Did movie: "The Way" motivate you...

[markss]

Yes, I saw the movie and it motivated me to find out more about the Way. I plan to walk next spring in thanks for a cure of cancer.

Given those circumstances I suspect that you will be particularly overwhelmed by the powerful experience of the Camino.

Buen Camino to you!

 

[CaminoKris2013]

Yes, actually the first time I heard of the Camino de Santiago was from the movie. It inspired me to learn more about it and thus I found this forum.

I was needing something to direct and motivate me to do something different, and this is something different!

And I also love this forum.

CaminoKris2013

 

[AJ]

No. I saw the film for the first time yesterday. My wife found it inspiring.

I was motivated by Tony Kevin's book which I read inn 2007.

 

[kingscrown2014]

I have walked the camino twice, I would of not gone to see it other wise....I found it entertaining only because of that.

 

[Abbeydore]

& No it wont motivate me to go again :!: although I'm wearing my boots every day @ the moment :wink:

 

[zakosdad]

Yes, definitely. My wife and I viewed The Way about a week ago. It touched both of us very much. I am recently retired and she will be also soon. We have done other pilgrimages i.e. trips to The Holy Land, Italy and Poland and as a Roman Catholic Deacon recently started a pilgrimage ministry with a fellow deacon. Our goal is to lead others on these journeys to help them get in better touch with themselves and their own spirituality. The Camino will be different as we have never done a walking pilgrimage like this but are seriously interested. Most likely we would be looking at September 2013. Any advice we can get is appreciated.

 

[rickster]

Was on the edge and The Way kicked me over and caused me to make it happen. It was even more interesting to watch after completing the Camino Frances.

 

[nreyn12]

What a great post, and so many beautiful and honest responses. I do hope we will hear back from everyone once they have completed their Camino journeys.

I just read this post through while sitting in Pamplona after my latest three-week Camino walk. The thing that strikes me the most is that everyone has a story. Everyone has a unique and special reason for walking the Camino. And now after meeting so many extraordinary people on the trail in the last few weeks, I am struck by how those stories play themselves out on the Way.

No matter what anyone says, walking the Camino takes courage. It's hard and challenging and life-changing. And some days it is beautiful beyond measure. I wish everyone walking in the months and years to come the journey and life-transformation they are seeking. Plus a whole lot more...

I saw The Way just after returning from a Spring walk this year, and I really enjoyed picking out the parts where they took liberties with reality for the sake of the (Hollywood) story. But that's for another post...!

 

[supersullivan]

I had first heard of the Camino about 20 years ago from a close friend who had cycled a portion but had just filed it away in my head. When I took up hiking 7 years ago the thought was planted to walk the full Camino Frances when I retired in about 8 years with the possibility of even starting from one of the the Tours/Vezelay/Paris starts but when I saw the movie was made I brought my partner to see it and she was totally captivated at the thought of such an experience but because of her early stage of Rheumatoid Arthritis we felt waiting 8 years might mean she would not be able to manage so after 3 months of training, last September saw us walk from Sarria to Santiago using a mix of private and municipal alberegues, glorious weather blessed us for the week and although a couple of the longer days saw my better half suffering in the last hour of walking her self of accomplishment and emotional release on arrival into Santiago having carried all her necessities for the week would bring a tear to the most hard boiled of cynics. :idea: I've now rethought my own future plans and managed to persuade my boss to allow me to roll up my holidays for the next 18 months and next May should see me arrive in St Jean Pied de Port with 27/29 days to walk to Santiago, ideally would like another couple of days to spare but life is about making the most of opportunities when they arise and hopefully there will always be my retirement to more fully savour the experience.

Buen Camino

Seamus Sullivan

 

[bobaloo]

I read about The Way of St James a long time ago but didn't really understand what it was. To me it was just a famous trail in a far away country. I saw the movie about a year ago and the pilgrimage looked interesting but it didn't motivate me to go. Then last summer my brother told me he was walking the Camino this spring. Now I'm going with him and our sister is coming too. Los tres hermanos.

 

[waveprof]

My wife is a Spanish professor and had wanted to do the Camino since her study abroad in college. I had always had interest in it, but other trips and life made it something for the future. Then my mother saw The Way and became obsessed. Her obsession lit a fire under us to stop putting it off, so now we are all going together.

 

[aehicks]

No, the film didn't have anything to do with my walking the Camino. I didn't even watch it until I came back from the trip. Frankly, I thought it was an awfully boring film (I've tried watching it now three times, but I get so fed up with it that I have not ever been able to finish it). On my Camino, I did meet a lot of (mostly Americans) who were inspired by it. Maybe because I'm much younger than the film's protagonists, the movie has not had the same effect on me. :|

 

[Kathy F.]

