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Monday, November 7, 2011 , by
Joseph Busuttil
Walking the Camino trail: Not a walk in the park!
Crossing over from the arid open plains of Castilla y Leon into the greenery of scenic Galicia.
Pilgrimages on foot may seem a thing of the past, but the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, to visit the tomb of St James, still attracts thousands every year.
The second week I developed blisters in my feet and my left knee started to lock... and one time I seriously thought of giving up...
In its heyday centuries ago, a million people would visit Santiago annually. This number had dwindled to a few thousands by the early 1980s, but then its popularity started soaring again. This was owing to visits to Santiago by Pope John II, as well as books like The Pilgrimage, by Brazilian best-selling author Paulo Cuelho.
The Camino was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in 1986, and soon after a Unesco World Heritage site.
There are various Camino routes, starting from a number of places in Spain itself, France, England, and Germany. For six weeks between the middle of September and the end of last month, I also did the Camino, walking the French route from St Jean Pied du Port in the French Pyrenees to Santiago, a distance of around 800 kilometres.
The walk is a unique experience and adventure. Crossing into Spain through the north east region of Navarra, I trekked up and down the mountains of the Basque region, gradually making my way to the hot, dry open plains of Castilla y Leon known as the Meseta, and finally walking through the wet, rolling green hills of Galicia. The journey took in hundreds of hamlets, villages and towns, all with concrete Camino connections, and replete with old churches, hospitals, fortifications, and other monuments which spell out the more than a thousand-year history of the route.
With a bag containing the basic necessities not weighing more than 10 kgs strapped to my back, good walking shoes, and water aplenty, I averaged 20 to 25 kilometres a day. At the end of each daily stage, I registered at a shared accommodation known as an albergue, where basic facilities are provided for genuine pilgrims, identified by a credential booklet given out at the start of the journey, and stamped at every daily stop. One is admitted only in the early afternoon, must stay just one night and leave before eight the next day, with lights out and no talking after 10 at night – all reminiscent of the true pilgrim spirit! A number of albergues are run by the Sovereign Order of Malta, providing shelter and food for pilgrims as the Knights of St John used to do for Camino pilgrims hundreds of years ago. I felt proud to see the Maltese Cross fluttering proudly on these buildings, such as the one in Cizur Menor.
Crossing mountains, hills, valleys, rivers and plains from the east to the west of Spain, I experienced all kinds of weather, from the constant light drizzle of the Pyrenees, which the Basque people call Xidi Midi, icy cold mornings and evenings, extreme heat in the arid central regions, welcomed shady conditions provided by woods and forests, and torrents of rain all the way in Galicia. The path of the Camino also varied, ranging from green track, smooth rock pavements, dirt roads, rough sand and gravel formations, and dangerous narrow stretches where the feet had to diplomatically manage stones, rocks, boulders, and exposed tree trunks, sometimes covered with fallen leaves, or currents of gushing rain water. With the earliest daylight first breaking out after 8.30, one cannot make one’s way without torchlight in the morning.
The Camino is not a cup of tea. The first week was a disaster, as despite the clear yellow arrow and scallop shell directions that appear frequently on the route, I still managed to get lost a couple of times. The bag was too heavy with items I thought were indispensible – they were not, and I cleared things out. The second week I developed blisters in my feet and my left knee started to lock. One time I seriously thought of giving up and returning home. That evening in Granon I met Claudio, an Italian on his second Camino. He encouraged me to endure it, saying that all pilgrims go through that stage. He also explained that one gets physical and psychological sustainment from the other pilgrims passing by on the route, as their positive energy radiates onto the faltering traveller, who then would not be walking alone any more, but would be propped up by kindred spirits and soul mates. I slowly forged ahead. By the third week, the body had become a mechanical moving machine, the mind a masterful moderator of thoughts, allowing only positive ones through. The breakthrough was achieved, the pain barrier crossed.
From then on, each morning heralded the dawn of a beautiful day.
