Day 436 - The Way

Martin Sheen and his three co-stars walking the Camino in 'The Way'.

From the minute I heard about the movie 'The Way,' starring Martin Sheen and his son Emilio Estaves, I could not wait for it to hit our theatres. It's not that I'm particularly crazy about the two actors, my real interest was in the actual theme and location of their production as it deals with the Camino de Santiago.

In the movie Sheen plays the roll of an ophthalmologists whose son dies in the Pyrenees on the first day of walking the Camino. He travels to France where he has his son's remains cremated and he then promptly decided to walk the Camino himself, leaving bits of the ashes scattered along the route.

What I couldn't wait to see was the actual route, as he walks the Camino Frances, starting in St Jean Pied de Port and then crossing over the Pyrenees - the exact route that I am planning to walk next year in June! So I went to the theatre not worrying too much about the storyline, just seeing the route and all the little towns I have been dreaming about would have been more than enough for me!

Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The movie certainly won't win any Oscars but the story was solid enough to keep the audience entertained and those who have walked the route seem to agree that it was a pretty good representation of the Camino. I was amazed at the interest that there seems to be in the Camino, the original show was fully booked and the organisers put on a second show earlier in the afternoon that was also fully booked!

As I looked around at those around me in the theatre I found myself wondering what it is about leaving life as we all know it and heading out on a pilgrimage in a strange country with a strange language that fascinates us so much? Judging by the dreamy looks and smiles on the faces, both young and old, as we left to return to real life, I knew that a number of new pilgrims were born!

I couldn't wait to hear what my husband had to say in the car on the way home. I thought I spotted a faraway look and a little smile during the show but knew that I'd hit the jackpot when he said: ' IF I decide to walk PART of the Camino...'

My best friend and my sister are both joining me for the last two weeks of the walk and at least four of my hiking buddies are seriously considering going the whole way. Having my husband join us for a part of the way at least, will be the cherry on the cake for me!

As for the sleeping arrangements, husband definitely won't be persuaded to stay in the albergues along the way but I for one will be tackling those. I would like to put it on record that if it gets too much I might be persuaded to spend a night here and there in slightly more private lodgings... I am not going to adapt the viewpoint that not sleeping in an albergue every single night means that you are less of a pilgrim - walking 780km with my immediate world on my back is more than enough for me to qualify!

Having two of my hiking buddies and their spouses as well as Ermanno Aiello, the writer of the book 'Forever a Pilgrim' and his family at the theatre made the whole afternoon so much more special for me. My Camino experience has already taken on a life of it's own, months before I even set foot on Spanish soil! It really has a way of bringing people together and I cannot wait to see how many more wonderful connections are going to be made during those four weeks on the road!

This week is an important one for the Red Cross Children's hospital here in Cape Town, as Thursday sees the official opening of their brand new burns unit! I am over the moon about the wonderful transformation of this very special place in our city and I would like to shout out the loudest 'THANK YOU!' to every individual and every company who made this possible. I plan on taking my camera along and hope to share some of the day with you here on Friday.

In conclusion, if you'd like to read a bit more about 'The Way', click here. 

Remember - you're NEVER too old to tackle an adventure like this one! Armed with your backpack, a pair of good walking shoes, your passport and enough funds to sustain yourself for a month - the sky really is the limit!

Day 433 - Great expectations!

I just love how this journey to Santiago is developing! It started out as a dream a couple of months ago that I thought I might just be able to turn into reality. I was pretty convinced that I was going to have to walk all 780km on my own with my old faithful backpack and walking stick being my only familiar travelling companions for more than a month.

Who would have thought that by September this year I would have been able to convince my husband to start joining me every now and then on one of my weekly hikes...This is a man who has cycled thousands of kilometers and until recently had less than zero interest in hiking or climbing mountains! Well, he now has his own pair of Merrells and a brand new backpack and we have even notched up an overnight hike together. I am ecstatic about this new found love of hiking that he is developing and I am hoping that just as we have explored wonderful parts of the world through his biking adventures, our boots will take us to many new destinations that we might not previously have considered exploring!

The photograph above was taken on our recent hike in the Southern Cederberg, my husband is the one on my left here - clearly not missing his beloved bike too much!

