not been in vain. I know no countries, I know no governments. I just know the people I've had the joy to meet and the kindness they have shown helps to make me feel at home Everywhere I rest my weary feet. And if I take one step in the right direction, if I touch one heart along the way, if that one step can change the action, then my journey has not been in vain. If I take one step in the right direction, if I touch one heart along the way, if that one step is my chain of action, then my journey has not been in vain. Then my journey has not been in vain. Then my journey has not been has not been in vain.

Speaker 1:

That is a perfect Camino song. What's the title of this song?

Speaker 3:

One Step.

Speaker 1:

One Step and is this available? Can people?

Speaker 3:

download this song yeah.

Speaker 1:

Spotify, apple Music, youtube okay, everybody get that on your communal playlist. And for those of you who not left the Camino are watching this for Tucson Tuesday we hope you come and walk the Camino and you. One of the things that we were talking about earlier today is that both of us have walked. We walked because we were processing grief and we talked about, you know, doing the walk. It's not in vain, right, and I think, the things that we get to process and, more importantly, I think, how we are after this, or when we tell people our story about walking our Camino, it may help someone else out there that's going through a similar loss that maybe we've had. Yeah, so tell us a little bit about you know how? What is it about the Camino? Maybe that can help people who are going through a tough time. You how did it help you?

Speaker 3:

well, I, uh, my wife passed away last November and so part of my reason for coming on the Camino was just, in a way, to honor her and to kind of help me go through this a little bit.

Speaker 3:

And, you know, meeting people along the way and the spontaneity of it and seeing how beautiful people are and life is, and just waking up every day and the fact that everybody just has a backpack and there's no pretentiousness and it's just and everyone is open hearted on the commute. You know that. You know, in a way it's almost like going to a yoga class. You know that the people who are going to take a yoga class are probably pretty open-hearted people, and so the Camino provides, as they say, and it just, it allowed me to, you know, to process the grief a little bit, me to, you know, to process the grief a little bit. In addition to the joy of what was happening, there's the, the romance of the Camino. There's, in this case, the, the spiritual, you know, processing the grief and then there's the you know, physical part of it that comes with it and it all blends together in a way that that kind of you know gets you through some things and make you feel more confident going forward. That's for me anyway.

Speaker 1:

I love how you said that. It blended it all together and it sounds like you had some moments, maybe of joy again and maybe some feelings of hope. Was it feeling like you could find a way to enjoy life a little bit?

Speaker 3:

yeah, alongside, yeah, I mean, right, the grief's not going away. But, yeah, I'm a pretty positive person and I would never like live in the the uh, you know downward spiral or anything like that. But but it really helped I to lift my spirits, as with each step I took, you know, and I brought a little something that I was going to put somewhere and I don't know where it is. I found this right before I left.

Speaker 3:

It was something that she wore yeah so wearing this and knowing that I'm going to put it somewhere special here is kind of cool yeah.

Speaker 1:

So tell us about your wife's name. Tell us a little bit about you. Guys were married for a really long time.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, Susan Nakagama.

Speaker 1:

She was Japanese American.

Speaker 3:

So I grew up in a town with a large Japanese population and she was a multi talented person. She worked for the state of California. She started off, you know, at the entry level, ended up being the assistant chief labor commissioner for the state of California and handling the work of five people. Practically she was a force of nature and on the other side she was very um, artistic kind of a.

Speaker 3:

She was a feng shui queen about a life and she was a great cook and a foodie and a fashionista. The clothes that she left behind, which I'm passing on to other people, is like unbelievable. Anyway, she's a beautiful soul and I was lucky to have those times yeah, she sounds amazing.

Speaker 1:

Did you ever talk about walking together?

Speaker 3:

to be honest, it wasn't her, it wouldn't have been her thing she's, she's worked hard and she was more room service, to be honest with you. Yeah, you know, um, but um you know, she had her career and I had mine, and we had our moments together would she be surprised to know that you're doing this?

Speaker 1:

would would you thought you would have ever taken something like this on? Not right, she wouldn't be surprised no, because I did the walk in india. That's some other yeah and she knew what I like to travel yeah, so now you have the bracelet, the cross that you're going to try to find somewhere to place it here in this very special city but if anybody has any suggestions yes, I, I think they're behind the heater over there. Yeah, that'd be wonderful. Wow, Okay, so third song. What's you usually do? A?

Speaker 3:

I usually do an improv.

