“Now shall I walk or shall I ride?"

‘Ride,’ Pleasure said; ‘Walk,’ Joy replied.”–W.H. Davies

Dear reader,*

If you’ve been following my posts for a while you may remember that one of the many reasons we moved to Portugal is my love affair with the Camino de Santiago de Compestela. I’ve participated in and led quite a few pilgrimages in my lifetime, but for reasons which I’ll attempt to explain in this post and subsequent ones, the Portuguese Camino has cast its spell on me. In addition to walking the Central Way from Porto to Santiago, I can’t count the number of times I’ve been on portions of it over the past two years. Perhaps it is the natural beauty of northern Portugal and Galicia, or the history associated with these two parts of Portugal and Spain, or the romanticism surrounding a path that has been trod upon for hundreds of years by millions of pilgrims, or all of the above.

Three weeks ago I led a group of pilgrims from the United States on a 7-day pilgrimage on the Portuguese Central Way. Because of the limited time available to the group, we started at Valenca, Portugal, which is about 120 km from Santiago. After crossing the Rio Minho into Spain, the group walked through Tui, Porrino, Arcade, Pontevedra, Caldas de Reis, and Padron. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! No rain, blue skies, and temperatures ranging from the 50’s at night to lower 70’s during the day.

I was surprised at the number of pilgrims on this route. Especially in the early morning hours, there was a steady stream of folks that oftentimes seemed like a river of humanity with one purpose in mind: getting to the next destination and a bed! On day 2 I sat at a fork in the Camino waiting for the group and must have talked with over a hundred pilgrims. There were folks from Ireland, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, the USA, Germany, and, of course, from Portugal and Spain. I was amazed by the number of families with children on The Way. One day just outside Padron I met a family with two children, one of which was in a baby carriage. They had pushed that carriage carrying their two year old from Porto, while a little girl who couldn’t have been more than five walked hand-in-hand with her father. At dinner that night we shared the dining room with a group of women from Chile; there must have been around 40 or 50 of them.

This is our group standing on a medieval bridge which was built on Roman foundations. Near Teo, Spain.

All of these experiences once again raised the question of “why?”—why are there record numbers of pilgrims again this year? People walk the Camino for as many reasons as there are pilgrims, but I think the record numbers are an indication of a feeling of disconnection. So many people I talked with along The Way were concerned about the division, vitriol, and toxicity that seems to have infected just about every part of the world. I think many who walk the Camino are looking for a connection or re-connection to community that shares a common purpose rooted in something beyond politics, economics, and, dare I say it, religion. One of my group members suggested that all the leaders of the G-20 countries should be required to walk the Camino together! Perhaps disconnecting from the pressure and distraction of the political sphere would facilitate connections at a basic human level.

And that’s what contributes to the magic of the Camino, I think: connecting with other human beings at a very basic level. Where are we going to sleep tonight? Where and what will we eat? Will we ever get to our destination? These shoes are too tight and I’m getting blisters! Does anyone know where I can wash my clothes? Life on the Camino is pretty much boiled down to the basics, and what many find so surprising and refreshing is how people are so willing to help one another. Yes, there are some rude and self-absorbed people along the way, but they are a very small minority. The Way seems to facilitate, if not create and nurture, community. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen complete strangers sharing water, food, bandages, advice, directions and life-experiences with other complete strangers. In fact, I don’t think there are any strangers on the Camino—at least not for long!

I must mention, too, the connection one feels with nature. There are some truly stunning areas of natural beauty, especially in northern Portugal as you approach the border with Spain and the area around Vigo and Pontevedra. From small mountain streams to rivers and huge estuaries that flow out into the Atlantic, water is a huge part of the eco-system. Some of my favorite parts of the Camino are on paths that take you down the side of a river or a small creek. I think a lot of people are surprised at just what a beautiful area this small part of the Iberian peninsula is.

I mustn’t forget the cultural connections, too, along The Way. Humans have lived in this area for thousands of years, and just about every part of it contains layers of human history. You’ll often find Roman ruins and medieval churches sitting next to each other! While I won’t go into it in this post, there is s rich, multi-faceted cultural tradition which expresses itself in the architecture, wine, food, agriculture, and art of the region.

St. Thomas Church, Caldas de Reis, Spain

If you’ve ever thought about walking any one of the many Camino routes to Santiago, do it! You can do parts of a route or the whole thing. You can plan the whole thing on your own or work with a Camino-oriented travel company. If you’re not able to get to Portugal/Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago, plan and walk your own camino wherever you are. Hippocrates wrote: “If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you’re still in a bad mood, go for another walk.” Walking is not only good for your body, it’s good for your soul, too!

Someone in the group took this picture of me playing with my drone. I was trying to fly it out in the middle of the river so I could take a picture of the group standing on a bridge. For some reason, the device didn’t take the picture. Operator malfunction???

This is the bridge I was trying to capture with the drone. At Caldas de Reis.

Camino monument on the Roman bridge at Ponte de Lima, Portugal.

*Greeting inspired by the “Bridgerton” series!

I work with groups and individuals to help plan and/or lead Camolin pilgrimages. Our website is aspirartours.com. Contact me if you’d like to know more.