At one stage I was considering trying to make the Camino experience work for us with me walking and him cycling, but I'm not sure how one would bring the two together as we would never get to the same places at the same time. So I guess that plan that still needs some working on! Now that the hiking bug is starting to bite I have noticed that he is not totally disinterested in listening to my tales of people who have walked the Camino, so who knows, he might even end up walking part of the way with me.

Speaking of 'the way' - tomorrow afternoon a group of us will be making our way to the Labia theatre here in Cape Town for a special showing of the movie 'The Way', starring Martin Sheen. The movie was released last year and deals with a father whose son dies tragically in a freak accident whilst walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. The father, (Sheen), then undertakes the journey himself, carrying his son's ashes with him.

He walks the Camino Frances, which is the exact route I will be walking. So as you can imagine, I am really looking forward to seeing this movie. Even if the story ends up not being that great, the scenery is definitely going to be of interest. A number of people who are considering walking with me at this stage are also going, so I can't wait!

For more information on the 'The Way', click here. 

Finally - in the photo below we are with my Thursday hiking group, enjoying the wonderful West Coast spring flowers now in bloom in our part of the world. At this stage at least four of them are thinking of joining me in Spain next year - what a ball that will be! This day was planned to see how we would cope on a long walk that was not too different from some of the terrain that we would encounter on the Camino. We covered 15 kilometers in total and everyone was still very sure that walking the daily maximum of 25 kilometers on certain days would be within our reach.

I guess tomorrow's movie is going to make it all seem a little more real for all of us - one thing we couldn't

reenact was what it would be like to stay in the the albergues. That might be a little more difficult for some of us to get our heads around so lets hope those with doubts about sleeping in dorms with a bunch of strangers will have a better picture of that particular challenge by tomorrow evening! (I'm not sure if Mr Sheen actually went all the way and became a true pilgrim, or if he stayed in five star rooms along the way...)

I can't resist sharing this little piece from Ermanno Aiello's book, 'Forever a Pilgrim', where he relates an evening at one of the albergues where he found himself embroiled in a war of sorts...

He describes how he enjoys a wonderful meal with some of his fellow pilgrims and then continues: 'The evening passed all too quickly and we went too bed very late. I made the mistake of not taking my regular sleeping pill although, in my defence, it hadn't been necessary the previous two nights and I had not thought of it. What a night!! In spite of the four of us each having a bed in a section of the albergue and were thus pretty far apart, the snoring that emanated from Giorgio's and Jacques' sections rivalled and surpassed that of my first night at Hornillos. I was convinced that those two were having their own private Third World War, with their vocal chords as weapons of mass destruction.'

A couple of years ago that paragraph would have been enough to make me pass on this adventure without reading any further. Nowadays however, it doesn't seem like enough to put me off. It only serves to remind me to google the best quality earplugs, oh, and a good supply of sleeping tablets might be worth investing in after all!

Day 428 - Traditions

I am a creature of habit. I like the tried and tested, I like the proven and I favour continuity. That doesn't mean that I'm not in favour of adaptation and growth, as long as the changes are for the better and growth takes place in a positive way.

Lets face it, nothing stays exactly as it is/was forever. Imagine still walking the Camino in Spain as pilgrims did a thousand years ago. Your basic gear would consist of a wide leather hat, a short leather cape, a leather bag and a very long walking stick. The walking stick would have to be chosen with care as you'd have to be able to balance a hollow pumpkin on the top of it whilst walking. If you were a particularly conservative pilgrim, your pumpkin would be filled with water but you could also choose to use it as a vessel for carrying your supply of wine on the route.

Most pilgrims of old seemed to have preferred the latter and hence the saying: 'With bread and wine the El Camino is walked.' This saying apparently rhymes when said in Spanish - I know in Portuguese 'vinho' rhymes with 'camino' and I'm sure there's a tune in there somewhere!

In all my research I am yet to see a picture of a modern day pilgrim walking with a pumpkin on a stick but the tradition of enjoying bread and 'vinho' on the Camino certainly has survived!

So where, you might wonder, does a picture of sushi fit into all of this. Even I know that the Spanish are not known for their sushi making skills! I find myself intrigued by the story behind such a wonderful tradition though and thought that in the spirit of writing about things traditional, I'd share a bit of dentotaki with you today!

