Have a Buen Camino!

July 18,2021-July 25,2021-Xacobeo 2021

Under a bright blue cloudless sky I began walking from Piedrafita do Cebreiras in the direction of Santiago de Compostela. It will take eight days to get there. The goal on this first leg was to walk 13.5 miles and reach Triacastela by late afternoon. I had always wanted to do this pilgrimage to the ancient city where St. James is resting. I was now “una peregrina”.

I had heard that the Camino is a wonderful experience, but nothing I had heard prepared me for the physical and espiritual test that it turned out to be.

Every morning I got up and painstakingly and consciously, like a prayer, lathered my feet with Vaseline, especially between the toes, before putting my socks on; got dressed, ate my breakfast, repacked and reassessed my backpack, and began to walk. Not knowing and not really wanting to know the distance or the level of difficulty that was in the cards that day; and ever thankful that I had no foot or hand blisters to contend with. I spent each day blindly following the yellow arrows that pointed the way… sometimes they were drawn on the floor, or on the side wall of a house.

It could be a street sign, or an official marker which would also register how many kilometers and meters I still needed to walk to get to Santiago de Compostela. It’s very important to spot the signs or I could end up walking the wrong way and having to backtrack. It did happen at least once. I am walking in partnership with a good friend, Anamaria, and she has turned out to be the perfect companion. We support each other, reach into each other’s backpacks so that they don’t need to be removed every time, give each other space and privacy, and more importantly, she is comfortable with the silence.

In order to get my Compostela certificate, I must walk for a minimum of 100 kilometers and I must make sure that my Camino passport is officially stamped at least two times per day. The stamps are all different and could be churches, restaurants, cafes, and or stores that you see along the way. This is the way they can verify if you in fact walked it.

The Camino weaves through little towns, or settlements and for the most part it is shaded. It goes through moss covered trails that are just too beautiful to describe. These trails can also be very difficult with lots of different terrains, cliffs, downhill treks and uphill for hours sometimes.

The trail may be surrounded by rock with wild flowers growing out just to greet you and make you smile. The birds travel with you and the wind cools you just when you need it. There are brooks and creeks, bridges made of stones, bridges that have been there for more than 600 years. I walked in between buey or ox that happened to be in my way.

Their bells clanging as they went along. It’s a sound that I heard all along the way some days. There was one day that we went through little towns with tiny churches. When we looked in it there was a mass going on. Eventually we got to the next little town and looked into the tiny church there and there was a mass going on. The funny thing is that it was the same priest every time. I guess he goes from church to church giving Sunday mass.

The camaraderie is palpable. We are all there for a common purpose; to get to Santiago. Some are fulfilling promises, some do it for the physical challenge, however, most do it for spiritual purposes. To achieve clarity. To think out a problem. To make a decision. To cleanse the mind of banal thoughts. To get unstuck… to move forward in life. Everyone wishes you a “Buen Camino” as they go by you. It never failed.

I met a group of fathers and sons that were led by a catholic priest. They were from various churches in both Kentucky and Indiana. They told me and showed me a relic that they were carrying to Santiago De Compostela. This relic had been entrusted to them by their local archdiocese and was very special because it contained a small piece of bone that had belong to St. James.

This was part of my journal entry after the 2nd Leg- Triacastela to Sarria- July 19,2021, 13.1 miles

There really aren’t enough words to describe how spectacular it all is. Lush trails with moss covered rocks, brooks trickling along with crystal clear cold water, birds chirping, yellow, pink, red, blue, and purple flowers growing everywhere giving color and charm.

The peregrinos come in all shapes and sizes, all nationalities, all religions, and any race. I met French, Portuguese, American, Venezuelan, Italian, Puerto Rican, Irish, Swiss, German, and lots of Spaniards. Everyone talks to everyone and you feel connected somehow.

Every refreshment stop is completely different than the other and I love that… like for example, a sort of hippie commune that I was extremely happy to see. We had not run into any place for a long time and I needed to use the facilities. If you can call it that! The facility turned out to be up a small hill, and in reality, it was just a hole in the ground that was dressed up to look like a toilet. It was called “The Throne”. The Throne was a retrofitted chair that sported a wooden seat with a hole. The hole was covered by a lid made of wood that was lovingly done in the shape of a heart. The door consisted of a thin burlap curtain and as I sat there I could see the landscape that surrounded me through a heart shaped wreath-like window opening. The whole thing was special! They worked with donations and a table with fruit and other snacks was laid out. They were super nice people and they would even make “cafecito” for the visitors. This stop I will remember forever.

This leg was a bit grueling when nearing Sarria… the sun was fierce and it was unusually hot. I thought I was going to pass out! However, we made it. I have never been happier to hear my phone say “you have reached your destination”.

