This fall Sarah and I walked a portion of the Camino de Santiago. It is one of the oldest pilgrim routes in the world and began nearly 1,000 years ago. Tracking mostly through northern Spain the Camino draws people from all around the world. We walked for a week from the town of Valença in northern Portugal to the final destination -  the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

 

Our appetites for this adventure began when we watched the movie ‘The Way’ staring Martin Sheen in 2010. We had vaguely heard about the pilgrimage but this movie put our hearts into it. The story line and characters became an inspiration to us. I actually downloaded it onto my iPhone when it came out!

 

Earlier this year friends and cousins walked a portion of the Portuguese Route and our heads were in. That motivated the two of us to make multiple visits to REI and acquire the gear and gumption to give it a try. Shod with new pairs of walking shoes we began walking daily with ever growing distances.

 

Finally we flew to Portugal with backpacks filled with the barest of essentials and our souls with the barest of knowledge. What would it be like to walk 12 - 15 miles a day in unknown weather and terrain? Take the first step and we began to find out. 

 

Blessings greeted us all along the way. Especially our fellow pilgrims. We met a grandmother and her granddaughter from South Africa, brothers from Germany, friends from Nova Scotia, a couple from Hungary, a mother and daughter from Israel; and many more. Each had a story to tell and a quest to pursue. And everyone greets each other with the traditional, ‘Buon Camino!’  - Good journey to you! 

 

We met angels along the way that encouraged us, gave directions, a bite to eat, a photo to share. We were hugely fortunate to have great weather with blue skies and warm temps. We never needed our rain gear and only once needed to don a jacket.

 

There are countless volunteers who maintain the routes which traverse hundreds of miles/kilometers. All along the way there are brightly painted yellow arrows and granite columns with a seashell pattern that mark the way. These are especially appreciated when the path runs through urban areas and rural villages. 

 

More than once Sarah and I found ourselves longing to find confirmation that we had not taken the wrong turn and were lost. And in those moments we discovered the present moment more than when we were certain of our path. It was liminal to be lost and then found. Unplanned epiphanies of clarity. 

 

One of the funny aspects of the trip was obtaining food. The Camino is located in the regions of Galicia and Asturias. It is largely a remote and traditional area and most shops are closed from 4:00 - 8:00pm. Often we arrived into a town when all the restaurants and markets were closed. I’ll never forget when we arrived in the town of Pontevedra. We literally ran to four or five restaurants who all said their kitchens were closed. Finally Cafe Felix would stay open to feed us poor pilgrims. What a feast we had after our 7 hour trek through the countryside. 

 

There is something elemental about walking. The pace slows you down and everything around you becomes significant. Trees tower over you with comforting shelter, vistas of distant horizons humble your place on earth, the aroma of jasmine flowers feed your hungry eyes and tummy. And your body becomes a gift that carries you forward. Legs, back, lungs and feet all working together. You are part of a team of organs and tissues that breathe and move and take one step and then another.

 

Our final day took us some 15 miles to our destination. As we came within a few miles of the Cathedral we emerged from a dark forest. We crossed a bridge and entered the outskirts of town along with more and more pilgrims. A group from Mexico broke out into song, two Danish women paused to take a selfie, solo walkers picked up their pace. 

 

Finally we entered the very modern city of Santiago de Compostela merging with shoppers and traffic. We hurried to the Office of the Camino where we had our colorful passports stamped for the last time and received a certificate of completion. Next it was a few more hundred yards to the Plaza with the resplendent Cathedral towering over us. There we joined hundreds of fellow pilgrims and tossed off our backpacks, sang, gave high fives and sat together on the courtyard. Elation mixed with exhaustion. 

The symbol of the Camino is a seashell. One sees them attached to the backpacks of pilgrims throughout the journey. For me the shell is a wonderful symbol for what I discovered. As a shell is concave it can scoop up water and pour it out. Only by emptying oneself can one be filled. Only by filling oneself can one be emptied. One step, one breath, one thought at a time. Buon Camino!