Camino de Santiago
Are you sitting in a comfortable chair? Is your coffee/beer/warm milk topped off? Finger sandwiches at the ready? This is a long one, but the last one.
Between the four of us, we had 187 people following us via this newsletter. Holy cow. Thank you to all of you for following us, and thank you to those of you who responded with words of encouragement throughout. It really really helped, and meant so much to to me personally.
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Steve, Drew and I got home on 10/18, Terry a few days later. Upon arriving home, Mindy had me change clothes in the garage. It wasn't a "theme night" but instead she was worried about any bed bugs playing stow away in my gear. So I put everything into a black garbage bag, and placed it in the sun for two days for it to cook any of the little beggars who may have made the trip home with me. Success.
On the lighter side, here’s a few quick phrases from each of our Camino Family members that I will always associate with them and the Camino:
Miranda- “There is no libido on the Camino.” Meaning everyone is too exhausted at the end of the day to think about it. And “I’ll be your WD.” Meaning wing-defense, a kind of utility player in Netball (popular in Australia and New Zealand) who is there when you need them.
Nickie- “I don’t need one more certificate. It would just sit under my bed! ”. Pronounced “mee bid!”
Terry- “Is there a vegetarian option?”
Andy- “Shut your whore mouth”. A favorite of Matt from New Zealand. Also, “There’s a good church in town I want to see.”
Laney: “There’s no bad weather, only poor attire choices.”
Linguist Matt: “It’s complicated.” when asked what he does for a living
Drew- “Vale, Vale”. Which is OK, OK in Spanish. And “Otra vex” while pointing to his ear to have the Spaniard repeat whatever they just said.
Steve: “I didn’t come on vacation to save money.” And “Well this doesn’t suck”.
Matt: “Oy, punch me in the dick!” When foiled by Steve’s two cork bar trick. (My personal favorite)
To wrap-up, I asked each of the amigos to share their overall impression of walking the Camino, what they liked best, what they liked least, and what they were looking forward to at home. Here’s their answers:
Terry
Overall impression: The most valuable and memorable moments of my journey weren’t necessarily on the planned or regular itinerary, but they were the unexpected and surprising moments. For instance, ringing the bell and reading The Beatitudes of the Pilgrim at Iglesia de San Esteban, having a nun hold my head and pray for my journey through life, climbing out of bed to go to a cafe with Drew to see a local’s amazing Puccini performance, sleeping in the ruins of the monastery and having breakfast by candlelight, celebrating my surprise birthday with my dear Camino friends, popping into a hidden dive bar with Drew on our last night in Santiago to hear an incredible female vocalist perform for a small group of potential revolutionaries, weathering a hurricane with Andy and Drew and then stumbling upon Steve, Miranda, and Matt in cafe with intermittent power, and arriving in Santiago with my three amazing amigos and a few of our earliest and dearest Camino friends—these are the kind of moments that will stay with me forever.
While the breathtaking scenery and awe-inspiring architecture and history of the Camino undoubtedly left a lasting impression, it’s these unexpected encounters that will truly resonate with me for a lifetime. They serve as reminders to embrace the opportunity to try new things, to say yes to experiences that may seem unconventional, and to seize the moments that life presents us with.
What I Liked best: The people and the scenery. Several moments that are the most memorable, but the one that touched me the most was walking out of the cafe to discover my Camino friends gathered for my birthday, and to make it even more special was to learn that Drew had organized it to happen.
What I Liked least: Pinching a nerve in my back that would cause me such discomfort and distract me from the beauty around me.
What I was Looking forward to upon returning home: Melissa (obviously), Piper (our dog), Artemis (our cat), my shower, and electric toothbrush.
