Tribute to Tomás, the last Templar of Manjarín
Today the Camino de Santiago is quieter.
Not because there are missing steps or voices, but because one of those lights that cannot be seen but is felt has gone out.
It's gone Thomas, the last Templar of Manjarín, and with him goes a magical, almost mystical part of what it means to walk towards Santiago.
Those of us who were lucky enough to meet him—even if it was just for a moment—know that Tomás was not a simple hospitalero.
He was a guardian of the spirit of the Way.
A man who, from his refuge at the top of the port of Foncebadón, offered hot coffee, wise words, a leisurely smile and that Templar flag waving in the wind like a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere.
Manjarín has always been a strange place: a point between the fog, the cold, the fatigue...
and yet full of an energy that had no explanation.
The explanation was him.
His presence.
His voice.
His faith that the Camino was more than a path. It was a brotherhood.
I remember—as so many pilgrims remember—arriving at Manjarín with my clothes damp and my body trembling, and finding Tomás there, with that mixture of solemnity and tenderness that only he knew how to convey.
I didn't ask where you came from.
It wasn't necessary.
He looked you in the eyes and said:
"Courage, brother. The Camino is calling you."
And one felt that yes, that everything was falling into place again.
Today that Templar refuge is orphaned, but not empty.
It is full of memories, conversations, of pilgrims who found strength in his words and warmth in his hospitality.
It is filled with his spirit, the one that knew no borders or flags, only people who walked looking for something they didn't even know how to name.
From here, from this shore where the heart shrinks, I want to send my deepest condolences to his family, his friends, and all those who shared with him cold nights, endless stories and that fire that he kept lit more out of love than out of necessity.
Thanks, Tomas.
Thank you for your dedication, for your faith, for your perseverance.
Thank you for having built a place where the magic of the Camino became real.
Thank you for reminding everyone that the Camino is humanity, protection, encounter…
and also farewell.
Today, thousands of pilgrims around the world will raise their staff in your honor.
Because even though you are gone, your spirit will continue to walk with us.
Step by step.
Always.
Buen Camino, brother. May the light guide you.
