SHIRLEY DE KOCK GUELLER walked the journey of a lifetime, and her advice if you do the same, is that this is YOUR Camino, so do what suits you for whatever reasons suits you:
For years it has been a dream; for months I had been training with mountain walks, anticipating, making the bookings, and suddenly It was there. A celebratory cava on the four-hour train ride from Madrid to Sarria, mask and all (because masks are required on Spanish public transport) was just the start.
Full disclosure, much as I wanted to do this walk my days of sharing a dormitory with up to 50 others are long over, so let the judgement begin! We booked B and Bs with a private bathroom and we also paid to have luggage transported to the next stop, me, just because; my daughter Melissa because she was between a wedding and meetings and had more to carry. The time we had off work at our disposal dictated the distance and let me quote the Camino mantra now … this is YOUR Camino and do what suits you for whatever reasons suits you.
Marked for life …
My reasons for walking a part of The Camino were not for penance. Earning the compostela to show I had walked the minimum 100ks was not the goal. I still don’t know what my reasons were … a physical challenge? Spiritual enlightenment? Being at one with nature? Perhaps a bit of all that and the chance to spend time with Melissa; certainly the peace, the solitude, the silence bar a few chattering pilgrims and occasional traffic when the path and the road intersected were all a part. All I know is that whatever happened it has marked me for life.
The beauty is indescribable. The old walls and houses and roofs. The villages and towns, the churches where so often you could get the stamp which was a testament to your journey, the graveyards, the old and huge trees that supplied constant shade and unparalleled tranquillity, the birds and their songs, all added to an ambience of awe. For life is so insignificant when faced with such grandeur.
Make no mistake, walking the 120 km (including ‘complementary’ walks) from Sarria to Santiago over six days is not a walk in the park unless you are young or superfit. Interestingly and very surprising to me is that the majority of walkers are olde r… sixties, seventies and perhaps even more, those maybe with time. We saw no children bar a couple of babies being pushed in a pram by parents and a man in a wheelchair who was joined to each of two friends helping to push to pull was a lesson in fortitude. Many were single and although the Facebook groups say you will meet many people that’s your decision – to socialise, to talk or not. Several were limping.
A question of doing
On the path, people who pass or are passed greet you with “Hola!” or wish you a good trip and for most it’s a quiet experience. For us there was nothing like … and what do you do? It was only a question of doing. Just the odd vendor would ask where you were from. The group of young girls who sang was enchanting, the few loudmouths not so much, rather like the e-bike cyclists who didn’t bother to ring their bells as they passed. On the Sunday of our walk I expected to hear church bells but only heard cow and some cycle bells. The language en route was Spanish … maybe homegrown maybe from South America. We heard occasional French and a little English and felt welcome everywhere. Sure the Camino brings 250 000 people a year all spending at least 50 euros a day but you never felt an interloper. Bless the bar owners who offered a place to rest up with a glass of orange juice or a banana for energy, or a delicious ham and cheese sandwich on the best bread ever.
There are many Caminos now like the Primitivo, Inglès, Portugues, and there is much judgement on Camino social media groups about those who don’t walk the (original) Camino Frances from St Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees. There are many reasons for not doing that… the time taken to walk or cycle the 800 plus kays is not possible for all, myself included and for every sanctimonious purist who complains that the road from Sarria is too busy there are those who respond with “it’s your Camino”. Read Paolo Coelho and realise what it meant to him, even as he was taken back and forth across and Pyrenees several times in his ignorance. Today the signposts are so clear you can’t go wrong and the yellow arrows and signature scallop shell are everywhere, with the shell on many backpacks and day packs too. The scallop is native to Galicia and there are many myths linking the shell to the tomb of St James (Santiago).
September was perfect
I was truly grateful for the company of Melissa. She walked at my pace or slowed me down when I walked too fast. She had the patience when I flagged, and flag I did. Sometimes to the point that after 25 kays as on the first two days I didn’t want to explore too much more. She still had the energy to go out again. While my training had extended to mountain hikes of 14 ks and, in my wisdom, I thought what’s another six that six or ten more, but this was a challenge, especially when the terrain was up and down, sometimes 400 m in a day. Knowing, thanks to app maps how far it was to the night’s stop wasn’t always a good thing!
September was perfect. For the most part not too hot (28 degrees as opposed to the 40 plus in August) but there were times when Noel Coward was right with his Mad dogs and Englishmen. We hoped to set off a six in the morning but dawn only broke just before 8 am so we usually started out then when it beautiful and atmospheric. We were lucky that rain for the most part stayed away but you can’t be sure in Galicia.
My hiking boots which had served me well on Table Mountain walks didn’t serve me well on the Camino and I was grateful that I had a second pair of walking shoes with me. Talcum powder, magnesium tablets against cramp kept me going and I used one blister plaster as prevention not cure. But you never know and one woman described a blister so large that she walked in Crocs for three days before she could even get her shoe back on.
Never had a bad glass of wine!
The beer at the end of the day’s hike was richly deserved sometimes even before the welcome shower. The food was wonderful … the seafood in Galicia is delicious but I did avoid the octopus for which the region is famous. Galicia is also known for its cheese but I didn’t know about its meat from castrated bull! We never had a bad glass of wine. Most meals came with a drink and they were very generous when that drink became three.
We glimpsed the Cathedral in Santiago from afar and still had many km of hills and dales before finally getting to the square, before going to claim the Compostela at the office of the pilgrims. A pilgrim’s mass rounded the day off, before and after another wonderful beer of course .
Buen Camino. Do it. For me it was the journey of a lifetime.
WS
