WALKING THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO
I dreamt of walking the Camino Frances ( The Way of St James) for more than 7 years. I read books and many articles , even had the guidebook and watched the movie, The Way . 2017 arrived and I was healthy, fit and strong minded and had no family commitments. This was my year to do the Camino !
I wanted to do the well known , popular and original route, followed by pilgrims since the 5 th century. This route starts at St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France and ends at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. It covers 799 kilometres over the Pyrenees and other mountains, through valleys, cities, towns and different types of terrain. Since the 5 th Century, there have been references to the fact that James, brother of John the Apostle, had gone on a mission to Spain, after the death of Christ. James’s remains is buried in the amazing Santiago Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
Walking the Camino is a choice of a physical challenge, religious reasons , walking for personal reasons or for someone else and/or a combination of the above mentioned reasons.
My eldest daughter , Danicke, decided to walk with me. Danicke lives and teaches in South Korea. She had a long Summer Break and therefore could join me. We met in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port on Saturday 24 June 2017. We started our Pilgrimage on Sunday 25 June 2017. We did not really know what we were in for ! The first day was a hike over the Pyrenees in heavy, thick mist, over a distance of 24.8 km. The highest point, at 1430 m, is Col de Lepoeder. We did not pack enough food and water for this hike !
We managed to make it to Roncevalles unharmed, but overwhelmed ! Well, our Camino started and we just had to carry on walking and do this thing !!
Everything was fine until 4 km before Pamplona. Having done 62.8 kilometres, Danicke kicked off her walking shoes and started walking with Havana Flipflops, due to her aching feet and blisters. This was only day 3 ! We were also caught in a rainstorm, which turned into a hail storm with hailstones as big as grapes !! The rest of our Camino days were filled with mostly warm days reaching temperatures of up to 40 degrees.
I managed to walk with my shoes until day 11. Covering about 215.5 km. In the town, Santo Domingo de la Calzada we bought , which I called, St James’s sandals. I walked the rest of the Camino with my sandals and socks. Danicke tried the sandals, but changed back to her flipflops after 3 days !! She completed the Camino in her flipflops! She was the talk of the Camino and everybody took photos of this brave girl !
The best memories of the Camino is definitely the camaraderie amongst the pilgrims and fellow walkers . One young Lithuanian said that his most important lesson was, that age, culture, country wealth or language does not mean anything on the Camino. Every pilgrim just wants to stay injury free, healthy and complete his/her Camino. My biggest lesson was , not to judge !
The Camino gives a lot, but also takes a lot ! You experience “Camino days”, as we called them ! You cry, you feel lost, you feel overwhelmed, sad, stunned and as one pilgrim stated, brain dead. You experience so much visually, physically and mentally. You go through so many different feelings, almost to much to mention. But you also feel so much joy, gratefulness, gratitude and feeling loved. You are part of a Camino family.
We had extraordinary adventures. Singing with nuns, communal dinners, being blessed by monks and pilgrim masses. There were moments that will stay with you forever. Like finding a wooden TAU cross hanging on the side of your Albergue’s bed. I needed that cross on that specific day and I honestly believe someone left it there for me ! The Tau Cross, Cruz del Peregrino, were given to pilgrims to take with them as protection against evil and sickness.
We climbed mountains, walked on old Roman roads, walked through awesome villages, saw beautiful landscapes, flowers, cathedrals forests and fields.
We also had lots and lots of fun. Danicke and I have the same sense of humor and when the going got tough, we had good laughs. We managed to stay sane by giving each other space when one needed it. We encouraged, scolded and preached when it was needed.
There were days when we suffered. There were days that I thought that I was crazy to do this to myself !! But after each night’s rest, food and wine, we persevered, bandaged our feet and started walking again !! Our backpacks also became lighter, which helped a lot !
Eventually we became so used to our feet and blisters, that we just walked through the pain and discomfort.
Our fellow walkers loved to walk with us, saying “you are funny”. They enjoyed our stories, talks, videos we made and photos we took. We were even known as the two “crazy SA ladies” ! They were often surprised to see us, arriving at the Albergues were we stayed overnight. Other pilgrims thought that we would not be able to continue walking with all the blisters and “bad” feet we suffered. Walking with sandals and flipflops is just not part of the Camino !
We arrived in Santiago de Compostela on the 31 st of July , after 37 days of walking the 799 km. (We had one rest day when we went to Silos to go and listen to the chanting of the monks ) The average km done per day was 22.7 km.
We arrived in Santiago de Compostela on a Monday at 10h00. We received our Compostellas ( Certificate of proof of walking the Camino) as well as our Distant Certificate. This is for Pilgrims that walked all the way from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We attended the Pilgrim’s mass in the amazing Cathedral de Santiago.
The highlight was the Botafumeiro, the silver-plated censer weighing 80 kg, which is only used during important religious occasions ! We witnessed this awesome ritual that day ! I sat there with tear filled eyes. I could not believe what I was witnessing and that we had actually walked the Camino !
The next day we decided to walk to Fisterra, the end of the earth, as people believed in ancient times. This 88.1 km we covered in 3 days and received the Fisterrana. A written proof of having arrived at “the end of the earth”. Then we had fun doing all the rituals, near the lighthouse. Burning of clothes that you have worn on the Camino, and bathing in the sea to become “new” again . We then decided to walk to Muxia the following day. This little town has its own history and spiritual connection. We walked the 31.3 km and received the Muxiana.
Danicke and I took 40 days to walk to Fisterra. (With one day of rest)
That is 887.1 km. One day to Muxia which is 31. 3 km.
Total km done: 918.4 km. (This is without the extra km done during detours, taking wrong routes, extra walking to churches and landmarks etc)
I would like to thank each and every friend that followed us , took an interest in our walk, our Camino, Our Way. For their encouragement, prayers and wishing us well.
We appreciated each and every one’s love, concern and friendship.
Blessings
Nokkie and Danicke
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