Did the movie, "The Way," motivate me?

I had recently moved to Norfolk, VA and I was supposed to see the movie, "The Way," with a friend when it played at an arts movie theater which I had never been to. Unfortunately, she had to bow out at the last minute but, since I had everything already laid on, I decided to try to find this place and go by myself.

I didn't know anything about the movie except that it was directed by Emilio Estevez and starred Martin Sheen. I have admired the family for their body of work for a long time so looked forward to seeing this latest offering.

I saw the movie and was smitten.

I saw the movie in November and asked Santa for hiking poles that Christmas, which he got for me. YAY, Santa!!I started a secret plan to walk the Camino the fall of 2012. Didn't know how I'd do it, but it would be done.

Plans. Ah, plans. Sometimes they turn out better than we dare hope.

Surprise! We were sent to Germany in April of 2012. It's easier for me to get to SJPdP from Germany than from Virginia!! Of course, my plan is no longer a secret. I'm on the calendar to start around the middle of May 2013. Slowly gathering information (from this excellent Forum), boots, backpack, and losing extra "junk in the trunk," if you know what I mean.

Many thanks to the Sheen family. I would feel blessed if I did even one piece of work that influenced so many people in such a wonderful way.

 

[Dave Courtenay]

I watched the movie early 2012 and said to my wife that i would like to do that 'one day', September 2012 i lost a second brother to Cancer and at the same time it came on netflix and i watched it again, A couple of days later i told my wife that i would do it and have starte3d training even though i wont leave until April 2014, I am the youngest of 6 and have 4 brothers of which 3 have fought cancer and 2 have lost the fight, I plan on walking to raise funds for cancer research as well as for my own being,I now have the DVD and watch it all the time, I have kinda been consumed by the camino and this forum in particular has proved a wealth of information and inspriation-cant wait for 2014

Dave

 

[Green Tortuga]

I first heard about the Camino while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2010. One of the hikers I met had done the Camino and written a book about his experiences and as much as I loved the PCT, I wanted to do another long trail that was "different." After five months of hiking from Mexico to Canada, I wanted to take a year off and put 2012 on my calendar as the Year of the Camino.

I didn't learn about "The Way" coming out until late 2011 and, of course, I had to go out and see it. I can't say that it had anything to do with the hike I had already planned, but I was pretty sure that was going to be a surge of Americans walking the trail soon! And honestly, I didn't want to see a lot of Americans on the trail. I can see Americans from America. I don't have to go to Europe to see Americans, and other cultures and people fascinate me. =) But I figure most people take a few years to get their affairs in order, making the time and saving the money for a long hike, and I kind of doubted it would have much of an effect for 2012 hikers. I hoped not, at least!

I wound up starting from Le Puy to extend my hike (500 miles just wasn't long enough for me!) and those first 450 miles through France--nearly a month of walking--I met a total of two Americans. I didn't really expect "The Way" to have much of an effect on this section of trail since it wasn't even featured in the movie, and clearly--it didn't!

Then I walked into Saint Jean.....

Wow. Culture shock, right there! I saw more Americans in two minutes than I did in my entire month of walking to get there!

I decided to splurge for a hotel room and wound up going to the Hotel Continental since the first two options I checked out didn't work out, and as I was checking in, the desk clerk asked where I was from, and I told him, "États-Unis." (Gotta practice the French I learned in the past month!)

"American?" he said, though it wasn't really a question. "We've had a lot of Americans this year!"

"And you know why?" I told him, but that wasn't really a question either. "It's probably because of that darned movie that came out!"

And his eyes got wide, and he grew all excited, and he said, "Yes! They filmed right here in the lobby!"

Really? I did not know that.... I knew they filmed on the trail, but I never bothered to look up exactly where the shooting locations were.

"They did?" A genuine question--I was trying to think if I recognized the lobby from the movie, but it wasn't coming to me.

"Yes! Except it wasn't the lobby of a hotel. It was...." he struggled to think of the English word... "where Martin Sheen received his son's ashes. What do you call that in English?"

"A funeral home?"

"Yes!" he cried. "A funeral home! The lobby was used as the funeral home! They filmed here for four hours, but it shows up for about one minute in the film. So I've been told. I haven't actually seen the movie."

Which made me laugh.

"I had to hide behind this counter," he told me, tapping on the counter he was behind, "to work the buttons that would allow people in and out of the hotel, but I had to stay under the counter so I didn't show up in the film."

