Walking the Camino is Easy

It is coming back that is really difficult.

By the title, I don't want to imply that the camino is a total breeze without any problems. It was physically demanding at times, I was plagued by painful shin splints for three of the six weeks that I walked, walking on the carretera is downright awful and pretty dangerous, as a vegetarian, my diet had to be very basic and sometimes I was simply a bit homesick and wanted to hear my own language, Afrikaans,

BUT when I think back I realise that the things I loved most about walking the Camino far outweighed the so-called difficulties. Firstly, there is nothing on earth that beats the freedom of the open road, with everything you need right there in your backpack. Every day brings a new adventure, new places, new faces, new sensations and new thoughts.

Secondly for the first time in my life I deeply understood the phrase "live in the moment". The meaning of this phrase has always eluded me and as for the practice of "living in the moment"...... well let's just say that I am a dreamer and by preference live in some undefined future. Walking the Camino I realised one day that I was totally content and happy with myself. For the first time in my life, I managed to be present right there, no dreaming, no chattering voices (no I'm not mad;-), no discontent, simply a calmness and acceptance of what is, a living inside my inner landscape. 

Back home I found it really difficult to stay in the moment. Quickly caught up in "normal" life, the old way of doing things and dealing with issues, that before you know it, the Camino is a distant dream and "normality" takes over. Then again, four months down the line, I realise that I am somehow more content, more philosophical and more tolerant of the "human condition" although a little more focussed on those things that are important to me. Still, even with the awareness that one needs very little to survive and thrive, I find myself again striving, acquiring, wanting to "count", wanting to drive, when simply "being" is so much more.

Yes, walking the Camino is easy. It is life that is challenging.

Seulement manger, marcher et pipi

Forget "Eat, Pray, Love" and try "Eat, Walk, ...pipi". That is what the French friend that I met on the Camino says it is all about and as I have found out in 40 days of walking every single day, come rain or shine, perfect days and shin splints, it is perfectly true.

When you are at home, or work, or any usual situation, eating is no big deal. If you are hungry, you find some food and you eat, why would it be any different on the Camino? Well, it is not quite as easy as that, especially on the Via de la Plata. Restaurants, bars and shops in the little towns we walked through, don't open for the convenience of pilgrims, but all have their own age-old rhythm that suit the owner and the townsfolk. The towns are also quite far apart on some stretches so planning whether to carry food and what to take occupies a great deal of time.
Being vegetarian adds a further challenge as one can't simply take for granted that anything that states "vegetables only" means vegetables only, as it seems that tuna is classified as a vegetable in Spain. Thank goodness for one of Spain's national dishes, the tortilla patata (potato omelette), although there were times when I couldn' face another one of these delicacies. Fortunately most of the little shops had good fruit and lovely cheese so no need to go hungry. And then I discovered a sweet that is a favourite in Spain at Christmas time - turron blando - a blend of finely chopped almonds, honey and sugar. Instant energy, and I had my lunch sorted out for the last two weeks of my walk.

No surprises that walking is important - some of us do the Camino specifically to be able to walk for days on end. But on the Camino walking is never simply walking. I found out too late that it really is better to do a few stretches and warm up exercises before starting to walk in the morning. Not doing that resulted in me having to walk most of the time with really painful shin splints that never had a chance to really heal as I never stopped for a day. The painful legs however, brought me the gift of walking much more slowly than my normal pace and in the end I loved the almost dreamy quality of my walks through the misty and at times wet, Galician oak forests where surely there have to be a few druids collecting plants for magical potions.

The last subject was.... well, interesting at times. A fair bit of the way is walked along the carretera, dodging cars and trucks that seem to be aimed straight at you. Some of it even early morning in the dark with a little headlamp - hoping that the tiny speck of light is enough indication to the fast drivers that there is a different life form out there. To get back to the delicate subject though - where do you go? When there is no cover, passing motorists all the time and you HAVE to, well ... go. During one particularly long walk along the road, the only solution was the cover of a rain poncho. Otherwise pray for a lull in the traffic - and be quick;-)

Albergues on the Via de la Plata

Tomorrow it will be exactly a month since I started walking the Via de la Plata in Seville and I have experienced the best and the worst (I hope) of albergues and casas rurale on the way.

It is difficult to decide which of the albergues were the best, as each of the good, well-run ones have a unique and special touch that make them stand out.

After the bad to indifferent albergues of the first few days, Monesterio was such a delight, clean and with everything a peregrino could possibly need. My next favourite was the residencia for handicapped men in Alcuescar. It could be that the reason for my delight was the fact that I walked 38 km that day completely on my own and was so delighted to have my own little "cell", the first privacy in almost 2 weeks.

By far the most modern and impressive building must be the beautiful albergue at Embalse de Alcantara, where the hospitalerio went out of his way to ensure our comfort. The other two well-designed buildings that come to mind, are the albergues at Banos de Montemayor and at Zamora. I also thought that the two hospitalerios at Zamora went far beyond the call of duty to make our stay memorable, waking us up with piped music, cooking an amazing meal and sending us off with a blessing.

An older building, but nevertheless unforgettable albergue, is the one at Fuenterroble, also run by volunteer hospitalerios. There were grapes on the table and a fire in the fireplace, giving a welcome to tired and footsore pilgrims.

Some of the privately run albergues that I will remember fondly, are in San Pedro de Rozados where I as a vegetarian had the best meal of the trip thus far, and the one where we are staying tonight in Requejo de Sanabria.