Steve
The Camino is hard to sum up in just a couple of words, so I’ll go back to my common response to previous backpacking/bikebacking adventures and say…the Camino, it’s a different kind of fun! For sure, it would not be classified as a pure vacation…it is more of a journey, whereas you work through the adversity of the day, with your thoughts/feelings/emotions constantly changing. The Camino is challenging – but not just in the physical sense, it is perhaps more challenging for its duration of nearly 40 days, the constant jockeying for Albergue/hostel reservations, shared bathroom space, and the never-ending chore of getting clothes washed and the even bigger chore of getting them dried! However, those “chores” are offset by meeting awesome people, walking/chatting for hours each day, while still having personal time to let your own mind wander. Then getting to wrap up the day with some wine, beer, cheese, and conversation….and then rinse and repeat for nearly 40 days.
My least favorite part was the fact that the high pilgrim count took away the spontaneity of walking without a firm destination in mind. Making reservations and awaiting responses took time and energy each night. Often your next day or two was simply dictated by bed availability. But putting the reservation hassles aside, I have many favorable memories. Topping the list, without doubt, is our awesome “Camino family” we met, they are simply wonderful people and I will miss them dearly. Secondly, the Pyrenees/Basque region will be forever etched in my mind – what a special place to experience with its beautiful scenery and clanging cow bells. The most epic day was the day everyone referred to as the “hurricane day”. My climb from Vega de Valcarce up to El Cebreiro, crossing the ridge, and decent to Triacastella will be with me forever. Hiking 21 miles in heavy rains and winds gusting to 90+ mph made for a crazy adventure interspersed with moments of sheer terror. Perhaps not a day filled with good decisions on my part – but those types of days lead to awesome stories and memories – and I’ll be forever thankful that I made the trek safely.
As for what I missed most while being gone – for sure a large soft towel, a private bathroom, my own bed, and more than 2 clothing choices are high on the list, but obviously my wife Lisa takes the top spot. I missed our morning coffee together while sitting on our back porch, as I always enjoy the peaceful mornings our backyard provides. While action packed trips are awesome (and I will do more of them), it is always nice to return to the stable, quiet aspects of everyday life. There is no place like home….
Drew
Walking the camino really reinforced my belief that Travel, in addition to seeing old buildings and beautiful landscapes, is really about the people you meet along the way. The camino family and friends we met and connected with will continue to be the best takeaway from the journey! I loved getting everyone together for Terry's birthday and sharing our stories since we'd last seen each other. Another major highlight was definitely sleeping in the St. Anton ruins outside of Castrojeriz. The stargazing was just incredible and the people there were so sweet and genuine.
I won't miss the Meseta. We were blessed with awesome weather for our whole camino but even a nice sunny 68 degrees gets hot when you're trudging along the same single, flat, straight road for 8 miles. I much preferred the damp and shady parts in Galicia.
Coming home, I think I most looked forward to my own bed. I like that I don't have to wake up before the sun and walk 15 miles every day, though I will keep walking as a hobby. I still wake up with stiff/sore feet in the morning. I also missed my girlfriend and my gaming buddies.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend El Camino for anyone who has the inclination. It's hard, but not grueling. And you can set your own pace and do your own camino, as fast or as slow as you want. I don't know if I'd do this camino again, but I would love to walk across another country!
