Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Walk off life’s stresses on the Cape Camino
DOCTORS say walking is one of the best exercises ever. Imagine how fit you would be if you walked between 12 to 25 kilometres per day, for a week or even for 32 days straight? And what would the health benefits be if this walk took place in one of the most beautiful places on earth?
The Cape Camino in the Western Cape offers just such a spiritual pilgrimage for those who want to escape the urban jungle, and feed their souls. Caminos, the Spanish word for paths, were created to offer weary city dwellers a chance to commune with nature and their spirits. A recharge of sorts.
The Cape Camino will take you on a journey from Wellington, through the Winelands, across the Berg River, over the Piketberg Mountains, through Dwarskersbos (yes, it’s a real place) and finally to the Cape Peninsula. A 22-day journey which organisers promise will leave you in pain but also in bliss. The Cape Camino was first initiated in 2015, and in 2019 organisers added the 32-day pilgrimage.
In Japan, the Shikoku Pilgrimage is one of the longest and most famous walking trails in the world, it runs for longer than 1 400km, and can take anywhere from 30 to 60 days to complete. The Camino de Santiago in Spain has many different route options, from a short 120km walk to the long and challenging 800km and even 1000km routes.
Initiator of the Cape Camino, Gabrielle Andrew, said the journey ends at the most sacred of places for the many indigenous peoples of the Western Cape, the tail of Table Mountain.
“The Camino is an opportunity for you to reflect. You will see the bright orange that Aurora turns into, during July and August, when the world here is in full bloom. You don’t have to be super fit to do this. You do it in your own time,” said Andrew.
The Cape Camino offers 22 stops and an opportunity for pilgrims to interact with the different communities along the way.
“The Cape Camino is actually owned by the local communities along the route. It provides jobs and brings in much-needed money to the local businesses,” said Andrew.
According to the Cape Camino website, 1 700 people from all over the world have walked the route. There are different packages from R2000 to R28000 depending on the number of days and your preferred standard. There are budget, luxury and standard, weekend Camino and the full 25 days option.
Pilgrims who completed the Cape Camino and Camino de Santiago had this to say: “When you’re totally disillusioned with your work life and junction of sanity and you need to reflect on your semi-retirement exit strategy, and your unfinished memoirs remain in draft, then you’re ready for your Camino. You walk yourself into a mental head space that is so cathartic, and thoughts talk to you while you walk and reimagine a future without lemmings or minions.
“The Camino is refreshingly organic and simple. Walking the Galicias daily and hooking up with like-minded persons not knowing that the Covid-19 pandemic would put a pause to future
similar plans for the next Camino in Japan when I turn 60 in 2022.
“It was a nostalgic journey to try and make sense of the social construct of religion, while stopping off at ornate cathedrals on our way to Portomarin, lighting candles for deceased family members, while also celebrating 10 years of my father's demise, leaving a cross and a stone with his name on at a well venerated shrine along the way. Your Camino can only be walked alone. – Ms CB Clark
“I had spent three months as a frontline doctor looking after Covid patients, and needed to regroup and de-stress. The Camino did this for me – and more. Walking out in the open in beautiful nature let me reconnect with my soul and find peace.
“I did not think about Covid for 16 days. There is no need for masks when you walk on remote farmlands and with not a person in sight. Everything is taken care of by the organisers and I felt safe and contained at all times. I recommend this for anyone who needs some time out from their hectic lives.”
– Dr Micky Orrey
As the days went by, I realised that with every step, I was walking away from unimportant and unnecessary stuff. Life is not about "things" but about God, the Creator of all things.
“There is silence and peace that I cannot really describe. – Ina Pretorius
Andrew said the most popular pilgrimage seems to be the seven-day one. Visit www.capecamino.co.za/onlinestore-levzz