As in everything that has been around for over 1200 years in this case…or a long time, it is laden with history and traditions. One of them is a beer garden called Tia Dolores. I can’t even truly describe what I saw. Imagine a shaded beer spot that is in the middle of nowhere and it is completely surrounded by empty bottles hanging from nails that have been hammered on trees, fences, and stumps. Each bottle has a written message and it has been placed there by a peregrino throughout the years. It was hard to find a spot to leave mine! The Camino is riddled with all these little places and altars. It’s also a place to see more clearly and be in touch with the moment. Because there is nothing else but the moment when in the Camino.

There were instances that touched me deeply. Like this one.

I saw love today.

I had just climbed a very steep portion of the way… my legs were trembling, I was out of breath, my arms were aching because they aren’t used to handling hiking sticks, and I was thinking “oh boy… I don’t know if I’ll be able to do this again…”. Just then a conveniently situated little resting spot with snacks and drinks appeared in front of my eyes…and it wasn’t a mirage!

My first thought was “Thank you Lord”; my second thought was “This guy must be doing great! … I think everyone has to take a break here after that climb…location, location, location “.

I buy myself a Coke and my friend Anamaria and I split a delicious slice of Tortilla Española. As we are sitting there, I notice a young man and a young woman arrive on a bike that has been retrofitted to be part bike and part wheelchair. It appears that she is a paraplegic and they are doing el Camino together. He had to feed her, give her something to drink, do everything for her. It was humbling to watch.

My first thought was, “I am seeing love”… and I say to my friend, “That is love”.

My second thought was, “I am blessed”.

My third thought was , “Thank you God for all my aches and pains, and I promise I will never ever complain again”.

Moments like these were poignant and life altering.

Another day I had a conversation with a young man from Galway in Ireland, which is one of my favorite cities. We talked for a little while we were waiting for the dryer to finish drying. We considered ourselves lucky to have a washer and dryer during our stop in Melides. He told me that he had promised himself that if he beat his liver cancer, he was doing the Camino, he told me that he has lived more than two years above all expectations. His doctors didn’t want him doing it but he said he had to; I am so glad he did. He looked good and energetic. He was doing alright. I just know he made it.

The 3rd leg was one of the longest and more trying. It was also the third day, so most likely we were physically tired. It felt like we would never get there! It was during this walk that I paid homage to Maria Teresa And Ricky Rovirosa, and Francis Plasencia, my three friends that perished in the Surfside tragedy that happened in Miami only a few weeks earlier. I felt that it was fitting to say a prayer and leave their names behind on this sacred Camino. May they always Rest In Peace. I dedicated my walk to them.

There were a lot of interesting people, places, and paradores or hotels. One in particular stands out in my memory; we had reached Palas de Rei…after the longest, hardest, but also the most varied and fun day. This stay was special in the sense that our hotel or “parador” was an old “Palas” which is the word for Palace but in reality, even though they were called that way, they were just houses where the nobility would live. This one was constructed in 1692! It was decorated with old rickety dusty antiques and knick knacks…which gave it sort of a haunted house feeling. The owner Gustavo, is Venezuelan and has been in Spain for three years. Everything in this place was incongruous… from the ultramodern bathroom, to the extremely old and stuffy living room and bedrooms, to the bright blue walls in our room, to the enormous theater room with state of the art TV, to the gym with leg massager, to the cook and helper from Calcutta, India. It was an experience!

We walked under the hot sun, we walked with the cold and rain, and we finally reached Santiago on July 25th, the day of the Xacobeo 2021, which marked the centennial of Saint James’ day. It felt amazing! We walked in with aching feet and legs, accompanied by Erika and Jackie, two women we had befriended along the way and that will most likely be connected with us forever. We could feel the energy and excitement surrounding us; and we found new energy where we didn’t know we had it stored. Reliving that moment brings a smile to my face.

It’s impossible for me to account for every special moment, conversation, place, and funny moment that happened on those long and arduous 8 days and 96 miles. Perhaps they will be forgotten or remembered forever. I don’t really know. I do know that I won’t forget the people, the feelings, and the pain in my feet and body at the end of each day…and it was still there when I woke up the next day… only to do it again and again!

My last entry..

This has been an amazing experience. From meeting wonderful folks to testing my personal endurance. Even though I may talk about some of the funniest and interesting moments and also the beautiful which was all the time, there was mostly quiet lonely walks and time to reflect and to just be one with nature and with the silence. I will never be the same person I was when I began this journey. Many times I was tempted to quit but I held on and I’m glad I did.

It’s now August 2nd, 2021 and I’m sitting at a rooftop lounge in my hotel in Lisboa, Portugal. This wasn’t supposed to be my hotel. However, when I got to the Eurostar Hotel I was supposed to stay at, it had shut down due to a Covid outbreak. The Eurostar network got me in this hotel instead. It’s a 5 star, extremely well located, and it has a great rooftop bar that overlooks all of Lisbon. It goes to show that things always work out for the best at the end.

As I look out to the view that greets me, I’m bursting with gratefulness. I have been truly blessed in life. I never forget it. And I never ever take it for granted.

Buen Camino!