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Trekking the Camino de Santiago
Newbury Park resident takes journey of self-discovery
By Kateri Wozny
Special to the Acorn
PILGRIMAGE—Chris Gould, 23, an aspiring filmmaker, traveled to Northern Spain last year for a monthlong trek along the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile trail that traces the steps of St. James. Gould videotaped the journey, turning it into a 37-minute documentary. Having just graduated from college, Chris Gould had time on his hands last summer when his mother handed him a movie, encouraging him to watch it.
“The Way,” starring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, tells the story of a man who walks the Camino de Santiago—a 500-milelong trail in Northern Spain—in honor of his deceased son.
Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, is a pilgrimage route St. James, one of the 12 apostles in the Bible, is said to have taken to spread the word of the Gospel. His remains are purported to be buried in the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.
The tale inspired the 23-year-old aspiring filmmaker to take the journey himself and document it with his camcorder.
EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME—During their 500-mile trek across Northern Spain, Chris Gould and his best friend, Michael Wozniak, seen in photo at far right, got to know fellow pilgrims along the way. “People have been walking this trail for thousands of years . . . it’s a spiritual journey,” said Gould, a resident of Newbury Park and a graduate of Stetson University in DeLand, Fla.
“There seemed like no better time to embark on a life-changing journey and document the entire experience on film.”
However, the recent graduate was short on cash to pay for the trip. So last July Gould made a video and posted it to Indiegogo.com, a crowd-sourcing website where people who want to raise money can create fundraising campaigns to tell their story and get the word out.
He raised around $2,700 in 28 days, enough to pay for round-trip tickets, a video camera and travel expenses. Gould also worked side jobs to pay for other costs of the trip, and he received some help from his family.
Gould’s best friend, Michael Wozniak, decided to make the journey as well and sold his Jeep to pay for his portion of the trip.
“We have an adventurous relationship and are always pushing the boundaries one way or another,” said Wozniak, who has known Gould since they were in seventh grade.
Journey of self-discovery
On Sept. 28, the pair set off for their pilgrimage from the French town of St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port, which means “St. John at the foot of the mountain.”
On the first day they walked 15 miles up and three miles down steep hills.
After Wozniak injured his knee, the two decided to split up on day three so Wozniak could walk at a slower pace and allow his knee to heal.
“I was hobbling up and down mountains, and I had taken a couple spills going downhill on day one,” said Wozniak, 22. “I started experiencing knee pain over the next seven days, and once I met back up with Chris, I was stretching one night and my knee popped in a good way. The pain was suddenly gone.”
The two stayed in hostels with others taking the pilgrimage.
Each day, they would rise between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. and walk about 18 miles, depending on the terrain. It seldom rained; for most of their monthlong trip, the weather was calm and sunny.
“It’s the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen, hands down,” Gould said. “You can’t even describe in words how beautiful everything is.
“Sometimes we’d climb 5,000 feet, and you can see the flat, desert prairie, and at one point you can see the curvature of the earth at Meseta.”
As he walked, Gould would read the Bible and discuss God and the afterlife with other walkers.
“Heaven is the best place, and I thought about it in a form as feelings, such as the feeling you get while skydiving, holding your child in your arms for the first time, when your mom hugs you or performing live on stage in front of thousands of people—all of those things together,” he said. “My fear of death is gone because I will go to heaven and it’s going to be great.”
Gould said he noticed how he and other Camino pilgrims were transformed. They met almost 100 walkers during their journey and would sometimes travel with the same group of people for several days.
“Jesus says love your neighbor as yourself, and I realized as I was walking with these people that the more love I shared, the more love that came back to me,” he said.
Wozniak, a model living in New York City, also feels that he grew spiritually with God.
“When you’re out there for 30 days in a row, you find yourself praying and seeking more than you would with a typical day-today life,” he said. “When you’re hiking all day long, you’re free from the distractions. I learned appreciation, and when you withdraw yourself from the luxuries in life, you learn to appreciate so much more. Be thankful for all of the blessings in day-to-day life.”
Documentary
Gould, who moved to Newbury Park last year to live with his parents, used the film of his journey to create “500 Miles,” a 37-minute documentary that can be viewed online.
The film would have been longer, Gould said, but his satchel, containing footage from days four through 30—along with his passport, credit card and driver’s license—was stolen in Barcelona the day before he and Wozniak were due to fly back to the states.
Ironically, Gould begins the documentary worrying about having his belongings stolen. Wozniak also had items stolen while he was riding a bus a week before coming home, but he still had his passport.
“Barcelona is known to have a ton of thieves,” said Gould, who was able to get a new passport from the U.S. consulate before his flight back.
Gould said it wasn’t the physical journey that was most significant, but rather the internal journey.
When he and Wozniak reached the end, they realized their adventurous walk was over but a new beginning was waiting for them.
“I realized that happiness comes from within, and if I . . . take things as they come to me, that’s a blessing from God, then I will be happy,” Gould said.
“You learn how to work through issues you are having in your life and get to that core level of who you truly are.”
The best advice for anyone wanting to walk the Camino de Santiago?
“Don’t overthink it; just do it,” the pair said. “You will never regret it.”
To view Gould’s “ 500 Miles” documentary, visit http://christophermichaelgould.com
“Film is about telling a story, and if you can figure out how to tell a story, you can do it,” Gould said.
“I enjoy telling a story that when people walk away from the film that they want to go and live their live better. Whatever form that will take, God is leading me on the right path.”