André Walker
Never losing my way: always standing on it
- Time of past OR future Camino
- A couple.
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So, what can be concluded from the above? If women are less talented at navigation than men (like men are always keen to emphasize), it’s inevitable that women are in a lot trouble all the time when walking Camino’s. But I must admit that this is not a very scientific approach.
Anyway, getting lost has given me some of the best experiences I’ve had. And it has learned me that people really can be angels to one another and left me wishing that, as human beings, we could be so more often.
Anybody else having similar experiences?
Tag along with me someday and we'll get lost together for sure!Hi André! There are many angels on the caminos including fellow pilgrims. I have always been lucky to be sent the right way very shortly after taking the wrong turning, so I do not have such long tales to tell.
Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Thinking of cafes. I can relate to that.You’re walking through a town on a beautiful day just admiring the town and thinking of a cafe.
This perfectly describes an Aussie lawyer I know...
She was a lawyer from Australia who obviously still had great difficulties dealing with the time difference: instead of drinking café con leche, she had a beer at 10am.
...
Thank you for these wonderful stories. I see I am not the only person whose love of walking far exceeds their navigational ability! Camino Angels have rescued me on several occasions.
I have a great talent for getting lost in cities, and now carry an old fashioned magnetic compass so when all else fails, including my reading of google maps, I can find my way.
My wife is not so impaired. Many years ago we were in Paris, enjoying A LOT of walking. The day was hot. Our planned destination was the Eiffel Tower with all those lovely stairs. On emerging from a café I pointed the direction. My wife demurred. Realizing she was overcome with heat and exhaustion I reiterated. I may have explained that she was not very good at reading maps. I don’t recall all the details, but the conversation got strident. She was simply unreasonable, and didn't understand her own limitations. Finally she just looked at me very strangely and turned me around. The Tower loomed directly behind me….
Another option is to take the GR82 to the top of the ridge between SDdS and Contreras - there are beautiful views all around from up there!
Sierra de la Demanda from above Santo Domingo de Silos
From there, you can even follow it a bit farther down to the set of the Sad Hill Cemetery from the movie The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. A nice 'day walk.'
In the not-lost-but-looking-lost category, on my last camino I had to go back about 250m to retrieve my poles from where I had left them in a tienda - and in that short distance, two people called out from cars that I was going the wrong way.
I have left my poles behind quite a few times...I hate when that happens and tell myself "never again" as I head back to retrieve them, but those words fall on my own deaf ears!
Love your story, Turga! I've even joked about it a few times.
O yes, the same person indeed! When did you meet her and are you still in touch with her?This perfectly describes an Aussie lawyer I knowHer name is Cressey. Same person maybe?
I too enjoy what my little group call "Camino Mini Reunions". We are four who met on the camino in 2015. We get together every fall for a two night meetup in a hotel and make tapas and have Rioja wine in one of the rooms. We are all Americans and live within 4-6 hour drive from each other. We choose a new location each time and plan some walking on trails or in parks.O yes, the same person indeed! When did you meet her and are you still in touch with her?
I met her on my 2011 Frances, when I was lost walking into Burgos. And we've met a couple of times since. As often the case on a camino: along the way you get to meet the same persons again and again. Sometimes not seeing them for days and then suddenly, walking into a bar, there they are. Like a wave, you get to meet the people who started around the same time you did, walking more or less the same daily distances.
This happened to me on my 2011 Camino. And slowly a group op friends started to evolve this way. Coming from all over the place: Scotland, Italy, France, Ireland, Rumania, Russia, Hungary, USA, Australia, Spain, Holland, ... , exchanging e-mail addresses to be in touch after the Camino. When I got back from the Camino at the end of July, I thought that it was great fun meeting them, but that I wouldn't be seeing them again.
Then, in October, Paddy from Ireland sent a message: he was still thinking about his Camino very often, missing us a lot. And how we would feel about coming to Dublin early December for a 'Camino-reunion'. And so we did. There were 12 of us, including Cressey from Australia! It was a wonderful experience seeing them again. And we kept meeting since: in France, Holland, England, Spain, Rumania. In Ireland and France a second time: first when Paddy got married, a couple of years later we were at Claire's wedding. We didn't get to meet last year, but plans are starting to materialize for a 2020 reunion.
@KinkyOne: Cressey is visiting Europe every year, doing the European Peace Walk:http://www.europeanpeacewalk.com/
@KinkyOne: did we meet in 2011?