I would not want to embarass those refugios that are less than appetising, by naming them, but want to say to hospitalerios that peregrinos will gladly pay a bit extra, as long as the albergue is, at the very least, clean.

Sunday afternoon in Casa Perin, Villafranca de los Barros

What a week we've had! We have walked 176.5 km in some of the hottest weather ever, slept in seven albergues/hostals, met loads of people of several nationalities, and managed to somehow make ourselves be understood in Spanish and French. Don't remember how often I've had to say 'losciento' (Spanish for I'm sorry), but needed to learn that quickly in case we offended anyone :-)

Up to now, walking the Via de la Plata has been humbling, amusing, enriching and sometimes very tiring. Humbling, because almost everyone has been exceptionally helpful despite our distinctly glaring lack of command of the most basic Spanish. Everywhere we go we hear the by now familiar "Hola! Buen Camino!"

Amusing on many levels, particularly the misunderstandings at every opportunity, amongst them being handed a beer when I was convinced that I had asked for a glass of red wine. Thankfully one of the Canadian ladies we met speaks Spanish quite well, so we are grateful when she is around to help.

Enriching because of the chance to meet truly amazing people who let me have a glimpse into their interesting, but at times trying lives. And because I have a chance to see and experience another culture at a level that is not possible as an ordinary tourist.

For anyone wanting to walk the Via de la Plata, the only advice I have is "do it", but come without expectations and let the Camino take you where you need to go.

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned

Our 1st stage on the Via de la Plata started today with 10 o'clock mass in the beautiful Cathedral in Sevilla. Sitting there with the opulence of the Catholic church in such evidence I could not help but think that the simple carpenter from Jerusalem would be astounded at the riches amassed in His name, and the pomp and ceremony created to honour Him. At the same time, it was touching to sit quietly, listening to the soul lifting organ music filling the vastness of the building.

The result of this, was that we started off late (ok, 11h30 is very late) and trudged along in searing heat for 22 km., stopping off in Santiponce in Italica, naively thinking that 2 peregrinas would be allowed to go and have a picnic in the shade. Sadly, that was not to happen, as Italica (an archaeological dig of an ancient Roman city) closes at 15h00 on Sundays and what is more, .nl picnics allowed! So, as we were about to bite into our delicious sandwiches, the security guard rocked up and chased us away, hence the title of this post, because I think the security guard is overdue for a confession:-) We relocated to the only shady spot around - the bus stop - and had our sandwiches in the shade of the trees next to the shelter.

Left Santiponce at around16h00 and arrived in Guillena 2 and a half hours later after a grueling 11 km walk with no shade or shelter of any description. Now safely ensconced in the refugio, showered, clothes washed and well fed it somehow does not seem quite as bad, but there was a stage when I felt ready to curl up in the olive grove and stay there till morning.

Feet ok, wish I had brought my other shoes instead of the Salomons because I feel all the time as if my feet are about to develop a hotspot. Tomorrow I am going to send half my clothes and the blankey onward post restante and will pick them up in 2 weeks time:-)

Looking forward to the short day tomorrow.

Day Zero!

So the day has dawned! I am flying to Madrid this evening out of O.R. Tambo airport, Johannesburg. My bag is packed and feels light as a feather - even took a little walk last night carrying the pack and it feels great. I don't know what it weighs, but it is lighter than when I practised. Confraternity of St James badge sewn on (badly I'm afraid, as sewing is not my strongest point). Hope I'm not leaving anything crucial behind! My first-aid box will make a doctor proud - I figured that if I take something for every condition known to mankind, I'll be healthy;-)

Did opt to leave the sleeping bag. It is heavy, and there is an opportunity for me to get it when my friend joins me October. Instead taking a liner and a light blanket from when South Africa hosted the 2010 Soccer World Cup, so I'll be reminded every day of a time when the South African nation pulled together in unity for once.

Still in two minds as to whether I should take my other pair of shoes. And whether I should take my good camera as well as the little one I bought especially for this trip. I miss the solidity of my trusted Canon, but it is heavy and bulky and I can only take one lens anyway. All the choices!

Most importantly, I feel like a traitor leaving behind husband Louis, my animal children and sister and mother. And all the doubts - will I make it? Will Louis eat enough? Will I find my "way"? Ad infinitum and nauseam.



Louis and dog "children"



Zack waiting for us to decide which way to go

Unsettled.........

I don't know whether it is the case with everyone before they set off on some daunting "adventure", but I've been feeling completely unsettled for the last month and feel as if nothing but the preparations for the Camino matters. I do my daily chores mechanically and almost resent any request that does not have anything to do with the Camino. And guess what, that is most of the time as there are only two of us going - friend Janine and I. My poor long-suffering husband. I bet he can't wait for me to be on my way so he doesn't have to listen to camino-camino all the time.

Today, exactly a week before we fly to Madrid, is particularly bad. And it is raining cats and dogs so the road to our farm is muddy and the roof has sprung a leak so we've had to mop up intermittently throughout the day. When I'm not mopping up, I'm reading other Camino blogs and forum entries but am too lethargic to even respond. And it is raining way too hard for me to even go on a good walk. In any case I haven't bought my rain gear yet. The waiting simply feels way too long now for an impatient person;-)

I did do at least one thing today (of all rainy wet days) - washed my "camino clothes" so that I can pack them. Of course they're still wet and I will probably have to wait another day before hanging them out again. It was liberating though to imagine that in a short few days I will carry so few belongings on my back for nearly seven weeks. So little hassle and everything you need right there.



My "Camino" wardrobe