Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

[Rose Louise]

Just home having completed the Camino Portugues in the second half of May. My motivators were Ivar, our forum host, gdb, the many wonderful people, most of whom I have never met, who make up the contributors of this site and lastly my husband.

Our Camino was different in that we joined a group. Six walkers whose ages ranged from about 30 to mid 70’s and a leader. Our luggage was shipped daily and accommodation was pre-arranged.

Our six months of preparation, walking the boots in, walking with our packs and training on flat dry dusty and sealed roads in Australia left us ill prepared for the Camino. On reflection we probably would not walk with wet weather gear again – our bodies overheated under it and our clothes were soaked through. We would never have made it to Santiago without our walking poles. The undulating countryside peppered with rocky surfaces and heavy rain resulted in blisters for my husband while I suffered a stomach upset during the latter part of the journey.

I had seen the Camino as a place for reflection and contemplation. It turned out rather differently – a more apt description would have been a test of endurance in uncharted territory. gdb warned us to “expect the unexpected” and that “the Camino would provide” and it did.

Amazingly at times when you felt that you did not have the energy to go forward somewhere from within an inner strength emerged and you completed the day’s walk.

We marveled at the unimaginably green rolling hills, the granite posts that supported the grapevines in the fields, the ornate churches and cathedrals, the people and the tastes of Spain that made the Way so memorable.

We found encouragement came from the locals along the way, group members and Karen’s group who we tagged on our first day of walking.

There was an overwhelming sense of achievement as we waited patiently on the steps of the Pilgrims Office to receive your Compostela. At the Pilgrim’s Mass the following day we had the good fortune to see the botafumeiro swung – what an amazing spectacle (paid for by a group of tourists who looked like they had been bussed in for the day).

To Karen, “are we there yet” takes on a whole new meaning and “yes” my hubby was happy it was over. Like Raymond the Reluctant he came along to support my dream.

As a postscript, saw Brother David’s van parked in a carpark in Cornwall last week.

Thank you all for being a part of my dream that became a reality in May. Go for it on the Camino Portugues – no crowds there. May the memories linger on.

[sillydoll]

WOW Rose Louise - you can't call yourself an Armchair Trekker anymore!! Peregrina, you have walked the walk - and talked the talk!
Well done!! (Where to next?)

[Rose Louise]

Hi Sil,

Appreciated your positive encouragement over the past fifteen months for prospective walkers. Where to next - that question has already been asked a number of times today on our return. Can't say, but what we can say is that the CP has put us in good stead for whatever we decide to do next. For the time being I will just enjoy reading the posts on the forum!

Be happy and cheers. RL

[sillydoll]

Keep these in your 'to do' file Rose Louise - the St Francis trails in Italy.

http://www.camminodifrancesco.it/eng/index.php

A beautiful, 80km (piece of cake after the Portuguese) 80km walk in Italy - the Saint Francis Walk is the same route travelled by the Saint in the Sacred Valley - complete with a 'credencial' and a certificate at the end.

If you are feeling really encouraged by your CP you could try the 350 km (or a few more) trail from La Verna and the woods of the last hills of Tuscany to the lovely wide valley of Rieti in Lazio, through the most meaningful sites in the life of St Francis: http://www.diquipassofrancesco.it/En/homeEN.html

Sigh!! So many trails...... not enough time or money........ sigh. Especially us retired peregrinas who live so far south!

[Rose Louise]

Sil,

WOW Rose Louise - you can't call yourself an Armchair Trekker anymore!! Peregrina, you have walked the walk - and talked the talk!

Sil you suggested we "talked the talk". This morning we turned up at the local Probus meeting to hear a talk by a local businessman. Unfortunately about five minutes before the meeting he called to say he was unavoidably detained and would not be able to give his talk.

Guess what, we walked through the door just when this news was being relayed on a cell phone and next moment we found that we were being asked to give an hours talk on our camino. Meeting format is: business, tea break, speaker. During the tea break I drove home grabbed my pack, boots, spray jacket, walking stick (complete with snacks tied to the stem), sellos, compostelo and photos.

After hubby did the lead in of our journey from Australia through Porto to Tui I donned my camino gear and got into camino mode, we walked the group through our chance meeting with Ksam, the vineyards, small rural holdings, granite homes, cobbled paths, churches, major highways, drenching rain, blisters and all the camino held for us, arriving at the Cathedral exhausted but happy. While we don't think there will be any converts we had a wonderful time reliving our not so distant camino and sharing it with 65 other people.

[sillydoll]

Hey - well done you two!! Isn't it great to share?
Now you can compile a Power Point with slides of your walk and give talks to other organisations. I have given dozens of talks - mostly to Probus, ARPP (Assoc Retired people and pensioners) WI's. WA's - Retirement Villages etc etc. Few, if any, of these folk will ever walk the camino but they love to hear about it and ask many questions.
Yeah - now you really have talked the talk!!
Hugs,