I did it my way... and had the best craic!
There are countless reasons for doing the Camino... and sheer camaraderie is as good a reason as any
LIKE many a good idea this one grew legs in a bar – the ‘Long Valley’ in Cork – where I fell into the company of some longdistance walkers, reminiscing about Camino routes.
That transformational moment flashes back 118 km and five days of the Portuguese Camino later. The ‘amigo’ (friend) volunteer, manning the certification counter inside Oficina del Peregrino, Santiago de Compostela’s Pilgrim Office, closely scrutinises my hastily filled-in form requesting the official Compostela certificate. He counts a respectable 24 stamps (only two per day are obligatory) on my passport credentials, the proof that every step of the Portuguese Camino from Valenca to Santiago has been walked.
‘Why did you walk the Camino, was it for religious and spiritual reasons’, the young Spaniard enquires in charming broken English. ‘I am here for the craic… for the fun’, I explain. Telling untruths within these holy precincts could undo my indulgences and reduced time in purgatory.
A priest controlling the credentials of bona fide pilgrims entitled to a Compostela, a richly illustrated certificate written in Latin whose calligraphy to my eyes is like the Book of Kells, appears uneasy.
‘St James kept me blister-free…a miracle for sure’, I add ticking ‘spiritual reasons’ on the form. The priest smiles angelically.
If you don’t fulfil the criteria, never fear. You can always buy a nicely embellished velum certificado (in Spanish) for €3 certifying the distance you’ve travelled. On the face of it, here’s more blatant Camino commercialism by the Church who hold sway in touristy Santiago. But it’s a lovely souvenir.
FAST forward from that pub challenge to give the Camino ‘a go’ and my friend Katherine and myself wonder whether we are up it, the sunstroke in high summer, crippling blisters and, worst of all, being confined to a hostel dorm.
Henry, The Long Valley man, who has led walks all over Ireland, Europe and beyond, convinces us his self-guided small group Camino trip will suit our needs.
This ‘Camino without tears’ offers a level of support and personal attention that’s tailormade for newbie long-distance walkers like us. A support vehicle will be hovering nearby ‘to take you off the route, treat your blisters or other ailments and get you back walking next day’ he promises. Most of our accommodation, from B&Bs to hotels with swimming pools are on the route or close to it, and our luggage will be transferred onwards each day.
We sign up for a week that includes five walking days (average distance 20kms), starting halfway along the 240 kms stretch from the city of Porto, or Oporto, in Northern Portugal to Santiago, following scallop shell signs on walls and milestones and yellow arrows. The route is expertly marked and blue arrows point the opposite way towards Fatima!
The Camino Frances may be the more walked but the Portuguese Camino is fast catching up. Irishman John Brierley, author of outstanding Camino Guide books, says that no Camino is more significant and soulful than the Portuguese Camino and no other is so intimately connected to the life and ministry of St James.
It was along this route, he points out in ‘A Pilgrims Guide to the Camino Portugues’ that James first preached to the pagan populace and it was on this self-same ‘Way’ that his body made its last ‘Journey’, one that came to be known and loved all over the world as Santiago de Compostela”.
Maybe it’s the trepidation of what’s ahead but we’re in no hurry to end our late night in Portugal following a huge BBQ dinner washed down with lots of local red wine in a hamlet near Valenca.
The owner of our hotel, Padre Cruz, happily chauffeurs our group in relays to and from his friend’s restaurant in S/ Pedro da Torre.
The moment of truth finally dawns and by 7am we have stepped it out towards the distant medieval cathedral town of Tui in Spain. Mass bells ring out as we pass an abandoned border post and cross a long steel bridge over the Minho river into Spain.
On the bridge a swarthy bearded man with curly hair carrying a Biblical era staff, introduces himself as Ferdinand from Madrid, wishing us Buen Camino. He has walked from Oporto, is a veteran of Caminos and travels alone to hear himself think.
Just behind us, another pilgrim, also a solo traveller, a little woman in her 30s, dwarfed by a large rucksack trudges alongside telling how she started a month earlier in Lisbon.
Her eyes light up describing her couple of rest days in Fatima.
We meet again a day later and like old comrades, chat about how we’re bearing up.
The choice of comfortable well broken-in footwear and socks (many swear by padded protection 1000 mile socks with a blister-free guarantee) is even more important may be than your training!
Henry had recommended a twohour stamina-building walk three or four times a week, wearing our comfortable Camino footwear.
We walk 24kms, a good deal uphill, on the first day. So far so good, there are two stops for café lattes and home-made lemonade, a change of socks and a sprinkling of talcum powder on our feet.
The Portuguese Camino boasts pleasant rural scenery, beautiful historic towns like Pontevedra, glimpses of coastal inlets and the route is well served by cafés.
MUCH of the journey here in pastoral Galicia follows a Roman highway, crossing ancient stone bridges and rivers passing churches, shrines, water fountains in forgotten hamlets.
We traverse farm tracks bordering maize fields, Eucalyptus plantations and vineyards. The tranquil terrain winds upwards into forests, then dips down into dappled glades with bubbling brooks. Ferdinand waves from the stream where he cools his worn feet.
In Porrino, a sprawling industrial town with a quaint old centre, we discover one of our walkers is missing and a search is launched. The town is in the throes of a Roman festival and market and locals and shopkeepers wear togas and laurel wreaths around their heads.
Our lodgings are in a simple but adequate B&B convenient to Redondela, where the following day’s walk kicks off before 7.30am to avoid the afternoon heat.
A cosy roadside café-restaurant Jumboli, serving super large G&Ts, for €3.70 and a threecourse pilgrim’s dinner with a choice of courses for €9.50 is base camp for the evening.
We also sample more luxurious surroundings, comfy three-star hotels, two of which have swimming pools.
Arriving in Pontevedra, we overnight in the city’s pleasant old quarter, dining under the stars.
From here we will enjoy the flattest walk of the journey of only 18kms. A signpost announces 40 kms to Santiago.
We have had no need of Henry’s support vehicle but it comes in handy for a few other ‘fallen by the wayside’ pilgrims.
Our last day may not be the longest but it feels endless as we plough on past Camino milestones towards Santiago, tramping through ugly modern suburbs after toiling up a punishingly steep hill passing under a spaghetti junction of motorways.
The anticipation of making it
into Praza do Obradoiro – the golden square of Santiago - is mixed with nostalgia. We’ve disconnected from the fast lane for days now and there’s been ‘craic’ by the bucketful come evening.
At Albergue (hostel) Seminary Menor on a steep hill directly opposite Santiago’s old town the high-season Spartan single room with B&B on our last night costs €20 (it can cost as little as €5 if you book a communal dorm in one of the albergues on the Camino).
Many pilgrim paths lead to Santiago and people’s reasons for taking them are just as varied – from re-igniting a religious belief or coming to grips with a crisis or loss, communion with nature or a healthy cross-country challenge.
For me there have been no sudden epiphanies, though I’ve managed to spring-clean my mind and practise a little meditation and mindfulness on the journey.
The Camino is a beguilingly special experience and one you’ll yearn to repeat in the future. Take my word for it.