In Japanese, the word dentotaki means traditional or traditionally. More specifically, in the art of sushi-making the word refers to the preservation of some things and the constant innovation in others. Continuity with tradition is extremely important in Japanese food and even though the modern day sushi that we are all familiar with is the most popular, the ancient art of Funa sushi, for example, still exists.

The art of sushi making as we know it dates back to the early 1800's. In the 1300's you might have turned up your nose to this delicacy as Funa sushi was prepared, and still is by a few masters today, in the following way. Fresh water Karp is packed in wooden barrels with cooked rice, weighed down with heavy stones and left to ferment for two years. After two years the fish is washed and repacked with a fresh batch of rice. After another two months of fermentation the fish is washed again and eaten. Can you imagine!

According to an American food anthropologist Dr Merry White: 'Japanese food is not just about the freshest ingredients or the perfect technique, it is the invention behind every act!'

I just love the fact that most of the great sushi masters train their sons in the traditions of preparing sushi. Hence the art, and it really is an art, remains alive and vibrant, a tradition that the Japanese can truly call their own today, even though the Chinese were the first to introduce it to the world.

Just as walking across Spain has become a tradition because of the establishment of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, sushi has created a similar tradition in Japan. The big difference is that in Japan you won't have to walk but you can hop on a train and literally eat your way through the country as you follow the tradition of discovering the magical contents of the famous 'Ekibento sushi boxes',  served at certain stations along the routes. The Ekibento station lunch boxes consist of a variety of sushi and each station is known for its particular delicacies.

So, if walking for 780 kilometres with a pumpkin on a stick doesn't sound appealing to you, get yourself a pair of chopsticks and hop on a train in Japan - sounds like just as much fun to me!

Day 415 - All about trust...

A couple of weeks ago I had to give my husband full power of attorney to sign documents on my behalf abroad. When I had the papers certified at the embassy the lady behind the desk said to me: 'Do you realise that your husband can withdraw all your money from the bank, sign over properties to himself etc. with this document that you are signing right now?' I had to smile.

What happened to trust? Surely I should be able to trust the man that I've shared my life with for over thirty years! She registered my marriage in his country of birth all those years ago, so she knew how long we've been married, she even registered the births of the children and grandchild as well!

I suppose she has seen her fair share of foul play as well and perhaps the question was merely posed as a woman to woman - are you sure you know what you're doing - sort of warning or advice of sorts.

Remembering this incident made me think of the issue of trust. Here I am, planning a trip that involves 780 kilometres of walking in a strange country where they speak a foreign language. I'm not booking any accommodation and in fact, I'm planning to sleep in hostels that I've never been to where often 20-plus people sleep in dormitories and share bathrooms. In fact, there is no guarantee of available beds as it's a question of first come, first served in those establishments.

As for food - well, I'm hoping that there will be a meal available somewhere at the end of every day and I suppose if  breakfast and lunch can magically appear in some form along the way, that will be just great!

I'm hoping that there will be warm water for my showers and somewhere where I can wash and dry my two outfits that I'm going to have with me. In fact, I'm hoping that I will be able to survive for a month with the meager number of items I will be able to take along in my 'Camino wardrobe'!

There's a lot of hoping in all the above, so I've made a decision to start trusting, instead of hoping!

The three pictures I've chosen for this post were all taken on my hikes last week and they fitted in perfectly with what I wanted to bring home here (probably to myself more than to anyone else!).

Those beautiful flowers could only appear if we had enough rain at the right time. Our Cape West Coast is transformed into a wonderland every year round about this time but it can only happen if we have rain. So, we have to trust that it will rain, and so we do. Every year.

The San people who lived in this part of the world so many years ago and who are responsible for the magnificent paintings below, had to put their trust in so much more! Rain, shelter, food, health - nothing was pre-packaged or available online! My worry about finding a bed every night on the camino seems like a joke when I imagine their lives - trust me, I have pictures of leopard tracks just outside the caves where we saw these paintings!

If you have ever been fortunate enough to spend time in the magical Cederberg area here in South Africa you will know that rock formations like the one in the photograph below, abound. Some of these magnificent structures seem almost surreal - I pretty much had to trust that this massive rock would remain supported by that tiny bottom structure as I stood in front of it...

You get the idea. So, trust I will.

 Here is a lovely piece from Ermanno Aiello's book where he relates an experience that illustrates exactly why I trust that all will work out exactly as it should.