"And there's writing on the fireplace." He pointed to the fireplace behind me. "But the words inscribed on it mean [fill in the blank--I don't remember] which is something you'd never see in a funeral home, so I suggested to the film crew to try to avoid getting that in the film."

He went on about Martin Sheen filming a scene on the staircase behind him, but that scene, he was told by other guests, apparently didn't make it into the film.

"And they filmed the exterior of the hotel as well," he continued, "and a bunch of pilgrims who just got off at the trail station and were walking into town were...." he tried to think of an English word again. "It's akljdfwoh in French," he told me. "You know what I mean?"

I shook my head. I had no idea what he was trying to tell me. He pulled out one of two French-English dictionaries to look it up. "A guest left these behind," he told me as he was looking up the word in French.

"They were walk-ons!" he told me.

Walk-ons? What the heck are walk-ons? Is that anything like an extra?

"You mean extras?" I asked.

"These dictionaries are bad," he told me. "Other guests have told me that the translations in this dictionary are bad, so maybe."

He (eventually) took me to my room where I was finally able to take a shower and get cleaned up, and later I went back down to the lobby to take a few photos. I can't say that I remembered it from the movie, but I wanted to look it up again later. I took a couple of photos and the desk clerk saw me, knowing exactly what I was doing, and he hopped up.

"Wait a minute!" he told me as he started rearranging the furniture. "The chairs were set up like this during the filming," he said as he continued moving around the furniture. I felt kind of bad he was going through all this effort for a couple of silly photos.

He got things settled to show how they were set up during the movie and stood near the front door saying, "The camera was located here, shooting in your direction." He pantomimed like he was using an old time video camera that was hand-cranked. "And Martin Sheen was sitting right there, in that chair." He pointed to a chair behind me.

"Now you sit down and pretend like you're Martin Sheen, and I'll take a photo of you!"

I handed him my camera and sat where he told me to, and he took a couple of photos. I thanked him and chatted a bit more, and the desk clerk moved the furniture back to its original position and I left to explore Saint Jean.

Later, I did get on the Internet and found a couple of clips of the movie--trailers--where I could clearly see the staircase behind the desk and the scene where Martin Sheen walks out of his hotel and turns off walking in the wrong direction. Yep, that was definitely filmed in the lobby, although the exterior of the hotel was actually used as a hotel--not a funeral home like the inside was used for.

Anyhow.... the only reason I learned about all this, and the only reason I learned they even filmed at this hotel was because of my off-of-the-cuff observation that the reason he saw more Americans that year was probably because of the movie. =)

And for anyone who is looking for lodging in Saint Jean--the folks running the Hotel Continental were absolutely wonderful to me. And maybe you'll get a chance to sit in the very same chair that Martin Sheen used while filming "The Way." =)

-- Ryan

 

[angus55morrison]

Yes without question ,saw movie in 2011 it blew me away and brought emotions to the surface ,started planning as soon as i could on 25th august 2012 i had the privlege of beginning my camino. On the journey lines from the movie kept me moving and when i was unsure of a path to take the line :this is the way :kept coming into my head. I arrived at Santiago on september 25th,the film has been a life changer as has the camino i think about it every day ,a day at a time i hope to go again in august 2014. Buen camino

 

[waveprof]

Just curious, all of this discussion about "The Way" and whether or not it inspired you, yet noone mentions Saint Jacques...La Mecque (Keep Walkin'). It seems to be a slightly larger movie in terms of release, although it is a bit older (2005). I'm guessing the language factor is part of it (this being an english language forum), but still interesting that it never gets any mention. Thoughts?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It has been mentioned several times in other threads. Do a Forum search, and you can find them.

 

[Sojourner47]

.......

 

[DeadFred]

Saint Jacques...La Mecque (Keep Walkin

'http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/el-camino-frances/topic14281.html

Just curious, all of this discussion about "The Way" and whether or not it inspired you, yet noone mentions Saint Jacques...La Mecque (Keep Walkin'). It seems to be a slightly larger movie in terms of release, although it is a bit older (2005). I'm guessing the language factor is part of it (this being an english language forum), but still interesting that it never gets any mention. Thoughts?

 

[bryantlar]

Although I had heard about walks across Spain years ago, seeing The Way definitely helped me decide to get going and "just do it!" I'm planning to walk Sept 2013 and getting organized now.
I've been walking, experimenting with boots and shoes, various sox, tape, vaseline, etc. reading various forums, pilgrim books and accounts and have now seen The Way 3 times! This will a big adventure for me and i'll hit my 70th along the way... :wink:

 

[reg2450]

Watching 'the way' with my family and friends helped them see what was in my heart and head. They still didn't get 'the call', but understood a bit more. Plus, they could picture it better.

