After the Camino
820 KM over 33 walking days, from the gruelling walk uphill from St Jean-Pied-De-Port to the final stage from A‘Rúa to Santiago. Walking the last 24KM in the pouring rain, blocking out the noisy excitement of fellow Pilgrims with five decades of the rosary and peaceful memories of our journey. Then onwards to the Apostle’s Tomb.
Bill and Jane
Walking the Camino Frances is a unique experience, reaching into your energy reserves, your endurance, it is an ordeal at times, but also reaches into your heart and soul. It becomes transformative and so much more than just a long hike. Of course, it’s more than a long hike, it is a Pilgrimage! However, a Pilgrimage with a difference, taking you out of your familiar everyday life, clearing your mind and body of its usual distractions and needs. Indeed, ones needs become much more simple and less demanding. Having spent the first 8 or 9 days checking the weather App, ascents and descents to be encountered, distances and obstacles to be overcome, day 10 was a surprise. After packing the bags for an early morning start before sunrise, I was left stranded and had to ask, where are we going today? Quite a transformation! Ultreia, (onward) was the answer.
Then of course there are the relationships formed. From the most unlikely and unexpected, to the most welcome and rewarding. Listening to people opening up and pouring out their most deeply personal issues and realising how privileged one is to be able to share such spiritual moments, when strangers feel able to unburden themselves of their baggage in your company.
A great deal of the material things we own are seldom used and certainly not essential for our everyday lives. When considering these luxury goods, often gathering dust, together with other excesses in our lives, we recognise just how much they weigh us down. Having survived the Camino with sparce clothing, often meagre Pilgrim meals, which were sometimes the only ones available, the material world can appear burdensome.
The most important things we have, can sometimes be those we don’t spend enough time enjoying, especially our relationships. It was surprising to become aware of how much I was missing people on the Camino who I hadn’t seen for a couple of days, people I had only known for a week or two previous. Walking with others, sharing a common goal, builds a sense of community not often found in everyday life. Even if we are not walking for the same reasons, we are walking together, following in the footsteps of thousands who have trekked those same paths before us for their own personal reasons. Walking in communion with others is part of our nature, it is family, friendship and Church!
The Camino marked my retirement from work after 47 years in the construction industry, the last 30 of which involved running my own company. Since returning, I no longer postpone what I really want to do, or in fact, where I really want to be. Putting off until next year, that trip, event or activity no longer makes sense. There are always financial constraints or considerations of course, but some of the most enjoyable experiences we can achieve, can often cost very little financially, but require more importantly to allow the time for ourselves.
Returning home from the Camino, one asks “what now”? There are many fantastic places to visit around the world. The beautiful South Africa, Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River. The stunning wonders of South America, Machu Pichu and Christ the Redeemer. However, visiting these wonders is different from experiencing the Camino Frances and from a purely personal point of view, cannot compare. The Camino is not about the destination or the fixed site or wonder, it is about the journey. Although, you might need to get to the end before you realise this and how much it has changed you.
The Camino leaves a long-lasting impression on a Pilgrim, and it is not unusual to enjoy flashbacks at unexpected times. This can almost feel like a craving for what you had and a desire to meet those people you had so much in common with. Hence, our next Camino, following the Portuguese route from Lisbon to Santiago, has been booked for 2027.This satisfies one craving, to complete another Pilgrimage. However, what of the people we met and miss?... We will be joined in Lisbon by Gill and Maya from Australia, with whom we spent such amazing days on the Camino Frances and so our next journey begins where we left off… almost.
The German writer, Goethe wrote, “Europe was created because of pilgrimages made to Santiago de Compostela”. St John Paul II, in his address to Pilgrims from Santiago in 1982, said of Europe, “Discover yourself! Rediscover your roots! You can still be a beacon of civilisation and a catalyst for the world. The other continents look to you and await from you the answer that St James gave to Christ. I CAN”.
ULTREIA
Bill Hardaker
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With many thanks to Bill for this truly inspiring article.