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 !!
No comments:
Post a Comment