 

[mfreder]

Such wonderful stories here, and so inspirational for past, present, and future pilgrims! I had never heard of the Camino de Santiago until I saw the movie, but as soon as I did, I was called. Thus, I am planning my camino for the year of my 50th birthday--this year! This has not been an easy thing to prepare for, especially since so many people depend on me, something I'm sure others have had to deal with before. But, after reading so many of the posts on this forum and how others have coped, I have faith that all will be fine, and this is what I need to do.

 

[tylerpsych]

Hey everyone!

I would be very curious to see (statistically) what impact "The Way" has had/will have on Camino traffic over the next few years. As for me, The Way was my first introduction to the Camino. My boss at work suggested I watch it, since it was "a movie which is all about growth and the journey, and everything Tyler."

While I loved the movie, I don't think the idea to actually walk the Camino occurred to me till several weeks later, after my boss suggested we walk it over the summer. As I'm sure many of you will understand, I quickly started looking into the Camino (buying books, trying out new gear, etc.) As fate (or the Camino) would have it, things in my life have arranged themselves such that I will be leaving sooner (March 26th) rather than later. Less prepared, but just as excited.

 

[clearskiescamino]

Did movie: "The Way" motivate you...

I had just booked my flights to Spain before the film was released but I guess that and acquiring the 'camino bug' made me come back again...and again. While on the trail last May, I got talking to a lot, if not all, who were there because of the film.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I would be very curious to see (statistically) what impact "The Way" has had/will have on Camino traffic

There is extensive, learned analysis here:

http://www.johnniewalker-santiago.blogspot.com/

Look for the sections on the increase in English speaking pilgrims.

 

[Saint Mike II]

For me Tony Kevin (Australian Pilgrim and author) wrote about his exploits walking from Granada to Santiago in 2005 and this was my initial impetus. A second Aussie author (A. Piper) really motivated me to try and follow (at least in part) the VLDP. I have seen the movie and did enjoy, especially when I learned that Shean walked around 300-350 km in making the movie.

 

[Choweth]

Did movie: "The Way" motivate you...

I thought the movie looked dumb. I was bored and decided to watch it. I'm glad I did! It was the first I had heard of CdS. Now I have watched it 5 times!

 

[naplesdon]

I travelled across Spain with my daughter by car in 2010 testing some of the finest restaurants in the world. She was a master chef and died that year. We drove across the Camino many times and I said to her "I'll walk that some day." I did just that to commemorate her passing. I walked from SJPP to Logrono in 2011 and then from Logrono to Santiago in 2012. I knew nothing about the film but heard several people diss the film along the way saying that it would "turn the Camino into a beer line at a state fair." Eventually I saw the movie and I have a tremendous respect for its quality and civility. I don't think it has contributed to a flood of pilgrims like many had predicted along with the development of a chain of hostel akin to Holiday Inns along the way. To complete the Camino first one needs to be fairly fit and second if you are on a bus tour they aren't going to stray away from the highway and bed you down in a pilgrims' hostelry. I'm doing the Camino Portugues this summer and I am already planning my trek on the Camino Aragones in 2014. God bless the Camino.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The number of pilgrims from the English speaking countries is way up, about 75%. Only the film seems to be the cause. Overall the increase is about the same as the decrease in Spaniards, so revenues are probably level.

 

[Tonm]

Did movie: "The Way" motivate you...

The movie the way confirmed why the camino is on the top of my bucket list

 

[ffp13]

Did movie: "The Way" motivate you...

. I'm doing the Camino Portugues this summer and I am already planning my trek on the Camino Aragones in 2014. God bless the Camino.

Hello Don, I received you PM, I am using Tappatalk application on an iPad, I can receive PMs but cannot send PMs.

I too am walking the Camino again in Jun, probably starting in Roncessvalles , after that camino I plan to walk the Portuguese from Porto in mid July,

It is great to hear that you are well and planning more caminos

Regards. Frank

 

[CheriTX]

I recall first hearing about the Camino in a brief 60 second encounter with a stranger in an airport in Madrid. She was walking through the crowds next to me at the same speed and in the same direction. She looked, I don't know, like a kindred spirit somehow. Maybe it was the yoga mat and backpack. We struck up a short conversation and she said she had just finished walking the Camino and it was "indescribable". I remember being so impressed this stranger's...placid confident joy. You could tell she'd had some kind of life-altering experience. That's when a curiosity was planted. It grew.

When the movie came out, I thought, "Oh, great, now this is going to mess up EVERYTHING!" I figured it would become a trendy thing to do now. NOOO! This walk was going to be MY thing! Hollywood can't have it!

