By: Ticulina
In honor of: Tavi, Neni and Chati
For many years after reading about the book written by Shirley Maclein "El Camino" and after having investigated about the pilgrimage and the energy related to the Walk, I made the decision to organize a trip and start our journey for the pilgrimage. I changed the date a couple of times due to issues in our schedule, but finally we decided to go for it on the last week of April and the first of May 2019.
“The road to Santiago de Compostela has several routes and we decided to do the last part of the French way that begins in France, but we started in Sarria which is a town within Galicia about 125 km of Santiago”.
It was about 25 kilometers a day, I always thought it was a reasonable distance to walk daily and having the opportunity to be in 5 days at the Plaza del Obradoiro in front of the Cathedral of Santiago was an awesome feeling. I must admit that I really underestimated the adventure that turned out to be a true pilgrimage worth writing these memories not only to share, but to cherish them forever.
April 28, 2019, Sarria:
We left Madrid to Sarria on a train from Chamartín station, from the moment we arrived at the station we saw all the pilgrims with their backpacks and support sticks and correctly assumed that they were going to Galicia to walk the way; the “Camino”. The train lasted 7 hours to arrive, because in Galicia there are no high- speed trains, but rather old rails and after Zamora the train does not go faster than 120 Kms per hour. As the moment we disembarked the train we noticed that it was a small, fresh, green place with few inhabitants. It was Sunday and it was very quiet in the streets. Inside the bars and restaurants there were many pilgrims and it was evident that we were at the beginning of the Camino. We started seeing Shells as the sign to follow el “Camino” on the pavement; it was curios that when we were organizing the trip I always thought it was going to be difficult to follow the path; that we might be in need of a map or Google. But it was really shocking to see so many pilgrims and walkers that at the end the maps are useless, and you only need to follow them.
April 29, Sarria to Porto Marín: (22KMS)
This day very early in the morning 8 a.m., well prepared and following all the indications we had a good breakfast and we started our walk. We left the door of the hotel to feel the freshness of the morning (cold for us accustomed to the climate of El Salvador) and began to walk, very easy following the pilgrims who gave us the cordial greeting "good way" to cross. From the beginning of the hike I noticed that I had underestimated this adventure. On the first hill that went up I felt my calves hurt and I thought maybe I wouldn't be able to endure so many miles that were missing. The fresh morning step quickly and then at noon there was a bright sun over the sky, and we started to feel the warmth of the day. During the day we went through many villages, green meadows, rivers and valleys. All the pilgrims were very excited, perhaps for many this walk represented the first 25 Kms of a long journey of 5 days. Galicia is a province of Spain with Atlantic climate and therefore it rains a lot and it is not so cold in the winter that makes the region very green and therefore fertile. Life on the farms around is very simple, which makes it just plain beautiful.
We pray the rosary by giving thanks to the Virgin Mary for her blessings. So many blessings she has shed on me and perhaps the simplest one has always been the opportunity to live. This first day we had the bumped into other pilgrims we had seen before, to eat cheeses, hams and potato tortillas a different and exceptional flavor that would be a prize for our long walk. Porto Marín is a small town that from above allows you to see the river Mino that framed it, we crossed the bridge and climbed the steep stairs that have been crossed by the Pilgrims for many years. Our hotel was at the bottom of the church and it was very cozy, our suitcases and luggage were inside the room. I think I will never regret having paid a little more to get my luggage to my destination. We were tired and sore, thinking we might not succeed. We had dinner with a very beautiful view towards the river and we ate the first Galician-style octopus.
April 30, Porto Marín a Palas de Rei: (23kms)
Big day, we get up sore but very willing, have breakfast and follow "the way". It was cold, but we were not feeling it so penetrating because we were warm with enthusiasm. This day we passed through one of the green valleys in Galicia that are so close to the sky that makes you feel as if the sky is hugging you with an energy that was so intense. This day we learned about the Horrios, it was impossible not to notice that in every house or small farm there was one. It is a house-shaped barn placed high on columns that do not allow mice to ruin and eat the corn, remember that the corn in Spain is the food for farm animals. It is very typical of Galicia to see the Horrios and are to some extent the symbol of the road. This day's lunch was delicious a burger in the middle of a bar/restaurant in a courtyard with a huge tree that shaded all the tables. Unfortunately, for not having followed the advice not to eat heavy food until the arrival at our destination, the food was so heavy in my stomach that I had a very bad night. Today we end up also wth sore legs and always questioning if we were going to finish this beautiful journey. We prayed a rosary during this day offering and asking for the health of the family and especially for our children. The pilgrims were admirable, there were young people, bikers, dogs’, elderly even using a cane, knee pads and even friends pulling a partner in a wheelchair; it was impossible for us not to feel that strong energy that made us continue moving on.
May 1 Porto Marín to Arzua: (30kms.)
