As mentioned in my previous International Travel post, I believed that walking the Camino de Santiago would really sum up the spirit of the year’s travel journeys and it is turning out to be exactly that.
“Solvitur ambulando” (Walking solves all)
No I haven’t finished my posts about Africa and it is taking an incredible amount of time to just go through the thousands of photographs that I had the pleasure of taking over the two weeks of African Safari. But here I am just over halfway through my next adventure of walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain where in the evenings it’s all I can do to reflect on the days walk, eat and get rest for a repeat the next day. So while I am in the Camino moment I will take the opportunity to write about this walk – but never fear, those great African adventures will make it to the blog!
” No pido otra cosa, el cielo sobre mi y el camino bajo mis pies ” – Robert Louis Stevenson. (I ask nothing else, heaven over me and the road under my feet.)
It was a surreal flight (actually four flights) that took me from Africa to Oviedo Spain to meet up with my Camino Amigas. It is my very first trip to Europe and I was mesmerized by the narrow streets and the beautiful buildings on the first night. What an introduction to the new adventure – and a source of amusement for Debora and Jan, my Camino Amigas.
The Camino de Santiago is a world-renowned pilgrimage route, with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims walking it yearly, and the numbers keep growing. Pilgrims, as they are called, come from all over the world and put themselves through physical hardship, subjecting their body to the rigors of walking between 20 and 30km a day – day after day. It really is quite a feat in our modern convenience orientated life. The real problem is not each days walk (although for some 20-30 km is unthinkable), it is doing this repeatedly day after day. I was told that if you manage to just walk in the day and not think about all the days (or the hills) ahead, walk at your own pace, do your own Camino – there can be a tremendous sense of accomplishment at the end.
I wasn’t sure how I would blog about the Camino – would I write everyday? A kind of travelogue about the experience? Would I just sum it up at key points, or possibly wait until the end? Would it be something that I could even convey in written words and photographs? The answer to most of those questions would pretty much be no….. definitely not a travelogue (although useful not really my style), and summing it up doesn’t seem to fit in with the experience so it falls to thoughts and photographs with the goal of sharing the experience in a way to get folks out and moving. Because isn’t that what a pilgrimage is all about?
A pilgrimage is defined as a meaningful journey often to some type of a sacred place, providing the opportunity to step out of the non-stop craziness of our lives, to seek a time of quiet and reflection. It gives us the chance to ‘walk through’ those issues that we have on our minds, whatever they might be. It is a time of simply ‘being’ rather than always ‘doing’.
“Pilgrimage is a journey of discovery—the find may be inside oneself, it may be a fresh appreciation of nature, or the pleasure of opting out of the real world for a while; it might be the delight in making new friends in a very random but quite intense way.” ― Natasha Murtagh
Pilgrimage can also be a highly sociable activity, giving us the chance to enjoy the company of others we meet on the road. It gives us the chance re-energise mentally, physical and spiritually. And it allows us to reconnect with our cultural heritage and the natural world—as well as, for some, to refresh our faith or seek spiritual direction.
Along the Camino, a common phrase “Buen Camino”, (which literally means “good path”) is generally received as “good luck and happy travelling”. As I was passing through customs entering Spain (having just left my awesome African adventures) the customs officer was the first to bid me a “buen camino”. It’s hard to describe the feeling you get each and every time you hear those words and the first time will certainly stick with me as his next comment was that I was “muy loco” (very crazy)!
“Buenos días, Buen Camino”. You hear it repeatedly and it never gets old. Everyone you meet along the way becomes a part of your expedition, a part of your story. You may only see them in passing or you might share stories over a meal, the connections are rich, meaningful, and memorable.
So here I am today, walking a section of the Camino de Santiago, on the northern route, a pilgrimage that traverses the northern part of Spain and ends in Santiago de Compostela. For centuries, thousands of pilgrims of different spiritual traditions, backgrounds, and countries travel to participate in the 800 kilometer trek (or for us about half of it).
Finding words to describe the Camino de Santiago is difficult. You walk for many hours a day, along roads and picturesque paths. You arrive at the next town, find a place to stay, check in, eat and drink (for us it’s usually wine), shower, wash your clothes, sleep, and wake up to begin all over again.
“Walking brings me back to myself.” – Laurette Mortimer
After nearly two weeks not only is my body adapting to the constant walking, so too is my mind. Walking for hours each day, gives you time to look inside and reconnect with yourself. There is a comforting peace and joy in this aloneness. On the Camino I am learning to live day-to-day. Not in the future, but in the here and now. My only responsibility each day is to walk.
The Camino is tough. Blisters and swollen feet are almost inevitable, your legs hurt, your feet hurt, your back hurts, and you are physically drained. But maybe that pain is the Camino’s way of making sure you are living in the present. If the Camino were easy, it wouldn’t be the same. Finding meaning in the challenges, feeling joyful regardless of the pain, that’s what its about. Pain is an inevitable part of life; it’s how we deal with it that matters.
“Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much….” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Country Life, 1858.
Everyday on the Camino, you pass through small villages and towns. You’re dirty, you’re tired, you’re hungry, but you’re a pilgrim. As pilgrims, we all share in the struggle together. At community dinners you can often hear two or more languages flying around the table but we all seem to understand what is being said. It is a strange feeling to see the “big” cities ahead and only want to pass through them. The trail is my home, and the pilgrims are my family.
Each day is a new experience in walking, the countryside is beautiful and the route is dotted with waymarkers, countless Scallop Shell symbols on walls, on signposts and on churches. They are even on fellow pilgrims in the form of necklaces, backpack decorations or tattoos (don’t worry Mom). Today the Scallop Shell is deemed to be purely symbolic and representative, but it did have its practical uses in eons gone by. Due to its shape, the shell was used by pilgrims to scoop food and water as it was easily carried along the trail. Food kitchens along the route would also use a Scallop Shell as a measure of one portion.
And it’s not just the shell symbols and scenery that catch your eye but also the random unique memorials, the pastoral views of farms animals in the fields, the unusual fence materials like rocks for fence posts and barriers. They draw your attention and your camera lens for a few moments then it’s back to walking.
What does the Camino teach? For this pilgrim it is to just keep walking. Conquering challenges leads to transformation. So no matter what part of your journey you’re on, whether you are climbing up a hill wondering when you will finally reach the top or taking a turn for an alternate route in the rain – keep going. Keep walking through the good and the bad. The sun will rise again, the trail will flatten and open to incredible vistas, a beautiful cathedral or some crazy unique monument. Just keep walking.
“El camino es el que nos enseña la mejor manera de llegar, y nos enriquece mientras lo atravesamos” – Paulo Coelho (The way is the one that teaches us the best way to arrive, and enriches us as we go through.)
I will write more about the Camino but for now “Buen Camino” and I wish you all may have an opportunity to find your own pilgrimage.
Awesome and inspiring blog post