Eh, as it turns out, the movie is not that well-known. And even so, it didn't mess up anything. I start from SJPP on May 1!!!

Cheri from TX

 

[Corazon Puro]

Inspired by Martin Sheen

Peter, from Austria, Kitzbühel was inspired by Martin Sheen's movie, The Way. When he watched a documentary about the Camino de Santiago he decided to take the ashes of two friends of him to Santiago. Markus and Günther, brother and cousin of his wife, died some years ago and they always wanted to walk El Camino, but unfortunately they couldn't. Peter is fulfilling their wishes.
Buen Camino Peter, Markus and Günther!

http://www.corazonpuro.es

 

[Adhemar78]

The film "The Way" was not the first I heard about the Camino. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, and a Master's in Medieval Studies. As part of the research for my Honours and Master's theses (both of which were on the First Crusade), I had to look at the practice of pilgrimage in the eleventh century. The Compostela pilgrimage, alongside the Rome and Jerusalem pilgrimages, was one of the three major pilgrimage routes of the era. This is how I first came to hear of the Camino.

I had it in my mind for some time that this might be something I would like to do myself. Around the same time I came across the Camino in my studies I also became aware that people were continuing to walk the Camino in the present day; I think this came about through reading 'The Pilgrimage' by Paulo Coelho. Later on, I had a manager at work who had walked the Camino previously, and went off to walk it again while I was working for them.

The movie "The Way" was, however, the catalyst for my decision to make definite plans to walk the Camino. I did not get to see it at the cinema, despite having wanted to, but a work colleague saw it and enjoyed it so I bought the DVD and watched it. I think it was actually seeing what it was like that did it for me. It looked like a wonderful experience, and as soon as the movie finished I thought to myself: anyone could do that. You could do that. And that same night I began doing some research in relation to how long it would take, how much it would cost, what was involved, etc. Two months later I went on a Camino workshop in Sydney to get more information and find out about what equipment I would require. And on September 21 I will be starting in St Jean Pied de Port.

 

[CaminoKris2013]

Yes, I have to see it inspired me. Prior to seeing the movie, I never heard of it. I saw it on Netflix. It actually took some time until I pushed the play button. But since then, my life focus has changed. I probably never would have come across this forum and wonderful community. As I embark on my Camino in the next month, I have appreciated all the great advice and pointers, whether directly or indirectly.

Kris

 

[Jordanh]

I read a book called The Ramsay Scallop when I was 10. I made it a goal and 19 yrs later I am doing it!

 

[Kanga]

I read a book called The Ramsay Scallop when I was 10. I made it a goal and 19 yrs later I am doing it!

I've just read some reviews. It sounds terrific. Interesting that it was written 20 years ago, before the resurgence of the Camino. I must get it for my grand-daughter.

 

[Alyssa]

Neat thread.

I was inspired by the documentary, Walking the Camino: 6 Ways to Santiago.

P.S. I watched The Way last weekend and absolutely loved it. Now I am looking forward to reading The Ramsay Scallop!

 

[mspath]

Be sure to read what others have written in this earlier Forum thread re inspiration for walking the Camino.

In graduate school more than 50 years ago I attended courses by the famed medieval art/architecture historian Meyer Schapiro. Several erudite lectures focused on the architecture along the Camino Frances, not only great monuments but also simple vernacular buildings. He stressed the importance of carved shells as the major iconic motif for identifying all related to Saint James as well as the immense social impact of the camino path across northern Spain; the path would become the 'main street' with ‘burgos de francos’ or independent neighborhoods settled by former pilgrims nearby and, thus, the towns developed. ... Bingo I was hooked and decided that someday I would walk that path myself. Forty years later I first did; more than fifty year later I still am.

Margaret Meredith

 

[angie]

I watched the movie on tv one night whilst in Dubai of all places. I cried at the end. I thought, I want to smell that incence that swings in the (swing thingy) as u can tell I'm not religious! So the movie plus have a serious illness inspired me to do it while I'm still able to walk, albeit slowly.

 

[naplesdon]

MM, I doubt I will ever be able to top your record, but next time you visit my fair city let's have dinner at Tantine de Burgos. Best Basque cuisine and a marriage of cross border fare.

