LavanyaLea
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- N Wales, Frances, Salvador, Primitivo 2022
For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
Ender is the person who single-handedly (though he doesn’t like to say this) brought the Salvador to life. My very first mention of him, according to the forum’s search function, was in 2011. Post is here.@peregrina2000 I’ve been meaning to ask many times before, who is this wonderful Ender? He seems to be very heavily invested in Camino San Salvador. Is he a local guy who wants to promote this off the beaten path route, and he’s doing all this hard work voluntarily?
Note from the mod: I thought I would pull this out for a separate thread, hopefully giving lots of forum members the chance to chime in with their own Ender stories.
@peregrina2000 I’ve been meaning to ask many times before, who is this wonderful Ender? He seems to be very heavily invested in Camino San Salvador. Is he a local guy who wants to promote this off the beaten path route, and he’s doing all this hard work voluntarily?
I had the great fortune to meet Ender a week ago Saturday in Cinera on the Olvidado. I walked into town looking for a bar for refreshments and found a small fiesta going on. As I walked into the square (obviously looking very much like a pilgrim) Ender walked up to me and introduced himself. He took me to a bar, showed me a great off-road track to La Pola de Gordon, and then gave me a ride to Pola when he drove by as it was raining!What a lovely story. I’m surprised one has to fight for funding from the local councils to set up/maintain/improve the routes. And what about the church? Considering they do give out the Salvadorana at the cathedral in Oviedo… shouldn’t they at least have some funds set aside for it?
On the other hand though, selfish me thinks it’s better the route stays as the one less travelled by and not get too crowded
How lovely to have this background information on El Salvador y su Resurrección y mantenimiento por Ender & Co. Folks should know you are very much a part of this team, go ahead Laurie, tell us about the English translation.Ender is the person who single-handedly (though he doesn’t like to say this) brought the Salvador to life. My very first mention of him, according to the forum’s search function, was in 2011. Post is here.
Thanks so much for asking, because I’ve been going back and re-reading old posts, particularly this one about when I first met Ender in 2012! That means we are celebrating 10 years of friendship.
Ender lives in a small town very near La Robla and got early retirement as a coal mining engineer in the 2000s. Having all that time was what led him to research and mark the Salvador. He started with metal arrows and conch signs, some of which are still standing. All made in his garage, with his money, just for the love of what he calls “mis montañas.” Since then he has written the guidebook (with at least two newer versions, most recently in 2022), built a bridge outside Poladura so you don’t have to step into the soggy bog, and just recently did a substantial amount of work to make the off-road route into Ujo much safer and better marked. He and his little band have built a staircase, which I shared pictures of. In short, he works tirelessly to promote the Salvador. He goes frequently to the albergues in La Robla (unfortunately still closed for covid) and Poladura to see pilgrims. His facebook pages are constantly updated, and he is always available to answer questions about conditions, lodging, etc etc.
I will point out that on about page 74 of Ender’s 2022 Salvador guide, there is a link for a donation, which he was reluctant to put up. But he has been spending a lot of his own money, and several forum members assured him that the donation was a very appropriate thing to ask for. You can be sure that every céntimo goes back into the camino.
His most recent undertaking has been to do to the Camino Olvidado what he has done for the Salvador. He has made a tremendous amount of progress, organized a lot of mayors into an association, and received some grants. There is now a fancy website, with a guide, and he has also written his own guide, both of which are linked to in this post.
This is a man who brings a magical combination of love of the camino with endless energy and goodwill.
So that’s a very long answer to your question, @LavanyaLea! I really do feel like when I met him I won the lottery, because he has become a close friend.
What a coincidence, this is the same experience @alansykes had when he walked the Olvidado! See this thread and also this one.He took me to a bar, showed me a great off-road track to La Pola de Gordon, and then gave me a ride to Pola when he drove by as it was raining!
