Buen Camino

Now that I am on my way, you must all say to me, “Buen Camino, Clarisa”. This is what people who live along the Camino say to pilgrims as they walk past them.

I am off on a walk... about 800 km long, from St Jean Pied de Port (SJPP) at the foothills of the Pyrenees in southern France, up and over the mountains, through northern Spain, to Santiago de Compostela, the supposed site of the burial place of St James the Apostle. I will be walking the Camino Frances, a pilgrim trail used in the Middle Ages and as far back as the 3rd and 4th centuries. In other words, I am going on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

On the 4th of May 2008 I fly from Adelaide to Paris; and on the 5th I take the fast train to Biarritz where I am staying for two nights with Jennifer, a friend from my youth in Peru. There I will be able to recover from the long flight before I start walking.

On 7th May Jenny will take me to SJPP (St Jean Pied De Port, less than an hour away) where I will stay the night in a pilgrims' hostel in order to prepare for Day 1 of my 'Camino' (Spanish for path, road or way).

Apparently, the first day is one of the most difficult days, as it is mostly a straight uphill climb for several kilometres from SJPP. I have decided to take it very slowly (most pilgrims have time restrictions) and take 3 days to get to Roncesvalles. After about a week, I hope I will be able to get into a nice walking rhythm where I should be able to walk about 20 km a day.

I will be sleeping in pilgrim refuges (refugios, or albergues). Pilgrims can only stay one night in each refuge and must carry a pilgrim's passport, or 'credencial', which is stamped at each refuge. Refugios are usually provided by the towns along the Camino and could be in an old monastery, castle, church hall; or even purpose built. 

Pilgrims walk in all sorts of weather and carry all their belongings in a backpack, about 7 to 10 kilos. The lucky ones, those who are easily able "let go" of their material possessions and, or  able to buy extremely light weight gear, seem to manage 6 kilos! My stuff already weighs more than that! 11 kilos...

Have a look here at one of my favourite pictures of the Camino, which I found on the internet. If you look carefully you can see more than one pilgrim walking:

My favourite Camino photo (off the Internet)

Many pilgrims walk on their own, but often meet others along the way that become 'long lost friends' when they meet up again on the road a week later, or in another village, or even in Santiago. I too plan to walk on my own because I wouldn’t want to hold anyone up, nor have to wait for someone to catch up, but I hope to walk with others when it “happens”. I hope I will arrive in excellent condition :-) in Santiago, so that I can walk the extra 100 km to the to "Finesterre", a village at "the end of the world" on the Atlantic coast, beyond Santiago; and where many prefer to end their Caminos.

Today, as before, people from all walks of life are travelling the Camino. They do it for the joy of walking, for spiritual reasons, for the adventure, or the challenge; or to think about things; and most of those who complete the Camino, experience a lifetime within a lifetime. They find answers to questions, reflect upon their lives, learn about themselves and participate in wonderful moments, where people from all over the world come together for a common purpose: to walk to Santiago, finding joy and kindness; and peace with themselves.

Mind you there are a lot of sore muscles, shoulders, backs, knees and feet, big blisters and itches, and many other discomforts, such as finding a place to sleep, or a cafe that is open when you are hungry; losing your way and having to walk an extra 3 km because of it; walking through freezing wind and rain on muddy paths; carrying the weight of your belongings on your back; and so on. 

I am sure that when I see what I have to do on my first day, as I look up towards the Pyrenees, with my 11 kilo pack (plus, or minus), on my back; and see the sign to Santiago de Compostela 800 'kilometros'! I will wonder what the heck I am doing there, and whatever possessed me to do this mad crazy thing. But walking the Camino has got a hold on me and I have thought about little else for over a year.

Well on my way up the Pyrenees on Day 1 with full kit including raincoat which covers my backpack and 2 smaller front packs, not very nice for photos but very convenient for carrying food, water, map and raincoat.

I am including a link to Sil, one of my favourite Camino mentors...

http://ama-walker-walker.theboys.co.za/2008_03_01_archive.php

whom I met in one of the pilgrim forums...

www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com

....so that you can perhaps see why I might be possessed, or is it obsessed? :-) . I only wish I had the skills to present you all with such a lovely blog site as Sil's, but I think you will just have to hope that I manage to write something every now and then; and perhaps manage to post a photo or two of my own.

Love,
Clarisa Peregrina