 

[Mark Lee]

I knew nothing about the Camino until about two years ago when I saw a television show on PBS, "Travel With Rick Steves", and it was about northern Spain and the Camino. I was immediately fascinated by it, and as odd as it sounds, I knew then and there I must walk it. It kind of filled my spirit, my soul, to walk it. I know that may sound silly to some, but that's the only way I can describe it. I then began to research the Camino on the internet and that is when I became aware of the movie "The Way". I ordered the DVD and the Camino guidebook by John Brierley. After watching the movie and reading through the book I became even more interested in walking the Camino.
I watched the movie before I did the Camino and again afterwards. Even without having walked the Camino yet, I knew when I watched the movie that it was just that, a movie. Of course a little poetic license is involved in any movie, even those based on real life things, so I knew it wasn't a guide to doing the Camino or how the Camino would be for everyone. I kind of chuckle to myself when I hear that some people were surprised that their Camino experience wasn't the same as the movie. Really? Ha ha. .
I think the movie was good and it is a good "story" based on and revolving around walking the Camino. I think it is a great way to bring the Camino to so many that would have never known about it. So I suppose the movie makers accomplished their mission.

 

[Thepainter]

My first introduction to the Camino was about 11 years ago when my mother lent me a book she had read called "The Camino", by Shirley MacLaine. She thought it was a good read and recommended it. All these years later I think she is regretting that she gave it to me! I couldn't put it down. And when I finished I couldn't stop thinking about doing the Camino myself. I got more books and researched it online. I knew it was something I had to do. At the time I had only my first child who was 2, so it was not my time to do it yet. Move forward 11 years and I have never stopped thinking about walking the Camino. I have 3 kids who are all old enough now to understand what I am doing and mature enough to be without me for the time it will take to do it.

I actually watched "The Way" a few nights ago. I liked it very much. It was inspirational in a different sense for me. More in a movie kind of way rather then from the perspective of someone's real experience. The message to open yourself up to life experiences came through loud and clear. My husband and I watched it together and he is thinking he will have to do his own Camino sometime in the future.

l also just watched "On The Road of Stars", by Neil Kirby and liked it very much as well. Peoples true experiences such as that and Mark Shea's, from overlander on youtube, is what really motivates me personally. It reminds me that there are true struggles I will have to over come and that it's not just wine and roses at the end of each day.

My opinion is that people are called by the Camino. Not everyone is. Still my mother has never had the desire to walk it, even after reading the book and hearing everything I've shared with her She is nervous for me every time I talk to her about it. Most people I know that I tell about it think I'm crazy! But it has called to me for a long time now. I'm ecstatic to finally get to answer it!

Buen Camino!

Heather

Hei everyone,
I didn't see the movie 'The way' 'til after I decided to go. Then I just wanted to see and learn all about this walk.
Thank you, Heather, for your tips on other documentary's. Very good. I watched them last night. Maybe I should stop doing that, watching everything about this trip; I have the feeling I almost don't have to go anymore because I have seen it all!
I liked 'The way', but agree on what Heather says. It was a nice movie, but did not as such inspire me to go. Well, maybe, it was a conformation that I had made the right choice . I'm showing it to other people, so they might understand what this walk is about.
Just 22 days before I take off!! I'm so excited!

Carla

 

[Alyssa]

My first introduction to the Camino was about 11 years ago when my mother lent me a book she had read called "The Camino", by Shirley MacLaine. She thought it was a good read and recommended it. All these years later I think she is regretting that she gave it to me! I couldn't put it down. And when I finished I couldn't stop thinking about doing the Camino myself. I got more books and researched it online. I knew it was something I had to do. At the time I had only my first child who was 2, so it was not my time to do it yet. Move forward 11 years and I have never stopped thinking about walking the Camino. I have 3 kids who are all old enough now to understand what I am doing and mature enough to be without me for the time it will take to do it.

I actually watched "The Way" a few nights ago. I liked it very much. It was inspirational in a different sense for me. More in a movie kind of way rather then from the perspective of someone's real experience. The message to open yourself up to life experiences came through loud and clear. My husband and I watched it together and he is thinking he will have to do his own Camino sometime in the future.

l also just watched "On The Road of Stars", by Neil Kirby and liked it very much as well. Peoples true experiences such as that and Mark Shea's, from overlander on youtube, is what really motivates me personally. It reminds me that there are true struggles I will have to over come and that it's not just wine and roses at the end of each day.

My opinion is that people are called by the Camino. Not everyone is. Still my mother has never had the desire to walk it, even after reading the book and hearing everything I've shared with her She is nervous for me every time I talk to her about it. Most people I know that I tell about it think I'm crazy! But it has called to me for a long time now. I'm ecstatic to finally get to answer it!

Buen Camino!

Heather

My mom also introduced me to the Camino although unlike your mother, mine has dreamed and talked of walking the Camino for many years. I always felt it was her dream until I watched the recent documentary, 6 Ways to Santiago. I bought my plane ticket less than two weeks after seeing the movie.