Speaker 1:

Improv okay.

Speaker 3:

So usually what happens is I get titles from the audience that they put in the chat, but since we're recording this, I guess it's going to be on you, on me.

Speaker 1:

Oh, no, okay, so we know that this's going to be on you On me?

Speaker 3:

Oh no, okay, so we know that this is going to be fun. We have not rehearsed this, right? No, what you're going to say.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 3:

And if your dog has a request, that's okay too.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, he might.

Speaker 3:

He might chime in Okay so what do I have to do? You just give me a title or anything, any title, any subject I'm putting you on the spot?

Speaker 1:

oh my gosh, okay, um, how about the camino saved me? Okay so harold is the real deal. The way that he can make up a song on the spot is absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, the song that we recorded at the apartment you're not going to hear, but when he got home he recorded another impromptu song with the same title. This guy's amazing. Here we go. Here's Harold Payne with the impromptu title that I gave him the Camino saved me.

Speaker 2:

I was stuck in a job I didn't really love and everything I was doing just didn't seem like enough. Somebody mentioned a walk that they took to Spain. It just took a couple minutes to explain and I knew that Camino would save me. And the Camino saved me. Where else can you go? People all over the world Reaching out for each other. No countries, nothing else to discover, just heartfelt people walking that road. All they got on their back is a little load and a smile on their face. Everywhere. The Camino saved me, made me realize that there was more to life than making a buck. Just being with each other. That was enough. The Camino saved me. Walking into Santiago with all of my fellow travelers was a moment I'll never forget, just about as good as it can get. Walking in the footsteps of 1200 years, camino saved me and chased away all my fears, and I'll never forget the friends that I made along the way. Think about it every day. The Camino saved me. Yes, it saved me, and it won't be long till it saves me again.

Speaker 1:

How do you do that?

Speaker 3:

I don't know, how do you do this?

Speaker 1:

My goodness, I can see why you are who you are. I mean my goodness to be able to just do a song just like that Amazing are who you are. I mean my goodness to be able to just do a song just like that amazing. You know, if you were to be able to go back and talk to yourself and say I wish I'd known this about the Camino before starting, you know, because there's probably somebody that's watching that is going to be inspired from hearing your story and they're going to come walk.

Speaker 1:

What would you tell them?

Speaker 3:

I would just say that you know, my friend who became my virtual sherpa because he was, you know, did all the booking and stuff it just I I would say to leave it open for a little bit of spontaneity. And, and you know, I I wasn't the albergue hostile type where I was in a room with 30 people. Necessarily, if I were in my 20s maybe I would have, but I liked being, I would book things that were closer to the action, like next to an albergue but a private room, yes, a private bath if possible, and book things that were right in the action. Like my friends have a hotel that's right down there and it's relatively inexpensive, and you know, uh, the apartment thing is.

Speaker 3:

You know, I had some the other night. I couldn't even get in my apartment because I kept turning the key and nothing happened. So I finally I thought I was going to sit out and be out on the street and I knocked on a bunch of doors and somebody finally opened it. I said I can't get this open. He said you pull the door back and then turn the key. I would have known that it was so anonymous. So I would say, try to have places that are close to the action, if possible. Yeah, definitely Talk to somebody who is, who would know that and how was your equipment?

Speaker 1:

your shoes were okay, your backpack? Was there anything that you brought that you thought, oh, I never used it, I shouldn't have brought it. Or you wish you'd had a different type of equipment with you I, I really like my shoes.

Speaker 3:

I, I had some hokas and um, I ended up doing these other ones because they had more heels, brooks, they had more support in the heel, since I had a heel issue and I had good socks and I. I would just say that you know, I I had my baggage carried from one place to another. I used top santiago, if they were. They were fine, except the one time when I had to, when my bags were about three quarters of a mile away. But that wasn't their fault. It was because it was a private. It was an apartment that was far away, so they had to go to a bar to pick up my stuff. But, yeah, um, it's okay to have your bags carried. In my case, I had my excuse me, guitar, which gave me the excuse to have another bag with. I brought too much every, which everybody does.

Speaker 1:

I brought a sleeveless, puffy vest and a long sleeve, oh my goodness and a jacket and we just had some really hot weather rain jacket yeah, and so I never used either of those.

Speaker 3:

I finally used the rain jacket and the rain pants because you came in on a rainy day.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, how was that day?

