moromauro
moromauro
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Caminho de los Faros, in Galicia
Hi everyone!
I'm Maurizio and maybe i'm not actually a new member, having joined this forum some months ago!
Anyway, as this is my first post here, i write it in this section in order to briefly introduce myself.
I'm 49 y.o. and i live in Tuscany (Italy), in a country area located more or less at 35 Kms from Pisa and 50 Kms. from Florence; i work as an inspector for the National (actually: regional) Health Service, in what could be considered as the italian version of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; my work consists mainly of controlling the food producing chain and to give the methodological support in order to maintain the quality certification (according to ISO rule 9001) my office got some years ago.
I "fell in love" with the "Camino" just 4 years ago when i was there for my first time, in may 2009, walking from Saint Jean pied-de-port to Santiago with a very good friend of mine: it was something that happened completely by chance, just because another acquaintance with whom i had previously planned a trekking route in Sardinia had to give up our plan, so my friend talked to me about that "Camino" i've never heard about before... and all began from that! :wink:
The Camino Francès was a bit crowded indeed but, hey!, what an experience!
All those people from all over the world, all those different lives & stories... inspirations... problems... expectations and, yet, that feeling to be a sort of community: i was almost astonished, but in a completely positive way.
Even an agnostic, as i actually am, can't avoid to get involved in that sense of "common ground" that, as human beings, includes us all.
Since then, every year i try to spend 2 to 4 weeks hiking along different routes, sometimes with my best friend and, when he can't come or stay long enough, even starting/continuing on my own: either on different spanish "Caminos" or along the "Via Francigena" that theoretically connects Canterbury (GB) with Rome (and Apulia and, from then, possibly Jerusalem) and is interconnected to the european network of trekking routes leading to Santiago as well (i should say: mainly!).
In may 2010 i walked from the wonderful Lucca (Tuscany, Italy) to Rome across Siena and the astonishing Chianti region, then in august we were on the delightful Camino del Norte (starting from Santander) but we had to stop in Gijon because we got picked by fleas in an Albergue and some of those insects got into our backpacks, apparently willing to join our travel :mrgreen: , so we had to stop and desinfect all things we carried with us and, after that, we were too worried about getting picked again and therefore went to Madrid for the remaining days (despite being a reasonably good hiker, i can also enjoy the city life and the "movida madrilena" as well! ...and there i finally got to see "Guernica", by Picasso: another extremely involving experience!).
In may 2011 we started together the "Via de la Plata" from Seville and, as we had planned in advance, my friend flew back to Italy after about 10 days, while i went on and got to Santiago passing by Camino Sanabrès and, after that,i walked to Fisterra: maybe my best experience of "Camino", both for the length and for the people i met: all of them were very nice and, if i can tell it, there was the "right number" of pilgrims for my preferences... i could walk alone during the day (something i usually prefer) but in the Albergues we always were a considerable amount of pilgrims/hikers, enough to build acquaintances, to exchange experiences and advices and to support each other.
In may 2012 we walked along another portion of the "Via Francigena", from Turin (it's along a secondary route that connects in Vercelli with the main one: its egyptian museum is one not to be missed!) to Piacenza and finally, in July, i walked again along two other pieces of the Camino del Norte: first from Bilbao (and its impressive Guggenheim museum) to Santander and then i jumped to Ribadesella (i didn't want to walk along the same route i already saw in 2010) and, from there, to Oviedo - Avilès and further on, stopping my walking in Ribadeo because my holiday period was practically over.
Usually i don't have the goal to get to Santiago quite every time i'm in Spain for hiking: when i have many days of vacation i choose the longer itineraries and actually try to get there, but i'm happy even when i have shorter holiday periods and manage to walk for a couple of weeks or so, always trying to pass, year after year, across new areas i've never walked through before.
At present i'm planning to walk along the "Camino de Madrid" in spring 2013 (probably in may) and, after the connection of that route with the "Francès" in Sahagun, possibly go further on (till Leòn? ...Astorga??)... so probably i'm going to post again on this forum, in the section about the "Camino de Madrid", in the following period!