I went up that big hill to Ernesto's beautiful albergue in 2016 and was also treated to a cold glass of agua! I missed the dign to turn left when first coming in to town. Ended up at a bar on the other end of town and asked some local men where the "albergay" was. They had no clue what I said (and I thought I had great pronunciation). They finally understood and pointed up to the top of that big hill. I was tired, but it was worth the trudge!I forgot to mention meeting an angel when I wasn't lost, not realising I needed an angel until I met her.
It was on my 2016 Camino Del Norte. I was walking towards the albergue in Guemes. It was hot, very hot that day. I didn't plan to stay at the albergue, because it wasn't even noon and I wasn't done walking yet.
The ones that know this albergue will remember: the last bit is a short, but steep climb up the hill. I was already sweating in the blazing sun, but climbing this hill I discovered that I still had some pores that weren't sweating until that moment. Then, at the top op of the hill, arriving in front of the albergue, sweating and gasping for air, there was this lovely, blond angel coming towards me, reaching out at me with a glass of water with condensation drops on the outside, saying: "Would you like a cold drink?".
Later Anna turned out to be a young German volunteer at the albergue, but that very first moment I thought that I had died during the climb and now had reached the gates of heaven. A glass of water never tasted so good. Anna asked if I was planning to stay at the albergue. When I told her it was just too early for me to call it a day and preferred to walk some more, she suggested to have lunch there (which would be served in about 30 minutes) and continue afterwards. This sounded good, so I stayed for lunch. And, feeling so welcome, I didn't leave that day. Everything in this albergue was donativo (lunch, dinner and stay), but for me it was the most expensive albergue so far.
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I went up that big hill to Ernesto's beautiful albergue in 2016 and was also treated to a cold glass of agua! I missed the dign to turn left when first coming in to town. Ended up at a bar on the other end of town and asked some local men where the "albergay" was. They had no clue what I said (and I thought I had great pronunciation). They finally understood and pointed up to the top of that big hill. I was tired, but it was worth the trudge!
I walked that route in May 2016...so not that recent and I heard nothing at that time.I was “replacement (substitute?)” hospitaleira in Guëmes for one week in 2010. The cold water welcome is always done for everybody - not always easy when there are several pilgrims arriving in quick succession and you also have to show them the living quarters...
Since we are mentioning Guëmes, there was talk some time ago about the camino being retraced away from the albergue and a petition against this. Chrissy, you walked there relatively recently - what was the situation then? Anybody knows what it is now?
Hola, Andre,O yes, the same person indeed! When did you meet her and are you still in touch with her?
I met her on my 2011 Frances, when I was lost walking into Burgos. And we've met a couple of times since. As often the case on a camino: along the way you get to meet the same persons again and again. Sometimes not seeing them for days and then suddenly, walking into a bar, there they are. Like a wave, you get to meet the people who started around the same time you did, walking more or less the same daily distances.
This happened to me on my 2011 Camino. And slowly a group op friends started to evolve this way. Coming from all over the place: Scotland, Italy, France, Ireland, Rumania, Russia, Hungary, USA, Australia, Spain, Holland, ... , exchanging e-mail addresses to be in touch after the Camino. When I got back from the Camino at the end of July, I thought that it was great fun meeting them, but that I wouldn't be seeing them again.
Then, in October, Paddy from Ireland sent a message: he was still thinking about his Camino very often, missing us a lot. And how we would feel about coming to Dublin early December for a 'Camino-reunion'. And so we did. There were 12 of us, including Cressey from Australia! It was a wonderful experience seeing them again. And we kept meeting since: in France, Holland, England, Spain, Rumania. In Ireland and France a second time: first when Paddy got married, a couple of years later we were at Claire's wedding. We didn't get to meet last year, but plans are starting to materialize for a 2020 reunion.
@KinkyOne: Cressey is visiting Europe every year, doing the European Peace Walk:http://www.europeanpeacewalk.com/
@KinkyOne: did we meet in 2011?
I think you're right. I don't remember meeting Ingo or Søren. And I most certainly didn't meet anyone named Kinky.In 2011 I have walked from SJPdP (15.05.) to Fisterra (28.06.) The second part I mostly walked with una chica catalana but otherwise I didn't really have any Camino family. The names I still remember are Ingo from Germany and Soren from Denmark. And a policemen from Valencia. So I doubt that we met
Nope. Maria. She's opera singer....