He is a wonderful person, and I had the privelege of meeting him while doing the San Salvador last September in Poladura at Albergue El Embrujo which is wonderful by the way. He is very special.Ender is the person who single-handedly (though he doesn’t like to say this) brought the Salvador to life. My very first mention of him, according to the forum’s search function, was in 2011. Post is here.
Thanks so much for asking, because I’ve been going back and re-reading old posts, particularly this one about when I first met Ender in 2012! That means we are celebrating 10 years of friendship.
Ender lives in a small town very near La Robla and got early retirement as a coal mining engineer in the 2000s. Having all that time was what led him to research and mark the Salvador. He started with metal arrows and conch signs, some of which are still standing. All made in his garage, with his money, just for the love of what he calls “mis montañas.” Since then he has written the guidebook (with at least two newer versions, most recently in 2022), built a bridge outside Poladura so you don’t have to step into the soggy bog, and just recently did a substantial amount of work to make the off-road route into Ujo much safer and better marked. He and his little band have built a staircase, which I shared pictures of. In short, he works tirelessly to promote the Salvador. He goes frequently to the albergues in La Robla (unfortunately still closed for covid) and Poladura to see pilgrims. His facebook pages are constantly updated, and he is always available to answer questions about conditions, lodging, etc etc.
I will point out that on about page 74 of Ender’s 2022 Salvador guide, there is a link for a donation, which he was reluctant to put up. But he has been spending a lot of his own money, and several forum members assured him that the donation was a very appropriate thing to ask for. You can be sure that every céntimo goes back into the camino.
His most recent undertaking has been to do to the Camino Olvidado what he has done for the Salvador. He has made a tremendous amount of progress, organized a lot of mayors into an association, and received some grants. There is now a fancy website, with a guide, and he has also written his own guide, both of which are linked to in this post.
This is a man who brings a magical combination of love of the camino with endless energy and goodwill.
So that’s a very long answer to your question, @LavanyaLea! I really do feel like when I met him I won the lottery, because he has become a close friend.
I was wondering about this very thing! What a sight - it starts as a “target” in the distance, then is an amazing resting and reflecting spot, and finally becomes an everlasting memory and symbol of the San Salvador. Bravo Ender!One thing I forgot to note was that he built and installed the Salvador cross, which sits at the top of a very long climb after Poladura and is the perfect place to sit and enjoy spectacular views.
View attachment 126583
I was also able to meet Ender when I did the San Salvador last year. Great to meet himJust now in La Robla. Ender came by to say Hi to the Peregrinos. Today the Salvador is like Sarria to Santiago. A scattering of 12-15 Peregrinos. Still no bed race here. So great to spend time with Ender today!
He is the heart & soul of this Camino. So generous with his time and energy.I was also able to meet Ender when I did the San Salvador last year. Great to meet him
I met him 10 years ago, we were a group of seven friends, at the time hardly anybody knew El Salvador, and I was in close contact with over the phone and via email to organize accommodation and other things. On Day 1, he came to encounter us half way to La Robla and accompanied us to the albergue. It was so new that we actually had to remove the plastic covers of the matresses, nobody had slept there yet!
He recommended the bar opposite the Buen Suceso little church on Day 2, excellent tortillas for a hearty breakfast to put us on the way to Poladura, part of the way under snow.
On Day 3, a Sunday, he joined us for the BIG stage, Poladura to La Tercia, and asked us for help to paint a couple of arrows, place a couple of metal shells and arrows and to place a large wooden sign along the way (photos below).
He showed us a particular spot where he was planning to plant a cross that would represent a landmark along the way. He did this project together with his mine mates, one of whom died shortly after placing the cross where it is right now.
We crossed the mountains in the middle of a blizzard, in May!!!!
He arranged the keys for Santa Maria de Arbas amazing church, which we visited under a heavy snowfall and without electric light, like they would have seen the church in the Middle Ages! He arranged a lunch for us in Mesón El Quico, which had just reopened near Arbas after having been closed for over 30 years or so.
