May the Camino be With You…And You With the Camino

WHAT THE CAMINOS PROVIDED FOR THE ENSUITE PILGRIM

On my Blog, I confess to being an “ensuite pilgrim”; that is because I don’t like albergues and I can afford not to stay in them. I am now 69 years old and walked my first camino, ten years ago, from Sarria to Santiago, with a large group, aiming to raise funds for a young peoples’ residential centre , run by the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
After retiring, nine years ago, from my post as Headteacher of a Catholic primary school, in a challenging part of the city of Birmingham, my thoughts returned to the Camino. I walked the Del Norte from Luarca, the alleged “coastal route” from Lisbon to Porto [it doesn’t exist !].A. Machado captures it exactly “Walker, your treads are / the path and nothing more; / walker, there is no path, / the path is made when walking…”.
I have also walked the interior and coastal routes, from Porto to Santiago. Most recently, I have walked part of the Via de la Plata, from Seville to Caceres and the Camino Ingles. With the exception of the Portuguese coastal from Porto, which I walked alone, all the other walks were in groups of various sizes.
Why? I have a love and fascination for Spain; its peoples and its history. Years ago, I came across James A Michener’s book, “ I beria”, in which he stated rather grandly that he had ..”long believed that anyone interested in either the mystic or the romantic aspects of life, must sooner or later define his attitude concerning Spain”…Amen.
Writing about such a variety of caminos is not scientific; it is either an emotional or spontaneous selection, from memory, aided and sometimes confused by my Blogs !
In trying to describe what the Caminos meant to me, or gave to me, I should have to make a division between those I took before two successive traumas – a stroke and then cancer struck me. What remained the same were the necessities , listed perfectly by Ralph W Emerson:-
“Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humour, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much”.

After suffering and recovering from the stroke, in autumn 2012, I walked the Coast from Lisbon to Porto, as described, with a group I knew well. That was June, 2013. I was frustrated by the route and by some of my companions; so it remains bitter-sweet in the memory. Therefore, to regain my self- belief and self- reliance, I determined to go “solo”, along the coastal path from Porto to Santiago. There was probably another compelling reason too, only I haven’t been able to define it, yet. Anyway, if it was simple enough for my brain to understand it, I’d be too simple to comprehend it. Rather like this interesting formula, “The Camino is 90% physical. The other half is mental”.
The “Coastal” was a wonderful walk, although solo, the pilgrims I met that September were initially strangers, but also friends just waiting to happen. When not listening to my Camino playlist, this Camino gave me a clearer understanding of myself, though the world remained a deeper mystery. It was an intensity of experience, which I think can only be gained by walking. That is not to understate its challenge and difficulty at times. Also, remaining cordial in the face of provocation. Light travels faster than sound, that’s why some of the pilgrims appeared bright until they started talking . Though I am gregarious by disposition and still retain contact with some of those I met.
I got off track a couple of times, you would think that’s not possible when all you have to do is keep the sea on your left, but I managed to do it, just South of Vigo, where a friendly local took me 10 KM out of his way, back to the coast. The kindness of strangers…
“que camino es el camino, por favour? ”
No wonder an earlier enquiry left this gentleman baffled!
Esposende remains etched in my mind, for it was there that I suddenly became aware of blood in my urine. I stayed in my hotel room , resting for 16 hours; it stopped and I walked on, not knowing it was a sign of deeper trauma to come. What did this Camino teach me?
It was best to try to live each new day, as if it was the first, or last day of my life.
Moving quickly forward to Christmas Eve 2013 when I was informed that I had invasive bladder cancer [ after more scares].From three options, I chose to have complete removal of the bladder. After chemotherapy in the spring of 2014, I underwent a nine hour operation, where my bladder was removed along with my prostate and appendix. All done by “keyhole” surgery – like painting your hall, stairs and landing through the letterbox . Viva the NHS !
Still, whilst recovering, I made renewed plans for another Camino – the Via de la Plata. After all, as Hubert Humphrey memorably said: “Oh my friend, it’s not what they take away from you that counts – it’s what you do with what’s left”. Cancer is a journey, but you walk it on your own.
I booked flights to Seville in the autumn; April 2015 , the Via de la Plata, with my friend and Pelegrino, Mac. I began training again, recording each walk, weight carried and average km per hour. We made a great Camino; target achieved. Una Terra Unica E Inolvidable

“For me there is only travelling on paths that have heart..and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length – and there I travel, looking, looking breathlessly” – Carlo Castenada. Not too breathlessly I hope! Our second stage of that Camino is planned for late April 2016; flights booked, accommodation sorted.
Finally and most recently, the Camino Ingles, walked in September, with Mac, Dermot and brother-in-law, Roger. For the latter two, a chance to walk long enough to obtain a “Compostela”, which we all did. We learnt not to confuse a “short” walk with” easy”…It was a joyous pilgrimage, of varying vistas and unexpected surprises. I could walk anywhere with these guys, their humour, patience, gregariousness, stamina, great appetites – real boons to me.Thanks for the words of advice…and the others!

We all had different purposes for our walk: reasons of Faith, reasons of curiosity. For me, partly, it was the pleasure I got from having organised the Camino and its successful completion. And seeing Sanctu Iacobu afresh.
“The footprints of those who walked together never vanish”. ULTREIA….
PS All the above Caminos can be explored in greater detail, in:-
“ensuitepilgrimblog.wordpress.com”.
And the time taken to smell and photograph the flora and fauna!

The above article was written for ” The Camino Provides” website.

I hope everyone has a joyful Christmas and walk well in the New Year.