Reflections and ramblings a year on

So what is a former pilgrim thinking, doing a year on from his pilgrimage? A few reflections….

A year ago I was just starting to write my chronicle in the Santiago-Today forum and in my blog. Time seems to pass quickly and I have not made time to read about other pilgrims’ worries (before travel) and excitements (during and after).

Has my peregrination changed my life? In a word, no. My life goes on much as before. I think my outlook has changed marginally; however. I am far more aware than before of just how many people walk for pleasure, spiritual reasons or any other. My goal was simple: to walk 1600 km at one go from Le Puy to Santiago following what seems to be the oldest pilgrimage route to Santiago, a camino dating back 1055 years.

As I live not too far from the Camino in France I have occasion to cross it quite frequently, but I rarely see any pilgrims. However, recently I drove along part of the Chemin for a few kilometres east of Figeac and saw 5 pilgrims, walking separately, waved at them and they waved back. There are frequent moments of nostalgia: out running in the early morning brought back memories of seeing the sun rise, valleys shrouded in mist, the call of birds, the peace and tranquillity of the morn, the absence of people, beautiful countryside in both France and Spain, quiet villages.

I have had occasion often to mention to people I meet that I completed a pilgrimage to Santiago. Some show a passing interest:
“How far did you walk? How long did it take? Would you do it again?” are the most frequent questions. Occasionally, somebody will ask a lot of questions and show real interest, and then, of course, I can wax eloquently about the trip. Several friends followed my progress through my blog and then, of course, a number of readers of the forum followed it too. Several people remarked that it was really good that my wife joined me for the last 111 km from Sarria to Santiago. I thought it really good too! It gave her a small taste of what it was all about.

I started to write a proper account of my pilgrimage but it is not yet complete: too idle perhaps, or too many other distractions?! What I have found is that, by looking at my notes and photographs, I can recall quite a lot of detail about any particular day or place, and this is good for keeping the memory alive. I have read that some people have great trouble settling down again after the long walk but this has not been my experience. Normal life resumed at once.

Would I do it again? The experience of walking unaccompanied from Le Puy to Santiago I still regard as marvellous: meeting other pilgrims from many walks of life – the Belgian who started at home in Belgium, pulling his “trailer”; 2 Swiss, met separately, who started in Switzerland; a Russian who shared what was probably the worst accommodation I stayed in, in Spain,; 2 ladies who snored for England; a French couple and their Labrador; New Zealanders, Canadians, Brazilians, and the young Frenchman who insisted I stay at “En el Camino” in Boadilla del Camino, saying it is the best albergue in Spain……It was!

…..And what about places? A “concert” in the Abbaye at Conques with its sublime acoustics; the long distance views over the Aubrac in France and across the meseta in Spain; Burgos and its cathedral; the cock and hen in the church at Santo Domingo de la Calzada; the moving moment during Mass in the cathedral at Santiago; hilltops covered by windmills particularly on my second day’s walk after Santiago on the way to Finisterre; the somewhat grey, evening sky over the Atlantic “a los cinco por la tarde” when I reached the end of the earth at Finisterre.

So you can see that much remains in the mind exactly one year on from my departure. No doubt much is forgotten too, but no matter, there are good memories. Names of some villages in Spain conjure up nostalgic recollections: Puente de la Reina, Carrion de los Condes, Calzadillo de la Cuerza, Manzilla de las Mulas, Hospital de Orbigo, Rabanal del Camino….To me such wonderful names!

Visions of the Camino shall float them before me
Echoes of dreamland shall bear them along
Like the notes or the catch of a song,
Till the fields ring again and again
With the tramp of women and men

And no, I would not wish to walk the same route because the magic moments would not be there – but there could, and would, be others. Another route? Now, that would be of interest! They tell me that Sevilla to Santiago is good…….

I have not walked a step since I reached Finisterre last November, but a different challenge exercises me at the moment: trying to fly a paramotor (or motorised paraglider). Hmmm, to fly the length of the Camino would be good – but probably not practical. A 5 day walk was planned for this year on a variant of the Chemin but it is postponed to another year.

Why have I written all this? It just shows that even though I have not visited this or other forums very often since last November the reminiscences of the pilgrimage remain strong and while the pilgrimage may not have re-shaped my life it has certainly marked it.

Ultraeia !!

Réfléxions d’un pèlerin un an après……

“Chaque marche commence avec le premier pas……”

C’est ainsi que j’ai démarré du Puy il y a un an, le 25 aoùt, ma pérégrination à destination de Santiago de Compostela avec le but de faire le voyage d’un seul coup. En lisant les commentaires dans les forums j’ai remarqué que des gens sont parfois bien influencés dans leur vie par l’expérience. Je voudrais partager quelques réflexions depuis le moment où je suis parvenu à Finisterre en novembre, 2005.

Aprés ma rentrée j’ai reçu plusieurs emails des pèlerins précédents en me remerciant pour le journal que j’avais écrit lequel a fait revivre leurs propres expériences lorsqu’ils marchaient eux-mêmes le long du Chemin. Ces mails m’ont fait beaucoup de plaisir……

Alors, est-ce que j’ai changé ma façon de vivre? Quoique la rencontre de beaucoup de personnes de nationalité de la Nouvelle Zelande jusqu’à l’Alaska, du Brésil jusqu’à la Russie et le Japon, et que le voyage fût formidable je crois que je suis le même homme qu’avant! J’ai fait des remarques à plusieurs personnes au cours de l’année passée que j’avais fait le pèlerinage: peu nombreux sont celles qui ont posé les questions en profondeur.
“Combien de temps avez-vous passé pour faire le périple? Combien de kilomètres avez-vous marché? Voulez-vous le refaire?” sont les questions posées à maintes reprises. Cela m’a etonné car ce n’est pas tous les jours que l’on croise une personne qui a marché 1600 km d’un seul coup! Je me demande si c’est la même expérience pour d’autres pèlerins?

Cette année je n’ai pas du tout marché: trop d’autres choses à faire, y compris maîtriser un défi nouveau, le vol paramoteur! Ca progresse bien……

Les réminiscences du périple restent fortes. J’ai commencé à la fin de l’année passée à écrire un journal plus profond que la chronicle que j’avais composée en marchant: chaque jour: les souvenirs reviennent et surtout en voyant les photos que j’ai prises. Malheureusement le journal n’est pas encore terminé! Et les souvenirs tels que le moment du départ après la Messe dans la cathédrale du Puy, sur les marches en pensant qu’il n’avait que 1520 km à faire à pied; la première vue, avec une certaine exhilération, des Pyrénées près de Condom; les vitraux remarquables dans la plupart des églises que j’ai visitées en France; toute la chaleur et l’hospitalite montrées par les hôtes dans les gîtes et les albergues; la “cérémonie” de la quemada dans l’auberge a Villafranca del Bierzo fait par Felix; le village remarquable de O’Cebreiro; l’arrivée à Santiago où j’ai rencontré une dame que je n’ai pas vue depuis 850 km en France, et l’entrée dans la cathédrale. Tels sont sont quelques souvenirs…….

Chaque fois que je regarde la carte d’Espagne les noms des villages sur el Camino évoquent la nostalgie tels que Puente de la Reina, Carrion de los Condes, Calzadillo de la Cuerza, Manzilla de las Mulas, Hospital de Orbigo, Rabanal del Camino…. Quelle expérience, quelle joie de vivre! Donc, pour conclure ces remarques je peux dire que ma pérégrination n’a pas changé ma façon de vivre mais elle m’a bien marquée.