Today we rise perhaps sorer than ever and afflicted as today was the most intense and long to get to Arzua. I had been a little sick and Jaime had blistered his foot. It dawned cold and also raining fine as a persistent serene (Galicia is so green thanks to this type of drizzle), today we had not packed in our backpack the raincoat and therefore we had to continue walking, however, the freshness allowed us to walk with more enthusiasm and forget the physical pain; the rain felt like a drizzle of holy water into our souls. We continue to receive the greeting of the pilgrims who crossed our path "good path" with an enthusiasm that was contagious. From the first day we received a document called the Pilgrim's credential and both today and the previous three days we had been sealing, because this would be the proof that allows you to receive the Compostela. The requirements are for the pilgrims to have walked at least 100kms to Santiago. Half of today's 30Kms journey was a little town called Melie and the famous Pulperias, however, we did not want to eat something so heavy and we found a fabulous little place managed by locals. We ate (I was very hungry since my stomach was fully recovered) in a restaurant of a family, we tried a smoked cheese typical of Galicia that tasted like glory and we were immersed in a discussion between a Galician and a Spanish of Castile who apparently don't live in the same country. At the end of the meal we pass and walked along many bridges, rivers and very green beautiful villages. Finally, when we reached our destination, we called the hotel, because it was 5kms from Arzua, outside of El Camino. Thank God we stopped a taxi, since they are scarce on the way and we went to the hotel. At the entrance we noticed that the same driver of the hotel bus was the bellman, the receptionist and also the waiter at the time of dinner. The Hotel was a beautiful place full of antiques even our room had a crib for a baby, that was 200 years old. Something that was very particular and had caught our attention were the witches or “meigas” as they call them in Galicia. There were images of witches in all the restaurants and hotels we had entered. The Galicians believe that the witch can be a neighbor who makes a spell to the corn that is inside the Horrios and therefore in order to scare them away you have to hang the images of the witches.
May 2 Arzua to Pedrouzo (19 kms.)
Today was supposed to be an easy day, drizzling in the morning and was very cold until we put some gloves on our hands. We stop to seal our credentials inside a church that gave us the opportunity to light a candle for the friends who need it and for our beautiful Daniel. We prayed the rosary and Jaime took many pictures inside a beautiful forest with very high trees, much taller than me. When we got to the hotel watching the pictures, we realized that a tree had the face of a woman who was kissing. Even nature kisses you in this beautiful place, forests and rivers are something indescribable, these images will be kept in the depths of our souls forever. This day we arrived early, perhaps more than the previous ones and the owner of the pension where we stayed, indicated that at 7p.m. there would be a mass for the pilgrims in preparation for our magical arrival to Santiago. It was one of the most wonderful masses I had ever attended with a precious message "human beings need to see more of God's things and come out of our own selfishness", the Gospel reading was from the Apostle John. There are very few problems or circumstances that come from heaven most of our problems are made by us humans on Earth. At the end of the mass the father wanted to give the pilgrims the blessing and asked from what part of the world we were, I of course lifted the voice and said it was from Guatemala and the father immediately told me – "Where is the Guatemalan? And when he saw me, he said this cassock is from Guatemala and he indicated how much he wanted to return". There is no doubt that the world is very small and that the roads that unite us are narrow.
May 3 O Pedrouzo to Santiago (19Kms)
It's so funny that this was the easiest day and walk, might have been because our legs and body was accustomed. The information they gave us at the travel agency indicated that it was a road full of urbanism and that it was passing through the city of Santiago. Without a doubt, it was at the beginning a path between landscapes and forests until we arrived at the airport of Santiago. This day our legs had become accustomed to walk, we arrived at the Lava Colla very fast, this was the place where the pilgrims in the older times, took off their garments and washed the body to enter Santiago clean. We felt that our harts and souls were very clean, we had prayed the rosary during these last days more times than in many stages of our lives, we were loaded with good thoughts and so much positive energy. We were ready to cross the last kilometers and get to the Plaza del Obradoiro and cross the portico of glory. When we arrived, we hugged, and our faces really lit up with the palpitations. It was a feeling very similar to when I finished the half marathon, at the end of my lawyer career, at the birth of Jaime Jr, it was amazing and difficult to describe. There we stood in front of the cathedral of Santiago, where the remains of the Apostle are kept, who carried the word of Jesus through the same path we had just crossed. The credentials and stamps made us creditors of the Compostela, that more than a paper, is a shell that stamped my heart forever. We embraced the statue of Santiago inside the cathedral and in order to fully finish the pilgrimage we knelt in front of the remains of the apostle and thanked him for the opportunity to have walked the paths of the road, as it really was a good way.
This experience has taught me:
Human beings underestimate the ability of our body, the mind is much weaker than our body that is fully equipped to endure. So, the strongest job we must do to fulfill our purposes in life is to train the mind;
The beauty and simplicity of life is hard to appreciate. God is in every perfect detail of nature;
Each pilgrim walks and walks with a purpose, it is perceived that each one loads his own cross,some heavier than others, but in the end we all carry one;
Starting is difficult, if not, the Plaza del Obradoiro will not be such a wonderful place;
I was fortunate enough to have the best companion so I can only say it was “Un Buen Camino”;
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