Camino Salvado Sep 2022, Australia

[dougfitz]

In early September, I flew to Perth, Western Australia, to participate in the Camino Salvado. This organised walk is conducted twice a year by a voluntary organising committee based in St Joseph’s Church in Subiaco, WA, and has been running for about 12 years. I walked it in 2011, and had hoped to walk it again last year, couldn't, but decided to walk it this year.

I walked for four of the seven days of the walk before deciding that I was becoming too distressed about some aspects of the way it was been conducted on the ground to continue. This was particularly disappointing for me, as I had been so looking forward to completing the walk to New Norcia for a second time.

Was this a disaster? Perhaps at a personal level, it might seem that way, but in deciding to leave when I did, I also felt this would protect myself and the other pilgrims from having me break out in frustration, perhaps even in anger, about what was frustrating me. That might have been more disastrous! It took me a couple of days of rest to regain some semblance of equanimity.

It would be easy to see this in terms of some single catalytic event. That would be too simple an explanation for what was more a series of small, but significant, things that ultimately became a vicious spiral. They might have ended in a particular event, but alone that would not have been sufficient in itself. It was, nonetheless, one from which I felt I no longer had the mental energy or emotional resilience to recover.

It would also be easy to suggest others were to blame, when in reality the way some of the interactions were managed, or not managed, would be as important for me to reflect upon than just the actions of other individuals. I could also rationalise why I didn't try and address some of these things earlier, when the changes that might have made a difference would potentially have been simpler and less troublesome to make if the facilitators on the ground had known what my concerns were.

This has left me in a quandary. From the first time I did this pilgrimage in 2011, I have always seen it as a wonderful way to experience the memory of Dom Salvado, the work he did with indigenous Australians and in laying the foundations for the only monastery town in Australia. For the other 23 pilgrims that I joined at the start, I expect that could still be so, and sincerely hope that it was.

But would I do it again? I am no longer so sure as I might have been going into this. I did consider that having walked pilgrimages so many times by myself, I am now somewhat less tolerant of the demands and discipline required to walk with a formed group. That would be a shame, because the other pilgrims on this walk were all interesting and entertaining, with broad and challenging life experiences and some wonderfully deep insights into their Catholic (mainly) religious theology, spiritual life and even the mundanely practical challenges of work and family.

Would I recommend it to others? I have to contemplate that having had a wonderfully rich experience doing this pilgrimage in 2011, that my experience this year has not been shared by the many pilgrims who have walked this over the years. It is entirely possible that it is a complete outlier, not indicative of the experiences others have had, or might have in the future. That said, I am not suggesting they won't have had their complaints and grumbles - I would almost expect that there will be niggles about many things when walking over 140 km or more in the course of seven days. So perhaps I would recommend it, but with a caution to be alert to your own physical and emotional needs, and be prepared to work with the facilitators when matters arise that threaten those needs to address them promptly.

 

[camino07]

I thoroughly enjoyed walking the Camino Salvado in 2012 and didn't mind joining with the odd prayer.
After all it was run by the church. I was also happy it was inexpensive compared to other companies.
Hope folk are not put off by Doug's experience . We are all different

 

[Kanga]

Thank you @dougfitz for your thoughtful post. I won't speculate on the difficulties you encountered.

I am not a fan of religious fervour. I tend to disappear when it arrives.

I've just returned from an enjoyable 13 days of walking with the Blue Mountains Camino Supporters group. We started at the Macquarie obelisk (from which all NSW distances are measured) in the Sydney CBD, and finished in Lithgow (for those who walked every inch of the mapped route - 250km).

This walk had no religious significance, and no meaningful end point other than getting to Lithgow, but was organised by a bunch of people who are fans of the Camino. I can't say the walk was "like a Camino" because nothing in Australia really is, imo.

For the first five days, from the CBD to Penrith, it did have some practical similarities in that we carried our own packs and stayed at accomodation along the way, approximately 25 km apart, in shared facilities. We took routes through parks and along river banks, avoiding roads when we could, but also walking in the same direction, through industrial areas and some suburbia. Taking the good with the bad - as we do on Camino. At our own pace, and with no requirement to walk as a group. I often took detours (usually shortcuts). We always finished up at the same place each night.

From Penrith to Lithgow we were a much bigger group, and we stayed in the same accommodation in Blackheath for 5 nights, travelling backwards and forward to our starting and finishing points by train, and doing the same from Blackheath to Lithgow (we stayed in Lithgow). Still fun, but different. Certainly nothing like a pilgrimage, or "a Camino", even though discussion about the Camino was a part of our day.

 

[dick bird]

Thank you @dougfitz for your thoughtful post. I won't speculate on the difficulties you encountered.

I am not a fan of religious fervour. I tend to disappear when it arrives.

I've just returned from an enjoyable 13 days of walking with the Blue Mountains Camino Supporters group. We started at the Macquarie obelisk (from which all NSW distances are measured) in the Sydney CBD, and finished in Lithgow (for those who walked every inch of the mapped route - 250km).

This walk had no religious significance, and no meaningful end point other than getting to Lithgow, but was organised by a bunch of people who are fans of the Camino. I can't say the walk was "like a Camino" because nothing in Australia really is, imo.

For the first five days, from the CBD to Penrith, it did have some practical similarities in that we carried our own packs and stayed at accomodation along the way, approximately 25 km apart, in shared facilities. We took routes through parks and along river banks, avoiding roads when we could, but also walking in the same direction, through industrial areas and some suburbia. Taking the good with the bad - as we do on Camino. At our own pace, and with no requirement to walk as a group. I often took detours (usually shortcuts). We always finished up at the same place each night.

From Penrith to Lithgow we were a much bigger group, and we stayed in the same accommodation in Blackheath for 5 nights, travelling backwards and forward to our starting and finishing points by train, and doing the same from Blackheath to Lithgow (we stayed in Lithgow). Still fun, but different. Certainly nothing like a pilgrimage, or "a Camino", even though discussion about the Camino was a part of our day.

I was on the walk too, and can I just say one of the things that made it special was the company.