' I had planned to stay for two nights in Melide and, after I had made my way to the centre of town, I asked a passer-by whether he knew of any hotel or Casa Rural in the area.

"Yes", he replied and promptly led me to a hotel close by. Unfortunately this hotel did not have any rooms with en-suite bathrooms and I wasn't too keen to use a communal bathroom.

"No problema, Senhor" said the manageress, "our sister hotel does." and she promptly telephoned said hotel and reserved a room for me. "How do I get there?" I asked. "No problema, Senhor" said the man who had accompanied me to this hotel, "I'll take you there."

The sister hotel was at the entrance to Melide and was a fair distance away. My guide escorted me all the way to my hotel and, once there, refused any offer of payment for his help, drank a glass of orange juice with me and left.

Was this person another of God's angels sent on the camino to help the pilgrims, or was he just a man with a heart full of compassion? I could not recall when last I had received such help from a stranger.'

I hope that I will meet my own 'angels' in Spain and am reminded of two verses in the Bible:

Proverbs 3: 5&6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

and

Hebrews 13: 1&2 - Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

I hope to add my own wonderful Camino stories to those of the thousands of pilgrims who have walked before me. If you are reading this and have walked the Camino - do share - I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Day 399 - Men of Steel

A few days ago I spotted a headline in one of our local newspapers. It read: 'Men of Steel...'. That really got me thinking.

Can you imagine something colder, more horrible, more unappealing to have to strive towards, if you are a man.

To be a man of steel. I can't imagine something sadder than that.

Let's see what comes to mind when the word 'steel' is mentioned. Cold, hard, unbending, potentially sharp, therefore dangerous, could even be double edged if a sword - actually that is enough! All of these attributes, if identified in a man, is enough to make me run for the hills!

How I wish I could erase all the labels that society has hung around our necks, especially those given to our men! Instead of wishing for a man of steel to swoop me up and take care of me for the rest of my life, I would ask for a 'Man of Love', a 'Man of Kindness', 'A Man of Gentleness' - to name just a few.

I started wondering if anything is ever compared to steel in the Bible. That same evening the following words jumped out at me from the pages of a book that I was reading: 'The Bible says: Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of another.'

Proverbs 27:17. What a message. And brought to me in no uncertain terms. Steel, iron - the message is loud and clear!

I knew I wanted to write a piece here that I could connect to the Camino. This topic was just perfect as it got me thinking of why men, in particular, undertake this incredible journey. I'm sure not one of the men who have ever walked the Camino did so in the hope to be called a 'Man of Steel' once he arrived in Santiago!

I turned to Ermanno Aiello's book 'Forever a Pilgrim' to see what his encounters with fellow men on the Camino revealed.

On page 119 he talks about arriving at the Albergue Parroquia, a parish hostel in Santibanez de Valdeiglesia. Here he met Ercole, the hostalero.

' Ercole - the hostalero - turned out to be a middle aged, handsome, well built, flamboyant Italian from Rome. On hearing that I was also from Rome (or had been 59 years earlier) he gave me my very own private upstairs 4 bunk room. (doesn't sound like a 'Man of Steel' to me...)

He goes on to explain how Ercole prepared wonderful tasty meals for them (with the help of an elderly Spanish lady :) and tended the blisters of young pilgrims who had arrived at the albergue.

'The young couple I had passed on the camino had eventually arrived and Ercole was tending to her blistered feet in such a tender way. He continually spoke to her softly, almost caressingly, telling her that she would be all right by the next day. She was obviously very nervous and afraid but the gentle touch of his hands on her feet, the compassion and love in his voice, the encouraging words - he soon had her smiling - albeit nervously - while he drained and sterilized her blisters.'

Later that evening, after sharing a grappa or two the two men were in deep discussion and Ercole shared his story.

'Ermanno,' he said, 'Seven years ago, in Rome, I was diagnosed with incurable bone marrow cancer in my right leg. I then decided to walk the camino in this condition and I made this promise to the Holy Trinity. "Let me live long enough to walk the camino and I will give you the next five years of my life" I walked the camino - the last five kilometers barefoot - and my cancer was gone. I left Rome and came here seven years ago and I hope to die here one day.'

A man of steel? I don't think so!

In conclusion then - the lesson I learnt from the journey I took in my head since reading the heading in the newspaper is this. Just like iron sharpens iron - we sharpen the countenance of those we come in contact with. In layman's terms - people should grow from interaction with one another.  

