Thursday, 01 July 2024
Reflections on Completing the Via de la Plata / Camino Sanabres

Having been home for a little over a month after a three-week-long pilgrimage walk in Spain, I have been reflecting on that pilgrimage. It was an adventure, better than I expected. On the walk, I take many photos every day, and only a few of those get posted on my blog, so in this reflection, I’ll include a few photos that were not previously shared along the way. The only “new” photo is this of me at my computer in my office at home as I am writing this.

Some Background on My History with the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimages
The Camino Francés

As I reflect, I also reflect on my history with the Camino de Santiago. So I apologize if some of the history here is repetitive. It is all part of the thought process.

The Camino de Santiago is a set of pilgrimage routes to the city of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain where the remains of Saint James the Greater are interred in the cathedral. Pilgrims have been making their way to Santiago de Compostela for over a thousand years. I became interested in this pilgrimage since I was named for Saint James. I first walked the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in the spring of 2016. The 800-kilometer (500-mile) route I walked, called the Camino Francés, traverses northern Spain from southwestern France where there is a pass over the Pyrenees mountains. This route is rich with history being the most direct route from southern France to Santiago de Compostela. Pilgrims from many European countries like The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and France made their way through France to a pass over the mountains and into Spain. After completing that pilgrimage route in 2016, I returned in the autumn of 2017 to repeat the same route, this time with my friend Tom from Sydney, Australia, and his girlfriend Julie. I met Tom and Julie at Wild Rose Yoga in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2016 before my first pilgrimage walk. Here is a map of the Camino Francés:

Via de la Plata / Camino Sanabrés 2023

After that second pilgrimage, I focussed on my work and the thought of someday returning to Spain for another pilgrimage walk was in the background. After the pandemic that disrupted travel worldwide for a few years, my friend Tom retired, and then two years ago in 2022, I retired. Tom suggested we return to Spain for another pilgrimage walk. He wanted to experience the Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebrations in Seville, Spain, said to be the most elaborate, festive, and exuberant in all of Spain. From Seville, a Camino de Santiago route extends north to a little north of Zamora, then northwest to Santiago de Compostela. This route is called the Via de la Plata and the Camino Sanabrés and is about 1040 kilometers (650 miles) from Seville to Santiago de Compostela. Here is a map of the Via de la Plata & Camino Sanabrés:

We started the walk on April 10, 2023, the day after Easter and after Seville’s weeklong Semana Santa pageantry and celebrations. Three weeks later, after leaving Salamanca (the approximate halfway point), I started developing tendonitis in my left lower leg which worsened every day. When we got to Granja de Moreruela, the pain was almost unbearable and I had to stop. I never made it to the Camino Sanabrés which starts where I stopped at Granja de Moreruela.

Camino Sanabrés 2024

After returning home from Spain in 2023, during a call with my younger sister Carol and her husband Ron, I expressed my disappointment and frustration over not completing my pilgrimage walk. I said would return in the spring of 2024 to finish. During that call, Ron was nominated to go with me. A few weeks later, his running friend Dan wanted to join us. This would be an approximately 420-kilometer (260-mile) walk from Zamora to Santiago de Compostela.

We met in Madrid, took a train the next day to Zamora, and then started the pilgrimage walk in Zamora on May 2. We walked into Santiago de Compostela on May 20, covering 420 kilometers (260 miles) in 19 days. Every day we encountered challenges, some days more than others, like difficult uphill stretches, rain, muddy paths, etc. And every day we saw beautiful scenery and vistas and were inspired (even when it rained).

Reflecting

Overall, this Camino pilgrimage walk was better than I expected in many ways. While walking the Camino, there is much time to reflect and for introspection. Since returning, however, I seem to be busy, and it has taken more time to organize, write, and post my thoughts. From the early planning stages, I knew this would be a very different experience than last year. When I decided to return to Spain and complete the interrupted walk, I had confidence that I could go to Spain and complete the pilgrimage by myself. Sharing the adventure with Ron and Dan elevated the experience. I was reminded of a favorite quote:

If you don’t open yourself up, how can you ever be surprised by life?
And if you’re not surprised, then what is the bloody point?

Last year and again this year, I opened myself up to whatever might happen. The walk last year was good, but not entirely to my liking. Tom wanted to stay in albergues, hostels for pilgrims – typically a large room with bunk beds, shared showers, and bathrooms. Tom gets re-energized by being around other people; I do not. Ron, my brother-in-law, stipulated that he would come with me provided we did not stay in the albergues. I worked with Pilgrim (www.pilgrim.es), a company based in Spain to book our accommodations – all private, no albergues.

