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| Santiago de Compostela’s cathedral |
The Story:
I'm told that a story must have a beginning, a middle and an end. If that's the case then I suppose the beginning of my story will look at why I thought walking the Camino was a good idea. I can outline how this came about, my reasons, my expectations and how over time things changed. Some would probably say the Camino took over.
The middle part of my story will look at my experiences on the Camino, the pain, the joy, the solitude, companionship and the opportunity to reflect on life while almost in a meditative state as I made my way across northern Spain. This rare opportunity allowed me to look into my past and reveal long lost images, experiences and shielded emotions. This was a real surprise to me and not at all what I had expected.
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| “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” - Friedrich Nietzsche |
I can save you time reading my ranting in these pages by advising you now that this record is not a guide to the Camino. There are so many good publications out there, including an abundance of information on the Internet, to answer any questions you may have about walking, cycling, riding or ever driving the Camino if that's the only way you can make the journey. This blog is about my experience and as anyone who has ever undertaken this journey can tell you it is a unique story for each of us. That said, I am sure many people will be able to relate to the events in my journey and maybe it will help some, who are about to embark on their first Camino, prepare for their journey.
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| I'm reminded of the links with my past, those I revisited on the Camio |
The end of my story will, I hope, offer me an opportunity to reflect on the experience but let's see how we get on with the beginning and middle first, OK?
In The Beginning.....:
The seeds being planted:
I'm not absolutely sure when I first decided to walk the Camino but I know it was within the last 12 months. I retired in January 2012, a month ahead of my 60th birthday, and I was determined to make the most of this precious time in life. I had prepared a 'bucket list' to keep me busy, challenging me both physically and mentally, for as long as my body and mind remained functional. Close to the top of my list was the Kilimanjaro challenge. So, in October 2012, after returning home from a US Road Trip, I signed up with a group to commence training for this climb to the top of Africa. We had planned to be halfway up on New Year's eve and that we would reach the summit around January 3rd. or 4th 2013. The group included many keen and experienced walkers some who had walked different parts of the Camino Frances and at least two who had in fact walked the entire 800Kms in one go. Their stories about the Camino stirred up a curiosity in me and I was determined to learn more.
( Sadly our Kilimanjaro adventure ended in tragedy but that's another story.)
Nurturing the seeds:
I went home, Googled the Camino and started to learn about this ancient pilgrimage. I researched the origin of the Camino, the various routes and how it has evolved over the centuries. how other people set about preparing for this journey, a spiritual journey for many. I was hooked and determined to undertake this challenge as soon as practically possible. I placed it centre stage on my bucket list and preparations began.
In these early days I had no clear motivation for walking the Camino other than the fact that it sounded challenging and an opportunity to spend some time with myself. Like most people working their way through life, with all the demands of the modern world, we have little time to ourselves. I have been most fortunate over the years, or maybe I'm just easily satisfied, either way I have enjoyed full employment and a wonderful family throughout my lifetime. While I would not change anything I had little time for myself due to all these commitments. Retirement offered me a new lease of life, a new sense of freedom and an opportunity to pursue personal goals while still having lots of time for family.
I told everyone about this latest adventure, to reinforce the idea in my mind and keep me on track. To my surprise many people actually knew a lot about the Camino and some had already walked part of the Camino Frances and had every intention of going back to complete the journey. I spoke with my brother Tom about my plans and each time we met after that he asked me when I was going, what I hoped to achieve and he spoke at length about the history and religious significance of the pilgrimage. I knew he would love to have been able to make this journey with me but due to his poor health this was not an option. A deeply religious man, he would have had a different perspective on the journey. Sadly Tom died on the 6th April 2013 at the young age of 64.
I could feel my motivation for doing the Camino evolving from just another challenge into a journey with much deeper meaning. The change was gradual and I know I was even denying this change because I did not want to over complicate this time with myself, if that makes any sense to you? I feared this would place other demands on my solitude and distract me from the freedom I sought.
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| “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” - George Bernard Shaw |
The death of a friend beside me on Kilimanjaro, my own brush with death and now the loss of my dear brother were issues I needed time with on the Camino. I thought I had covered them up and moved on, and to a large extent I had but my brother's death was too significant to consign to the past, to just another of life's tragedies. After Tom's died I kept a lock of his hair in my backpack so he travelled with me each time I went out for hikes on the mountains. I made a promise to walk the Camino alone with Tom in my heart and mind. I would take him to the end of the earth, to Finisterre. The lighthouse at Finisterre is said to be the westernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, thus the name which means 'end of the earth' (apparently Cabo da Roca, in Portugal is about 16.5 km further west but that's not important in the context of my story) I was determined that nothing would deter me from making good on this promise to myself and to the memory of Tom.
I had great intentions to learn Spanish, to get fit, to abandon all technology, to do the Camino the hard way with fully loaded backpack and stay in albergues each night. You may judge later how successful I was with some of these good intentions.
- I did learn a few basic phrases of Spanish and I hoped I would pick up some more along the way.
- I did leave my iPad and MP3 player behind, but took my phone after some gentle persuasion from close family members. 'Only to be used in emergencies' I told them.
- I also took a camera but that was always my intention, I wanted a pictorial record of this journey to support my account in this blog. I had to compromise here because my normal camera with various lenses would be too heavy and awkward to take on this journey. Instead I purchased a Fuji x100s for this trip. The picture quality is good and it it's much lighter than my other camera.
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| 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.' - Lao-tzu |
I spoke with my Spanish friend Carma, she was part of the Kilimanjaro group, about the best time to walk across northern Spain. She recommended end of August and into September but cautioned that Galicia can be wet. She also kindly offered to take a call should I find myself in any difficulty and needed a translator : ).
My intention was to walk slowly, enjoy the walk, the solitude, take photographs and come back whenever I felt ready. I thought maybe two months away would be enough to do everything that needed doing, whatever that was. So I booked my flight out with no return ticket. I thought I would walk to Santiago via the Camino Frances and then on to Finisterre. I knew I would miss my wife because we are so close and have been very happily married for 41 years. In fact our 41st anniversary would occur while I was walking the Camino and while she holidayed in San Francisco with one sister who is based there and another sister who would travel from Sydney to form the Beatty Trinity.
I knew I was not prepared, based on all the recommendations and suggestions on the Internet, but I also knew that I was not travelling to a third world country. I could get anything I needed along the way should an urgent need arise, otherwise I would keep it simple and enjoy the journey.
I set off from home on August 26th 2013. I suddenly experienced extremes of emotions as I felt sad to be parting with Brenda at the airport knowing I would not see her again for 7 or 8 weeks while at the same time the joy and excitement of starting this amazing journey became a reality.
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| “I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.” - Albert Einstein |
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