But bad things can happen on a beautiful day. The path is peppered with memorial stones and crosses commemorating pilgrims who lost their lives along the way, either through natural causes or accidents. I also saw a number of notices nailed to trees, seeking information about pilgrims who have recently disappeared.
The atmosphere of camaraderie on the way is very impressive; as pilgrims pass each other, the air is punctured by reciprocal greetings of Buenas Dias! Buen Camino! The Camino is a series of contrasts and contradictions. It is about walking alone, and making friends. It is about culture, and nature. It is spiritual, and sports. It is about life, with its ups and downs, pleasure and pain. It is not restricted to Christians – I talked to a few Moslems, some Jews, and many non Âbelievers. It is done for various reasons, be it spirituality, gratitude, seeking direction or sense in life.
Most people walk, although I saw a number of cyclists or bicigrinos. Daniel Buron, a Spanish scientist, was doing it on a unicycle, measuring the air pollution along the route. A few do it on horseback, while I ran into a couple who also brought their dog along for the walk!
The highlight of the Camino is to stagger into the old quarters of Santiago, enter the majestic cathedral through the Gate of Glory, embrace the statue of StJames from the back, visit his remains in the crypt below, and attend the pilgrim midday Mass, where on occasions the audience is regaled with a display of a huge flying butofumeiro or incense holder. Finally, I went to the pilgrims’ office to receive the official Compostela in Latin, a certificate confirming my walk. I was then overwhelmed by a powerful sense of calmness, relief, lightness, and a partial denial that I had actually carried it out! Paulo Cuelho says that in the Camino he walked many miles to discover many things that he already knew, things that all of us know but are too hard to accept. I fully subscribe to his view.
I have now returned from Spain, with back battered, knees knocked and knackered, and feet blue, bruised, and blistered, but satiated with soaring spirits, and revived with a relaxed rhythm. The official Camino is over. But life is a regular Camino. As you embark on your own unofficial Camino, whatever that may be, at the dawn of every new day, I wish you all Buenas Dias! Buen Camino!
Joseph Busuttil
Walking the Camino trail: Not a walk in the park!
Crossing over from the arid open plains of Castilla y Leon into the greenery of scenic Galicia.
Pilgrimages on foot may seem a thing of the past, but the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, to visit the tomb of St James, still attracts thousands every year.
The second week I developed blisters in my feet and my left knee started to lock... and one time I seriously thought of giving up...
In its heyday centuries ago, a million people would visit Santiago annually. This number had dwindled to a few thousands by the early 1980s, but then its popularity started soaring again. This was owing to visits to Santiago by Pope John II, as well as books like The Pilgrimage, by Brazilian best-selling author Paulo Cuelho.
The Camino was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in 1986, and soon after a Unesco World Heritage site.
There are various Camino routes, starting from a number of places in Spain itself, France, England, and Germany. For six weeks between the middle of September and the end of last month, I also did the Camino, walking the French route from St Jean Pied du Port in the French Pyrenees to Santiago, a distance of around 800 kilometres.
The walk is a unique experience and adventure. Crossing into Spain through the north east region of Navarra, I trekked up and down the mountains of the Basque region, gradually making my way to the hot, dry open plains of Castilla y Leon known as the Meseta, and finally walking through the wet, rolling green hills of Galicia. The journey took in hundreds of hamlets, villages and towns, all with concrete Camino connections, and replete with old churches, hospitals, fortifications, and other monuments which spell out the more than a thousand-year history of the route.
With a bag containing the basic necessities not weighing more than 10 kgs strapped to my back, good walking shoes, and water aplenty, I averaged 20 to 25 kilometres a day. At the end of each daily stage, I registered at a shared accommodation known as an albergue, where basic facilities are provided for genuine pilgrims, identified by a credential booklet given out at the start of the journey, and stamped at every daily stop. One is admitted only in the early afternoon, must stay just one night and leave before eight the next day, with lights out and no talking after 10 at night – all reminiscent of the true pilgrim spirit! A number of albergues are run by the Sovereign Order of Malta, providing shelter and food for pilgrims as the Knights of St John used to do for Camino pilgrims hundreds of years ago. I felt proud to see the Maltese Cross fluttering proudly on these buildings, such as the one in Cizur Menor.