From our first meeting in Madrid, Dan, Ron, and I got along well (you’ll have to ask them if they feel the same – it might be I have personality quirks that were not to their liking). Being in Spain, and walking on a route unfamiliar to us, we knew from the start that we would encounter unexpected and maybe even frustrating challenges. All three of us are mature, a little adventurous, and adaptable. And being adaptable was key – we did have to adapt to something almost every day.

What did I Learn?

Most of all, I learned gratitude, particularly for simple things. More than just for food, a bed at night, and clean clothes, I was especially grateful for the uplifting and spirited camaraderie between Dan, Ron, and me. This softened the challenges, and kept the mood light, even when we were tired and faced the unexpected. I was grateful when it did not rain and when stores and restaurants were open. And grateful for other little things, like were my shoes going to make it to the end? [They did, but it is now time to retire those shoes after about 750 miles of walking.]

I also learned humility. I was humbled being with people smarter and more accomplished. I was humbled by the adventure itself: the long days of walking, the long, sometimes difficult uphill stretches, and times being tired with still a long way to go. Most of all, I was humbled by the beautiful scenery and the vast far-reaching vistas. And even when it rained, that beauty was prominent.

I knew and appreciated the power of increments, reinforced every day on the Camino – we achieve big goals by taking small steps, and on the Camino, that means a lot of small steps.

I learned that possessions can be a burden. I carried everything I needed on my back, up and down mountains, across plains, over rivers. Anything unnecessary was an unnecessary burden

It is often said that miracles occur on the Camino. I’m not sure I saw actual miracles, there were days that, on reflection, getting through them seemed to be something of a miracle. The day from Puebla de Sanabria to Lubían at 36 kilometers comes to mind – this was the most difficult day on any Camino route I have walked, including on the Camino Francés walking up and over the Pyrenees mountains. Adding to the difficulty and frustration was getting lost twice that day.

Once we got up on the mountain at the level of the train line and tunnels, the highest point on the Camino Sanabrés, we still had to go over the mountain.

I learned in a small way that I attract what I fear the most. There was not really much to fear on the Camino pilgrimage route, since we had phone apps that showed us the route even when we saw few or no markers. On the highest mountain on the way to Lubían, the markers (Camino arrows) sometimes conflicted because the route had been changed several times as the high-speed rail construction disrupted the older routes over the mountain. Persistence paid off and we overcame our frustration and finally made it to Lubían where we had a very good dinner.

On the Camino routes, the worst that can happen, like getting lost or injured and having to stop early (like last year) isn’t so bad – we can recover somehow.

Most importantly, this walk completing my Via de la Plata and Camino Sanabrés pilgrimage reminded me that every day is a pilgrimage in Spain or at home.

Back to that favorite quote:

If you don’t open yourself up, how can you ever be surprised by life?
And if you’re not surprised, then what is the bloody point?

I opened myself up to the adventure of this pilgrimage walk with Ron and Dan and I returned home uplifted – a little tired, and in need of new hiking shoes, but definitely uplifted.

Do I Return to Spain?

When I walked the Camino Francés in 2016 and decided that Saint James was not done with me, I wanted to walk the same route again. The first time comes with a good bit of anxiety: how difficult is the hill I see in the guidebook? how difficult is the downhill? are there places to eat along the way? how much water must I carry? will I find where I am staying? and more. I thought that if I walked the same route again, while I would not remember every detail, I would have a good idea of what each day would bring, eliminating most of the anxiety. Therefore, I could immerse myself in the beauty, the meditative, and the spiritual aspects of the day. And it was all that and a far deeper cerebral experience the second time. I saw or noticed so much more and I seemed to have more time to explore sights, churches, and even things off the main Camino route, like the restored church of Vilar de Dondas near Palas del Rei (one of my favorite sights). The first time is special since it is the first time, and the second time can be a very different and deeper experience.

I see this in my repeated yoga-focused winters in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I have been there 11 times. I stay at the same place (The 3-Sis), practice yoga at the same place (Wild Rose Yoga), eat at many of the same places, visit many of the same temples, and walk several hikes in the mountain west of town. Every winter in Chiang Mai has been distinctly different – I see things differently, Chiang Mai changes, and I change.

Will I return to Spain to walk the Via de la Plata and Camino Sanabrés again? I think I will, partly because I want to see how I experience it differently. This thought process will continue and I’ll post my plans on this blog.

Next: Planning for my twelfth yoga-focused winter in Chiang Mai, Thailand.