Andy
Walking the Camino did not “create” a new found faith in my fellow man, but it definitely did strengthen my faith in my fellow man. Everyone, from the bread delivery man, to the old men sitting in the town square, gave us a "Buen Camino!" as we walked by. The hostel workers and cafe owners were happy to see us. And flashing my phone with a google translated “I appreciate how hard you are working today” (¡Aprecio lo duro que estás trabajando hoy!) with a 1 or 2 Euro coin attached always got a big smile. And when you had 10-20 soaked pilgrims suddenly come out of the woods into your cafe, you were working hard! But it was my fellow pilgrims who had the biggest impact on me. I said previously that the whole world should do a Camino… meaning, you will meet so many nice people from all over the world who are just like you: kind, fun, family oriented and looking to connect with others. It was as easy as catching up to (or getting passed by, in Steve’s case) another pilgrim on the trail, and by the way they responded to your “Hola! Buen Camino!” you could easily tell if they wanted to chat for a while. Most did… either because they were friendly, or like me, you needed to break up the monotony of the Meseta! And they would often surprise you. I remember passing this one Frenchman (Alain, age 70) on the trail several days in a row. He did not look happy each time we made eye contact. He happened to be at the same albergue in Los Arcos, when at the pilgrims dinner he was split from his wife (who sat with fellow French speakers) and he had to sit at a table with us four loud Americans. Through amy hand gestures he communicated that his wife was always a fast hiker, and with pantomiming a knife to his throat he said she was trying to kill him! We spent the dinner conversing in broken English and French, and used google translate when we got stuck. From that night on, we were fast friends, and when we would pass on the trail we would sing any French song we knew, and he would do his best to teach us French. (Bon chemin, tout alors! Good travels all the time!) And yes, he did call me the Renard Argente (Silver Fox). Several days later, after a day of sightseeing in Burgos, I met up with Terry for dinner, and he told me Alain was at a cafe up the street and really wanted to talk with me. Turns out that Alain would be leaving the Camino early as his wife was having some medical issues, and again through google translate he wrote “Promise me that the silver fox will send me a picture of you all in Santiago!” I was touched. My initial impression was this guy was gruff and a loner. But I learned that I need to work on not making quick judgements on “first impressions”.
Miranda from Australia was another one that I thought was a brassy, loud mouthed Aussie when I first met her. Ironically, she thought the very same of me when we first met… but now she is one of the five people I include in my Camino family that I will stay in touch with.
Why were they walking? I’d estimate that maybe a third of the pilgrims we chatted with were walking the Camino for spiritual/religion reasons. Another third would be for the adventure of it. The final third was a mixture of searching for answers, personal reasons, and another reason, as we found out from some of the 50 people who spoke at our dinner the first night: mid-life crisis. This mid life crisis reason hung in the air when the microphone (really just a metal soup spoon we passed around the room) eventually got to 80 year old Peter from Vermont. Peter said “Well I’m doing this as part of my end-of-life crisis”. Once the shock wore off, we all laughed at this guy who had a great spirit, and a real zest for life. Over the next few days, we would often enter a town and find Peter sitting at a cafe having a drink… always wondering how did this 80 year old get ahead of us?
What I liked most? The people and the history. To walk the route where both Charlemagne and Napoleon crossed the Pyrenees, stand where St Francis of Assisi stood, walk where the bulls run in Pamplona, hug a statue in a cathedral, and sing with my son in an empty 12th century church was da bomb for this history nerd.
What I liked least? Living out of a backpack for 34 days. Packing said pack in the dark without waking the snoring German next to you. Having to pee in the middle of the night when you’re on the top bunk. And using a backpacking towel after a shower… it really just moved the water around, and didn’t dry anything.
What I looked forward to about coming home? Mindy. I missed her. My bed. TV shows in English. (Drew and I did catch Dirty Harry one night right when Clint Eastwood said ¿Te sientes afortunado punk? ) Terry-cloth towels that are 5 feet long. A change of clothes. (Funny how many of these are common amongst the amigos even though we did not compare answers ahead of time!) So glad I did the Camino, but 40 days away from Mindy was too long, so I'll question if I want to do it again!
The Camino by the numbers:
Four amigos
I wore out 4 rubber tips on my walking sticks
Nine Camino family members: Us four plus Miranda- Australia, Nickie-New Zealand, Matt-New Zealand, Laney-England, Linguist Matt-France.
35 days of walking about 15 miles each day. With a pack.
35 straight days of French fries being on at least one of our plates at a meal. They just seemed to come with everything.
1610 pictures taken by Andy (bring over some strong coffee and Uber eats if you want to see them all)
500+ miles walked
800+ kilometers for you Europeans
Over a million steps for each of us in 35 days. Steve had the record at 1,141,000 steps!
One awesome trip.
There’s so much more to say, and soooo many more pictures to share. However, now is the time to end this series of newsletters and move on. Lucky Mindy though… she still gets to hear me say on a daily basis “This one time, on the Camino….”