Well, it’s almost here.
My 500 mile hike across Spain is only weeks away. My hope in writing this is to share with each
of you my upcoming adventure and to let you know what my hike is about and what
it entails.
At the end of this month I will set out on the “Camino de Santiago,”
or, in English, “The Way of St. James.” The hike is actually a pilgrimage that has
been going on for over a thousand years.
Wikipedia has this to say about the Camino:
“The Way of St. James or St. James' Way (Spanish: El Camino de Santiago…) is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral
of Santiago de Compostela
in Galicia
in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the
remains of the apostle Saint James
are buried.
The Way of St. James was one of the most
important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, together
with Rome and Jerusalem, and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be
earned…. Legend holds that St. James's remains were
carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried on the
site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.
The Way can take one of any number of
pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. Traditionally, as with most
pilgrimages, the Way of Saint James began at one's home and ended at the
pilgrimage site
The pilgrimage to Santiago has never
ceased from the time of the discovery of St. James' remains, though there have
been years of fewer pilgrims, particularly during European wars.
On Monday, October 24th, 2011 I watched a movie
called The Way, starring Martin
Sheen. Sheen’s son, Emilio Estevez,
co-wrote, directed, produced and played a role in the movie. The movie follows Sheen’s character as he
travels across Spain to honor his son, played by Estevez, who died just before
making the journey himself. I was
inspired to make the journey immediately after seeing the movie and planned on
going the very next year. But, as often
happens, “life” got in the way and I struggled to find a time that didn’t
overlap with something on the calendar.
So, I set my heart on making the journey in 2013, which just happened to
be the year Sharon and I would celebrate our 20th wedding
anniversary. So I thought what would be
cooler than finishing this historic hike and then meeting my wonderful wife in
Costa del Sol for an amazing anniversary celebration and a much needed rest.
Yes, a rest. Much
needed because the hike/walk/journey/adventure stretches 500 miles, beginning
in the northeastern part of Spain and ending all the way in the northwestern
part of the country. I plan to cover the
500 miles in 33 to 36 days, averaging somewhere between 12 to 18 miles per
day. The trail is well-traveled and
passes through many towns, cities and small villages along the way.
The most common question I get about the journey is, of
course,”WHY?” Why on earth would you
want to do this? 500 miles? The question is asked numerous times as
pilgrims walk the Camino. The original
pilgrims walked for religious reasons – to honor St. James, or to find some
inner religious peace, or even for penance.
And there are pilgrims who walk the Camino still today for the same
reasons, however certainly fewer than in the past. So why do people do this walk today? Some do it for spiritual reasons; some as an
attempt to find inner peace; others to quit smoking or lose weight. And then there are those who walk the Camino
just for an adventure. And that is my
reason – adventure. I realize that the
movie had a lot to do with inspiring the adventurism within me, but I have a
feeling that I will find other reasons as I experience my own journey on the
Camino de Santiago.
I will be keeping a blog along the way and hope that you
will continue to follow me as I try to convey some of my experiences and post
some pictures. If you care to join
please visit tomsadventurecamino.blogspot.com
to see how I’m doing. I can’t promise
I’ll blog every day but I’m sure I’ll be inspired to post from time to time. I
will also be posting to Instagram and Facebook for those of you who use those
apps.I leave the States on May 23rd and fly into Paris, staying there for two nights before I board a train to Southern France to St. Jean-Pied-du-Port, where I will hopefully begin my walk on May 27th. Once I reach Santiago de Compostela at the end of the hike, I’ll take a train to Southern Spain and meet up with Sharon in Costa del Sol, Malaga. We plan to meet up on the 5th of July to spend our 20th anniversary right there on the coast. We’ll head home on July 14th.
This will be the longest trip/adventure/vacation that I’ve
ever taken, and solo at that. People
are shocked when I tell them I won’t be going with anyone, but, to be honest, I
haven’t exactly had anyone knocking down my door to join me. It’s an adventure, for sure, and I look
forward to meeting lots of interesting and fun people.
My español is nowhere near where it should be for this trip,
but I’ve been trying to learn. I have
never claimed to be much of a linguist, but I’ve managed to add some Spanish
words to the vocabulary and only pray that they don’t laugh me out of the
country.
If any of you know anyone who has done the Camino, I would
love to talk to them before I leave, so please have them get in touch with
me. Thanks for taking the time to read
this and I will think of ALL of you as I walk my Camino.
Tom
So excited for you Dad!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so damn jealous. Have a wonderful adventure.... so cool to say that...
ReplyDeleteAllen
So excited for you Uncle T - can't wait to follow along your adventures!
ReplyDeletexo
Jennifer