Just as even a hard rock can be shaped into a heart as the one I spotted on one of my hikes, the reference to steel need not always refer to something hard and unfeeling. I for one hope that the only 'Man of Steel' that I am going to encounter on my Camino is my trusted friend in the picture below! 

Day 394 - An official pilgrim!

I guess I'm official now! My Pilgrim's Credential has arrived. This was accompanied by my official Pilgrim's Passport, duly stamped by the Confraternity of St James.

I've locked it all away so that it doesn't get misplaced between now and June 2012 - with my history of losing things, well let's just say it's best locked away! I will admit that every now and again I find myself taking it out and looking at it. Seeing '782,2km to go' printed at the starting point seems slightly overwhelming but very exciting at the same time! 

So, got the papers, got the luggage tag. Only about 300 or so days to go!

We're getting there - slowly, but surely!

Day 389 - A special encounter.

Even though I've never set foot on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, I have to admit that I've become somewhat of a Camino-junkie. As time passes and my departure date draws nearer, albeit at a snail's pace, I can't help but feel more and more drawn to this journey that awaits me.

Someone like Ermanno Aiello certainly  fuels the fire. He took to the road in Spain in April and May 2007 at the age of 69. Meeting him a few weeks ago was a very special occasion for me and if I was wondering if I was expecting too much from the journey I'm planning, he certainly confirmed to me that I am in for the walk of my life!

When Ermanno returned from his camino, he was persuaded by many of his friends and family members to put it all down on paper and he decided to write and self-publish his book, titled 'Forever a Pilgrim'.

I was fortunate enough to buy the last copy of his current print. This book has since become one of my most prized possessions and I treasure the lovely message that he wrote in there for me - sending me on my own camino armed with blessings from a deeply religious pilgrim!

Ermanno has given me permission to quote from his book and I would like to share with you some of his experiences in the next few weeks.

For those of you who are new to the blog and not quite familiar with the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage - click on the link at the top right hand side of this page titled ' History of the Camino...'. This summary will give you an idea of what it's all about. Even though the Camino was started by the Catholic church, it is certainly not only Catholics who walk it today. In fact, some people simply walk it as a hike of sorts but it seems to me that the majority of pilgrims actually do it for reasons much deeper than just that.

Personally, I have walked a much more focused road with the Lord these past three years and I am experiencing a very strong calling to this pilgrimage. Something about leaving all the luxuries of the world behind and just walking for miles and miles, with the freedom to devote hours to the Lord in contemplation, seems like a gift too great to pass by!

Ermanno the pilgrim - can that smile be any broader?

To start off, here is a quote from the book - this piece illustrates one of the gifts of the Camino - silence of a different kind.

' In wild and beautiful Galicia with its magnificent forests, mountains,countless streams, farms and fickle weather I experienced a different type of silence. The weather kept reminding me that, like life,there is no permanent silence and that if I needed silence I would have to create it within myself. Amazingly so, I managed this very well - eventually being able to find the silence (and with it the much needed solitude) that I craved for at will.'

 ' This silence and solitude led me to deeper and deeper introspection. The analysis of my life up to then, with all its good and bad times, my periods of moving away from my faith and the subsequent return to it, the successes and failures of my career, the value of my loved ones, especially my wife Lia, led me to the realization that my life had always been and always will be for a purpose only known to God. I do not need to know that purpose - that will be revealed to me when I am finally with Him - all I need to know is that I am of value to Him as I am and that I will do my utmost to fulfil whatever purpose He still has for me. This knowledge filled me with such peace.'

Since I made the decision to walk the Camino, countless people who are somehow connected to it have crossed my path. Each and every one of them has added value to my life. Sitting down for coffee with someone like Ermanno Aiello, a man who rejoices in his relationship with his creator, is very special. When you're in the presence of someone who loves and adores the Lord, the feeling is tangible. You can't mistake the warmth, the joy and the peace that fills that person. I felt all of this from the first minute I met this man and praise God for sending people to guide me along this road. A road that I am so happy to be on!

And thank you Ermanno. Thank you for being obedient. Thank you for sharing your beliefs, your experiences (good and bad!) and most of all, for proclaiming everything that the Lord God has done for you!

For those of us, like me, who are in our infant stages as Christians, your guidance is a blessing beyond words!