PilgrimDance
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- SJPDP-SDC September-October 2016
People know we like to travel and sometimes ask if we have any trips planned. "Why, yes," is my current answer. "We're going to walk the Camino de Santiago. Do you know what that is?" They almost never do, so I give a quick explanation before their interest fades. "It's a thousand-year-old pilgrimage route across northern Spain." "Oh," says the inquirer with mild curiosity. "How far is that?" "Five hundred miles," I say, ready to break into song. "WHAT?" The surprise is delightful every time. "Who are you going with?" "With Maurice." "But with what group?" "Oh, it's just us," I say. (Us and the other thousand or two people along the trail on any given day.) Eyes widen further as questions form: How long will it take? (Maybe six weeks.) How many miles a day will you go? (Maurice says twelve to fifteen.) Do you usually walk that far? (No.) Have you ever backpacked? (No!) Will you have to carry a tent and build a campfire? By now I am laughing. "We must be nuts," I say, and no one disagrees.
And why are we doing this? That is the question. I've been intrigued by the Camino de Santiago since I first heard of it decades ago. When I first started thinking seriously about walking it, I wanted to hear from people who had already done so. Why did they walk that pilgrim path, that far? So I read books and googled around and delved into the wonderful Camino forum and, to my surprise, I found that a lot of people who walked the Camino couldn't describe exactly why they set off. There were perhaps some surface explanations but they weren't the real reason. Ultimately people went because they felt called to go, and the call became so strong they couldn't ignore it. They were pilgrims in pursuit of an elusive grail.
The call gripped me too. There is mystery in it, and beauty and adventure, but it begins in faith on a path bearing the footsteps of a millennia of pilgrims making their way toward the relics of St. James, hoping for a gracious touch from God. Before Maurice and I together decided to go, and long before I told anyone what we had in mind (because this is such an outrageous idea and I wasn't really convinced I could do it [still not]), I yielded to the call and let the ungovernable seed take root.
So here we are, counting down the days until our long walk with Jesus and the companions he sends us for the Way. We spent the balance of our frequent flyer miles on one-way tickets to Toulouse and will leave St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port for Orisson on Thursday September 8. Of course we are excited but even as I type waves of panic sweep over me. Not only is there is still much to do before we leave, but I am also afraid this pilgrimage is too hard for me. I walk and I weigh and I plan...but all those kilometers? And albergues and my backpack and bedbugs? Yet life is short. How can I not follow the call to make the Camino a part of my journey? And Maurice reminds me that no matter how hard it is, at the end we will visit our new grandson (due while we are on the Way) in the south of Spain.
Dear, dear forum members, thank you for all the help you've given me over the past year as we've planned our Camino. Even though you've heard such sentiments before, please don't think my thanks are perfunctory; they are heartfelt. I have received wonderful ideas, sensible advice and generous encouragement and I love all of you--enthusiastic beginners, affable veterans, unique individuals of every sort, and especially the kind and wise women of a certain age who have given me the idea that if they can do this then maybe I can too. Please continue your patient and much-needed ministry.
Here is my ONE QUESTION (and I hope it's not too silly): I enjoy playing piano and organ. The time on Camino will be my longest time in decades away from my piano, and I think I will miss it. Since I have decided against packing it, am I likely to come across any accessible instruments along the Way? In the corner of an albergue perhaps? If it is a possibility, I could load some music onto my iPad (which Maurice has volunteered to carry for me). Thanks for any insights.
Please say hi if you're walking and you see us. We have Maryland state flag and Camino Forum patches on our backpacks. Maurice sewed his on himself. He did it his own improper way, and without blood, and his patches look better than mine.
And why are we doing this? That is the question. I've been intrigued by the Camino de Santiago since I first heard of it decades ago. When I first started thinking seriously about walking it, I wanted to hear from people who had already done so. Why did they walk that pilgrim path, that far? So I read books and googled around and delved into the wonderful Camino forum and, to my surprise, I found that a lot of people who walked the Camino couldn't describe exactly why they set off. There were perhaps some surface explanations but they weren't the real reason. Ultimately people went because they felt called to go, and the call became so strong they couldn't ignore it. They were pilgrims in pursuit of an elusive grail.
The call gripped me too. There is mystery in it, and beauty and adventure, but it begins in faith on a path bearing the footsteps of a millennia of pilgrims making their way toward the relics of St. James, hoping for a gracious touch from God. Before Maurice and I together decided to go, and long before I told anyone what we had in mind (because this is such an outrageous idea and I wasn't really convinced I could do it [still not]), I yielded to the call and let the ungovernable seed take root.
So here we are, counting down the days until our long walk with Jesus and the companions he sends us for the Way. We spent the balance of our frequent flyer miles on one-way tickets to Toulouse and will leave St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port for Orisson on Thursday September 8. Of course we are excited but even as I type waves of panic sweep over me. Not only is there is still much to do before we leave, but I am also afraid this pilgrimage is too hard for me. I walk and I weigh and I plan...but all those kilometers? And albergues and my backpack and bedbugs? Yet life is short. How can I not follow the call to make the Camino a part of my journey? And Maurice reminds me that no matter how hard it is, at the end we will visit our new grandson (due while we are on the Way) in the south of Spain.
Dear, dear forum members, thank you for all the help you've given me over the past year as we've planned our Camino. Even though you've heard such sentiments before, please don't think my thanks are perfunctory; they are heartfelt. I have received wonderful ideas, sensible advice and generous encouragement and I love all of you--enthusiastic beginners, affable veterans, unique individuals of every sort, and especially the kind and wise women of a certain age who have given me the idea that if they can do this then maybe I can too. Please continue your patient and much-needed ministry.
Here is my ONE QUESTION (and I hope it's not too silly): I enjoy playing piano and organ. The time on Camino will be my longest time in decades away from my piano, and I think I will miss it. Since I have decided against packing it, am I likely to come across any accessible instruments along the Way? In the corner of an albergue perhaps? If it is a possibility, I could load some music onto my iPad (which Maurice has volunteered to carry for me). Thanks for any insights.
Please say hi if you're walking and you see us. We have Maryland state flag and Camino Forum patches on our backpacks. Maurice sewed his on himself. He did it his own improper way, and without blood, and his patches look better than mine.