Crossing mountains, hills, valleys, rivers and plains from the east to the west of Spain, I experienced all kinds of weather, from the constant light drizzle of the Pyrenees, which the Basque people call Xidi Midi, icy cold mornings and evenings, extreme heat in the arid central regions, welcomed shady conditions provided by woods and forests, and torrents of rain all the way in Galicia. The path of the Camino also varied, ranging from green track, smooth rock pavements, dirt roads, rough sand and gravel formations, and dangerous narrow stretches where the feet had to diplomatically manage stones, rocks, boulders, and exposed tree trunks, sometimes covered with fallen leaves, or currents of gushing rain water. With the earliest daylight first breaking out after 8.30, one cannot make one’s way without torchlight in the morning.
The Camino is not a cup of tea. The first week was a disaster, as despite the clear yellow arrow and scallop shell directions that appear frequently on the route, I still managed to get lost a couple of times. The bag was too heavy with items I thought were indispensible – they were not, and I cleared things out. The second week I developed blisters in my feet and my left knee started to lock. One time I seriously thought of giving up and returning home. That evening in Granon I met Claudio, an Italian on his second Camino. He encouraged me to endure it, saying that all pilgrims go through that stage. He also explained that one gets physical and psychological sustainment from the other pilgrims passing by on the route, as their positive energy radiates onto the faltering traveller, who then would not be walking alone any more, but would be propped up by kindred spirits and soul mates. I slowly forged ahead. By the third week, the body had become a mechanical moving machine, the mind a masterful moderator of thoughts, allowing only positive ones through. The breakthrough was achieved, the pain barrier crossed.
From then on, each morning heralded the dawn of a beautiful day.
But bad things can happen on a beautiful day. The path is peppered with memorial stones and crosses commemorating pilgrims who lost their lives along the way, either through natural causes or accidents. I also saw a number of notices nailed to trees, seeking information about pilgrims who have recently disappeared.
The atmosphere of camaraderie on the way is very impressive; as pilgrims pass each other, the air is punctured by reciprocal greetings of Buenas Dias! Buen Camino! The Camino is a series of contrasts and contradictions. It is about walking alone, and making friends. It is about culture, and nature. It is spiritual, and sports. It is about life, with its ups and downs, pleasure and pain. It is not restricted to Christians – I talked to a few Moslems, some Jews, and many non Âbelievers. It is done for various reasons, be it spirituality, gratitude, seeking direction or sense in life.
Most people walk, although I saw a number of cyclists or bicigrinos. Daniel Buron, a Spanish scientist, was doing it on a unicycle, measuring the air pollution along the route. A few do it on horseback, while I ran into a couple who also brought their dog along for the walk!
The highlight of the Camino is to stagger into the old quarters of Santiago, enter the majestic cathedral through the Gate of Glory, embrace the statue of StJames from the back, visit his remains in the crypt below, and attend the pilgrim midday Mass, where on occasions the audience is regaled with a display of a huge flying butofumeiro or incense holder. Finally, I went to the pilgrims’ office to receive the official Compostela in Latin, a certificate confirming my walk. I was then overwhelmed by a powerful sense of calmness, relief, lightness, and a partial denial that I had actually carried it out! Paulo Cuelho says that in the Camino he walked many miles to discover many things that he already knew, things that all of us know but are too hard to accept. I fully subscribe to his view.
I have now returned from Spain, with back battered, knees knocked and knackered, and feet blue, bruised, and blistered, but satiated with soaring spirits, and revived with a relaxed rhythm. The official Camino is over. But life is a regular Camino. As you embark on your own unofficial Camino, whatever that may be, at the dawn of every new day, I wish you all Buenas Dias! Buen Camino!