Speaker 3:

how it rained a little bit, yeah, the last couple days it rained, it was, you know, I had on my rain pants and my um, you know, rain, rain cape, yeah, and my rain jacket. So I felt like, okay, I brought those, but I didn't need the puffy jacket and the puffy I mean come on.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, come on, but you don't know until you're here, right, yeah, so what are you thinking right now? You've been in Santiago overnight.

Speaker 3:

Will this be something you'll do again? Will you do another Cam and that kind of that probably fits my schedule better and maybe travel a little bit as well? I'd really like to go around to Barcelona and Madrid and places like that, so it'd be nice to do a combo trip.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, definitely, definitely. So what do you think is the one thing right now? Because you know, for me the Camino doesn't stop in Santiago.

Speaker 2:

I don't think for any pilgrim right.

Speaker 1:

So there's going to be stuff that will be happening as you go. But if you had to say right now what's been the greatest lesson for you, or what, what do you think you're going to take home that you're really happy about? Um?

Speaker 3:

Well, a lot of it was what I knew it was going to be. I knew it was going to be open-hearted people from all over the world reaching out to each other, and it just validated, really, that you could go someplace on your own and sometimes you get more out of it. It was a combination of the walking alone, which was good at times, and the walking with other people yeah, so you kind of did a combination yes, walk on your own and there's people, and you've met some really interesting people along the way, yeah.

Speaker 1:

I did yeah, do you want to say hi to any of them?

Speaker 3:

well, the people I walked with a lot were Joyce from Seattle, and she's a Korean from South Korea, and she introduced me to another couple that I did their Howley names. Their English names are Sean, sean and veronica, okay, and they just got engaged. They're the couple I did the song for. And then the woman from morocco, um, and uh, richard and aida. So those are some people that I walk with the most.

Speaker 1:

An english couple also, um, an English couple also um um, stephen and Marcy. Wow, what a list of friends you have made in a two-week period probably become lifelong friends.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, definitely, I mean. Oh, and the guy from Spain, carlos yeah from Spain. We walked a lot together. We were brothers.

Speaker 1:

Now, did you listen to a lot of music while you were walking, or did you sing to yourself during those moments of solitude?

Speaker 3:

A little bit. In fact, one day I was I thought I was in a moment of solitude and I was singing kind of loud because I didn't think it was around, and this woman deliberately snuck up on me, you know, and went and this woman deliberately snuck up on me, you know, and when I was in France I walked with her for a while and was it a particular song you would start singing while you were out laughing not necessarily, it's just whatever would come to me, and sometimes it was a a round that used to be sung for hikers.

Speaker 3:

I hope anybody home eat, nor home Eat, nor drink, nor money have I bought Still. I will be made One of those rounds of three-person Wonderful. It's really a good walking song.

Speaker 1:

It would have been so fun to walk with you. What a joy it is to meet you, my great pleasure. Wow, this has been so much fun. Do you want to close us out with a song? As you can probably tell, Harold is one of the most positive people I have ever met. Here's Harold one last time with another original song called Share the Dream, Harold Payne.

Speaker 2:

There's a winding road where I learn to run, where the race is long, but it can be won. But it can be won. With every step we're taking, with every choice we're making, with every bend in the road, we get stronger, we can reach up. We can reach up, we can reach out. We can show this world what we're all about. We can do anything we put our minds to. We can do anything we want to be. We must believe we can share the dream.

Speaker 2:

There's a dead end street boy. I used to play, but I found my wings. I can fly away Below the streets, lights fading Ahead. Is my future waiting, beyond the doubts and the fears? I can see it, oh, I can see it. We can reach up, we can reach out. We can show this world what we're all about. We can do anything we put our minds to. We can be anything we want to be. Hey, hey, we must believe we can share the dream. Hey, we can share the dream. We can share the dream Walking the Camino. Share the dream, oh, we can share the dream. We can share the dream. We can reach up. Yeah, we can reach up, we can reach out. We can show this world what we're all about. We can do anything. We put our, we can share the dream. We can reach up.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, wow, okay so.

Speaker 3:

I hated this. You know it was tough, but I had to do it.

Speaker 1:

I hated this. You know it was tough, but I had to do it. This has been wonderful Joy, one of the highlights of my Camino life. Thank you so much for coming to the Camino Cafe podcast, for sharing Tucson Tuesday here. So we'll be back with another episode soon. So bye everyone.