I see you are doing a Camino this June; which one are you doing? I am doing the Frances mid-June through July. Perhaps we will meet along The Way.

 

[vgen5122]

I never heard of the Camino until I saw the movie "The Way". The movie motivated me to get information about it. This lead me to read Shirley Maclaine's book, which lead me to read "Grandmas on the Camino", and Travel tips books by Cheri Powell. The more I read, the more the Camino was calling me. I knew I had to go and do it!
On my way going up to the Pyrenees, I was stopped by a guy from Seattle, Wa named Dale who asked me if my first thought of doing the Camino was after I saw the film "The Way". Sad to say it was, but it was only the beginning.
Buen Camino

 

[Former member 19626]

I remember a couple about my age (65) proudly declare on the first night's pilgrim meal at Orisson that 3 weeks before they had seen the movie "The Way" and that the inspiration was so overpowering they couldn't wait. With gear, plane tickets and guidebook in hand, they arrived in SJPP with no other preparation.
I last saw them near Zubriri, exhausted and dejected try to communicate their need for a taxi in a loud and demanding tone to a shop keeper who clearly was not accustomed to being shouted at in English.
I presume they eventually got a ride to Pamplona and then back to California, wondering how Martin Sheen was able to do it.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I presume they eventually got a ride to Pamplona and then back to California, wondering how Martin Sheen was able to do it.

You could have suggested to them that he didn't! He had a crew, vans, masseuses, cars, etc. It was fiction, after all. His grandson walked, we are told.

There are numerous threads in the Forum by those who underestimated and underplanned the Camino. Those who take it lightly often are the ones who quit the soonest.

 

[Former member 19626]

Yes, of course but who was I to upset their delusion! The beginning days of the camino are often filled with dreams that may not be fulfilled. Only later did I come to realize the Camino provided what is needed, not necessarily what is wanted.

 

[Daxzentzu]

My mother told me all about the Way of St James when I was a bairn, over 55 years ago. The seed she planted at that time has slowly grown from a vague idea into a reality which is nurtured by my faith.
The movie was OK - it is great for popularising the Camino and is "good for business" I suppose.


Dax
In Pune, (a work in progress)

 

[woodswoman]

Although I'm ashamed to admit it I'd never even heard of the Camino until about 6 weeks ago. A couple of days after Christmas I happened to watch "The Way" by accident. I really enjoyed the film & thought I had to do it. Seldom have I felt so inspired. I'm not a religious person but I knew it was something I had to attempt. The next day I booked a flight from Dublin to Biarritz for late March & now I'm little over 6 weeks from the start of my Camino. All my equipment & clothing is bought & my training is progressing, albeit a wee bit slower than I'd like. I love all the planning involved & am counting down the days until I start my first pilgrimage.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been inspired like this.
Good luck to all pilgrims on their Camino.
Dave

This writer expresses my sentiment and much of my experience. I am an atheist, but I felt similarly inspired . . . to have that much alone time in the midst of other walkers was something I realized I NEEDED. I was facilitating a memoir critique group in 2011, and one of the participants had walked part of the Camino Frances earlier that year. First time I had heard of the Camino. Then this woman told our group about the movie "The Way", and we all went to our local art-house theater to watch it, along with about a half dozen husbands, partners, friends. I don't do this kind of "walking". But I stood up in the theater afterward and announced that I was going to walk the Camino "in the next five years". I was 65. I decided I'd better shorten the declaration. So in late August of 2013, I boarded a plane to Paris via Iceland and began my walk on my mother's birthday, September 1, 2013. I finished exactly a month before my 67th birthday. I plan to go back, either on the Camino Frances or the Norte, in September 2015. Cannot believe the pure pleasure of having walked across Spain solo, stronger every day, and ready to go back. Italy is my "heart country", not Spain, and I lead women's trips to Italy and to France. But the Camino calls to me again.

And as for not enough training, I met many people who felt they hadn't done enough training. But then I met a woman from Maryland who was on her third Camino, and she said, "You don't train for the Camino. The Camino trains YOU."

Buen Camino!

 

[billmclaughlin]

Sheen and his grandson and another relative walked the camino with minimal planning after attending a relative's funeral in Ireland. They had a car that they took turns driving, so each had every third day off. Don't know how much anyone carried.

Then came the idea for a film and the script, etc.

As for how the character in the film could all of a sudden just start walking, doesn't that happen all the time? If you're fit in the first place and have suitable broken-in footwear and a lot of common sense, you're more than likely to manage. I realize those are big IFs, but it happens all the time. Not only in the movies.