See you there and...
Buen camino a todos!
I'm Maurizio and maybe i'm not actually a new member, having joined this forum some months ago!
Anyway, as this is my first post here, i write it in this section in order to briefly introduce myself.
I'm 49 y.o. and i live in Tuscany (Italy), in a country area located more or less at 35 Kms from Pisa and 50 Kms. from Florence; i work as an inspector for the National (actually: regional) Health Service, in what could be considered as the italian version of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; my work consists mainly of controlling the food producing chain and to give the methodological support in order to maintain the quality certification (according to ISO rule 9001) my office got some years ago.
I "fell in love" with the "Camino" just 4 years ago when i was there for my first time, in may 2009, walking from Saint Jean pied-de-port to Santiago with a very good friend of mine: it was something that happened completely by chance, just because another acquaintance with whom i had previously planned a trekking route in Sardinia had to give up our plan, so my friend talked to me about that "Camino" i've never heard about before... and all began from that! :wink:
The Camino Francès was a bit crowded indeed but, hey!, what an experience!
All those people from all over the world, all those different lives & stories... inspirations... problems... expectations and, yet, that feeling to be a sort of community: i was almost astonished, but in a completely positive way.
Even an agnostic, as i actually am, can't avoid to get involved in that sense of "common ground" that, as human beings, includes us all.
Since then, every year i try to spend 2 to 4 weeks hiking along different routes, sometimes with my best friend and, when he can't come or stay long enough, even starting/continuing on my own: either on different spanish "Caminos" or along the "Via Francigena" that theoretically connects Canterbury (GB) with Rome (and Apulia and, from then, possibly Jerusalem) and is interconnected to the european network of trekking routes leading to Santiago as well (i should say: mainly!).
In may 2010 i walked from the wonderful Lucca (Tuscany, Italy) to Rome across Siena and the astonishing Chianti region, then in august we were on the delightful Camino del Norte (starting from Santander) but we had to stop in Gijon because we got picked by fleas in an Albergue and some of those insects got into our backpacks, apparently willing to join our travel :mrgreen: , so we had to stop and desinfect all things we carried with us and, after that, we were too worried about getting picked again and therefore went to Madrid for the remaining days (despite being a reasonably good hiker, i can also enjoy the city life and the "movida madrilena" as well! ...and there i finally got to see "Guernica", by Picasso: another extremely involving experience!).
In may 2011 we started together the "Via de la Plata" from Seville and, as we had planned in advance, my friend flew back to Italy after about 10 days, while i went on and got to Santiago passing by Camino Sanabrès and, after that,i walked to Fisterra: maybe my best experience of "Camino", both for the length and for the people i met: all of them were very nice and, if i can tell it, there was the "right number" of pilgrims for my preferences... i could walk alone during the day (something i usually prefer) but in the Albergues we always were a considerable amount of pilgrims/hikers, enough to build acquaintances, to exchange experiences and advices and to support each other.
In may 2012 we walked along another portion of the "Via Francigena", from Turin (it's along a secondary route that connects in Vercelli with the main one: its egyptian museum is one not to be missed!) to Piacenza and finally, in July, i walked again along two other pieces of the Camino del Norte: first from Bilbao (and its impressive Guggenheim museum) to Santander and then i jumped to Ribadesella (i didn't want to walk along the same route i already saw in 2010) and, from there, to Oviedo - Avilès and further on, stopping my walking in Ribadeo because my holiday period was practically over.
Usually i don't have the goal to get to Santiago quite every time i'm in Spain for hiking: when i have many days of vacation i choose the longer itineraries and actually try to get there, but i'm happy even when i have shorter holiday periods and manage to walk for a couple of weeks or so, always trying to pass, year after year, across new areas i've never walked through before.
At present i'm planning to walk along the "Camino de Madrid" in spring 2013 (probably in may) and, after the connection of that route with the "Francès" in Sahagun, possibly go further on (till Leòn? ...Astorga??)... so probably i'm going to post again on this forum, in the section about the "Camino de Madrid", in the following period!
See you there and...
Buen camino a todos!