A few years later, I visited him again, this time with my family, and he and his wife showed us around the whole area, the pits where he used to work, the bridge he had just finished building at the entrance of Poladura, the wooden signal we placed a few years earlier, the arrow I painted (that was such an honor!!!). I still keep in touch with him, he taught me to walk with sandals, and that is what I have been using ever since!
Now he is also heavily involved in Olvidado.
One particular thing I remember is, he told me how in the pits, nobody had a large salary as such; they would work together in teams, and the earnings, depending on their production, would be equally split among all team members. He was an electrician in the mines, and retired when he was just barely over 40. In Spain, dangerous professions, like that of a miner, pay triple money every month for their social security and pension, so they are allowed to retire after just over 25 years of work, even if they are only 40 years of age!
I really liked the idea of the team working together and splitting all income equally, fair play!
I've not met the man, and I'm unlikely to have the chance, but I am grateful for all the effort into the development of the Salvador and the maintenance of the path. I was out there in the 2nd half of September and where I might have felt in over my head on a hike on a similar trail at home (not that we have any), I knew I could trust the signs, and the guidebook from ender and from Laurie (I read as much as I could in Spanish, and turned to the translation when my brain was pooped). Between that and the Wise Pilgrim tracks I was always certain that I was in the right spot, doing the right thing.... (well, except for that hard right I made shortly after Poladura and into a pasture where the apparent trail stopped dead. Like the rest of the 10 or so out that day, we all made the same error in the dark and exaggerated the right turn).
I was amazed to discover all the coal mines from Mieres to Oviedo... respect for the hard work... and the necessity of that energy source right now as winter comes and the natural gas lines are running on empty...
Also... I was so so so lucky with the weather.... it did not start to rain until I hit the Primitivo, where bad weather is generally far less dangerous... at least at that time of year.
Those were the original markers, himself and his "cuadrilla" (team of friends) made lots of them, some with shell, some with arrows, but I think they stopped making them because the cows could turn the arrows pointing in the wrong direction while scratching their behinds, and because hunters loved to practice their aiming against those bright yellow shells!Love the group photo where everyone was holding the metal marker! I also notice that sometimes on the track there were other yellow metal markers…. It’s for the Spanish gas lines!!! I had to take a double take, make sure it’s a shell
There is little more to add about this fantastic man, Ender!
Fast forward a few years, and they are still at it. They have built some wooden steps and railings to make sure that pilgrims don’t go the wrong way on the new route under the highway after Pola de Lena (thanks to Amancio for pointing out my mistake, I always confuse Pola de Gordón and Pola de Lena). It avoids the treacherously dangerous highway into Ujo, but it does have one particular spot where it was easy to keep going straight on a wide cleared path, while the correct route took a sharp left and descended. I know that from experience.Lots of hours of work: men in their early 40s, fit, working together in this common project (the bridge in Poladura, the wooden signals, the huge cross in the middle of nowhere)
I think you mean "after Pola de Lena" in this case... I do not remember that stretch up to Ujo being particularly nasty, it was some sort of industrial estate, I think...Fast forward a few years, and they are still at it. They have built some wooden steps and railings to make sure that pilgrims don’t go the wrong way on the new route under the highway after Pola de Gordón. It avoids the treacherously dangerous highway into Ujo, but it does have one particular spot where it was easy to keep going straight on a wide cleared path, while the correct route took a sharp left and descended. I know that from experience.See the pictures of what they did on this thread. And they’re not in their 40s anymore!
Yes you’re right.I think you mean "after Pola de Lena" in this case... I do not remember that stretch up to Ujo being particularly nasty, it was some sort of industrial estate, I think...
uhm... good point! it might have been a holiday, all right... it was a long stage, that I remember, but also very pleasant to be back in the valley after a few days of snow!Yes you’re right.I will change my post. I wonder if maybe you walked on a weekend, because on a weekday early in the morning, there was a stream of big trucks and there is just absolutely no shoulder.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?