The girl/woman from Cataluna: could that have been Martha?
I encountered many angels on the Camino and two or three who steered me in the right direction1.
The first day, walking out of St. Jean, the weather looked fine: only some high clouds. So I decided to take the high route. Further up the mountain the weather got worse. First, the clouds became thicker and thicker, until at last there was only about 50-75 m. of sight. The wind picked up, not to drive the clouds away, but only to bring new ones, along with a drizzle that made me soaking wet, despite the poncho I was wearing, streaming me in my face until it hurt.
At last, I noticed that I was getting near the top of the mountain. I didn’t take out my guidebook because I didn’t want it to get wet and relied on my memory. I remembered I had to follow the asphalt road until there would be a path that would lead me to Roncesvalles. So I continued on the asphalt road until there was a path leading down (in retrospective: this was about 500m. after the path to the right, through the grass). The path gradually turned to the left, leading me down the mountain. As I expected. After a while there was a right turn, but very soon it turned left again. And continued to do so. After 5-6 kilometers I got below the clouds and the sight improved.
After so many left turns by now I figured out that I must have gone wrong somewhere. So I turned around, looking at the path dissappearing in the fog, wondering what to do. Because I had no idea where I had gone wrong, I decided to just follow the path down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain I got to a kind of ‘ghost town’. There were a couple of houses to the left and a ruin to the right. I knocked on four front doors, but there was no reply. So I continued on the asphalt road that led out of this town. After the last house the road crossed a small river. I sat down on the bridge, feeling weary and very lost.
Then I heard a car starting. At the ruin there was a small car park. I looked up and noticed a car pulling out of the car park and turning towards me on the asphalt road. The car stopped, the driver opened the window and asked if they could help. On the backseat there was a young woman holding a baby. It was a young Spanish couplet that had visited the ruin. Thankfully the driver spoke a little English. I explained that I was walking the Camino and had gotten lost. I took out my guidebook and showed him the map, pointing at Roncesvalles, asking him to show me where I was now. He studied the map for a couple of moments, then looked up at me with a worried face and pointed his finger in the air, beside my guidebook and explained that I had walked off the map.
When I asked him if he knew how far it was to Roncesvalles he said he wasn’t sure, but he thought it might be 10-12 kilometers. Turned out I had come down the wrong side of the mountain, walking away from Roncesvalles with every step I took. By now it was late in the afternoon, and I figured I had already walked 28-30 kilomers. No way I was going to walk another 10k. He then said they were a couple on holiday. They weren’t going to Roncesvalles, but he was willing to make a detour and drop me of at a crossroad. From there I could hitchhike to Roncesvalles. The Spanish man started talking to his wife in Spanish, explaining what I had said and that he would drop me somewhere nearer to Roncesvalles. She looked at me, started smiling and said something to her husband. He smiled at me as well and said that his wife suggested to drive me all the way to Roncesvalles and drop me off at the albergue. And they did. I proposed to give them something for the extra drive, but they wouldn’t hear of it: they were glad to be of help. So I thanked them from the bottom of my heart, being very thankful for complete strangers helping me this way.
The second time on the Frances, in 2014, it was a beautiful day. Lots of sunshine without it being too hot. Climbing the mountain I was very curious to see where I had gone wrong 3 years earlier. When I got to the top of the mountain there was this huge sign pointing to this small path to the right, through the grass. I couldn’t believe that I had missed it the first time. At the albergue in Roncesvalles I told one of the volunteers. He wasn’t sure if there had been a sign before, but he explained that this new sign had been put there after 2011 due tot he fact that I wasn’t the only pilgrim going wrong at exactly the same spot, especially if there was a heavy fog.
Yes, I have had many experiences like that. I got lost coming out of Boadilla, more than once, during one of them, I just got distracted by the beauty of the sunflowers. When I stopped for a moment, I realized I was lost again. There was a man in a big tractor, and I asked him, "Dónde está el Camino." He pointed to a sign, over by the roadway, that said Fromista 10km. I had already walked more than I normally walked in a day. There was very little traffic on this road. I was in the middle of nowhere. I decided to hitchhike. I hadn't done that for over 50 years. I stuck my out thumb, two drivers stopped immediately. The guy in the first car was a businessman. I hopped in and we had a lovely conversation. He was so concerned that I not get lost again, that he drove me right up to the Camino and pointed which way to go.Anybody else having similar experiences?
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