Bill

 

[donnasanjuan]

The movie definitely inspired me in many ways but the book "God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine " by Dr. Victoria Sweet has motivated me to actually start making plans to do the walk (or part of it) for my 50th birthday in October 2015. The book is about San Francisco's Laguna Honda Hospital, the last almshouse in the US. Finding this forum has kept the motivation going as it is a wonderful source of information, advice and humor!

 

[Tammi Murray]

Hi,

Ivar recently posted that the Forum is "on fire"...well, any good arson investigator will tell you that the cause of the fire can usually be determined with a degree of certainty.

So, here are my questions:

1. If you are a first time pilgrim:

A. Was the Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen movie "The Way" the first you'd heard about the Camino and,
B. Did it start the spark that motivated you to walk the Way?
C. If you had known of the Camino...did the movie convince you that now is the right time?

2. If you have previously walked the Camino:

A. Did the movie rekindle in you a desire to walk the Way again?
B. Did you suggest to someone, who you know had never considered walking the Camino, to see the movie and, after seeing it, they decided to walk the Way?

Arn

The first time I heard about the Camino de Santiago, I didn't know what it was and didn't look into it. A few years later, it came up again, two or three times in succession via different avenues. Now THAT caught my attention! Soon thereafter, the Cathedral in my city was having what they termed "Camino Seattle", their spin on the Camino de Santiago, and yes, the cathedral is St. James. It was during the month long schedule of events that I first saw the movie, "The Way," read a book along with their book group, To the Field of Dreams, and met and hiked along side several people who had made the pilgrimage. I was hooked! That was 2012. Early last year, I was having dinner with a dozen others from Washington state as part of a training retreat weekend. I was engaged in one conversation when the conversation across the table stopped me in my tracks. The woman was saying that she hoped to walk the Camino de Santiogo in 2014. Talk about serendipity! It also turned out that another couple at the table had walked the Camino de Santiago. I thought that itw as very interesting that of 12 individuals, two had walked and two were planning to walk (not sure what the statistics are in the 'general population'!) It turned out that neighter my walking partner (the woman across the table and I became quick friends!) nor I could make it in 2014 as planned. We have rescheduled for Spring 2016.

 

[peregrina2000]

I just flew home on Iberia to the US, and The Way is still one of their movie choices. Shrewd marketing decision. I actually saw quite a few people watching it (and I will confess, I watched it yet again). It may well have all the flaws others have noted, but anyone who has walked can relate to it on many levels.

 

[Urban Trekker]

While researching a camper car vacation to Europe , I came across references about the Camino's of Spain. Upon returning from our European vacation I was hooked on Europe. I did further research on the Camino. The movie "The Way" was part of that research and yes it inspired me to walk one of the Camino's. During a phone call to my friend Craig, I told him about the Camino's and asked if he would be interested. He said yes and the rest is history. We walked the Ingles last year and will walk the Portuguese in Sept.

Happy Trails. Urban T

 

[twojay54]

I saw The Way by accident (you can rent a fourth movie for one dollar extra said the Blockbuster bloke). I did more research but very quickly decided I had to do it and I'll be there in 7 weeks. Then some strange coincidences have occurred which have reinforced the connection. I'm not sure what I will find out there but something is definitely calling.

 

[xin loi]

Asked the Koreans why they were walking and was told because of a Movie made by their national airline. They said the movie motivates many Koreans to walk the Camino but movie is NOT in English.

We walked because of reading the book written by the German Comedian and the much better book written by Jane Christmas.

 

[Rachael]

I'd been wanting to do the pilgrimage since 1998, so the film only added to the number of people who knew what I had been talking about all this time. I am grateful!

 

[Al the optimist]

Some years ago I taught English on residential courses in Segovia. Some of my students mentioned walking the Camino. I thought little of it. In subsequent years while visiting friends in Bilbao I came across the shells. I did so again when I walked through Vitoria with friends there. Eventually I saw the movie "The Way". Too many coincidences the total of which has turned me into a Caminoloic!

 

[Matthew King]

Having been diagnosed with a brain tumour in December 2014, I watched The Way a few days later with my family. I had not heard about the Camino prior to that. I was hooked straight away, and 10 weeks later was in StJPP to start the Camino Frances. Walking with friends and family to Santiago has been the most fulfilling experience of my life. Two months after arriving in Santiago, I went back, and cycled the Camino del Norte with my son, and next week I will return to Santiago to walk the Camino Finisterre/Muxia/SdC loop with two friends.
The Way has started a life enrichment I could never had dreamed of beforehand. So thank you Sheen and Estevez.