I finished after walking some 1000 kms in 35 days in front of the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. When I was handed over the official document/certificate by the Church authorities I did become emotional and realized that I had indeed walked a lot of miles in my shoes and had been well protected! The stamps from Lourdes added an extra cachet to this long walk: I was told I was a real pilgrim!
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| Documented Proof! My finisher certificate Lourdes - Santiago de Compostela |
Obviously people ask all the time 'have you changed?', 'what do you feel after so many days of walking by yourself?', 'was it hard?, hot?, were you alone, or lonely?'. The usual known questions. In all honesty NO, I do not think I changed; I still feel the same 'Anton boy'. It was a little bit tough at times, hot and sweaty, pouring rains, but interest, commitment and pleasure were more prominent than hardship.
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| Passing the Monte do Gozo 5kms from the finish Rain and wind all over the place for Anton and Kesso Gabrielle. |
And YES, many thoughts crossed my mind and I had time to wander through the stages of my life, my family, education, friends and my relationship with God.
A few points that I wish to make here:
The Camino is, I strongly believe, a walk where anybody will find his or her own interests and where one only meets people who think positively, are joyful and wish you well: 'Buen Camino'. The atmosphere during the Camino is simply TOPS!
Frequently my thoughts returned to how fortunate I have been and are now in my life. 'Did I deserve this. Did I treat people well?' I realize that although in my work and life I had my problematic encounters and some mishaps, grosso modo All turned out well.
Now at 72 years and walking the Camino, I had every reason to be fortunate and 'feliz'. I often say to my wife Biya that I am not only a 'pensionado/jubilado', but also a 'fortunado'. And several times each day I thanked God for that. So often Biya and I, when we pray together, we start thanking Him for His blessings. In fact, and compared to many others, there is little we could ask for the two of us. During my Camino my prayers started with asking blessings and support for Biya's family, then my family, and finally for our friends. So far God keeps us healthy and active and we are surrounded by the 'good ones'.
And so often, I think more than 15 times, I felt that God and the angels ushered me along. I always found a bed when I needed it. While it rained at night, in the morning when I started, it stopped (except for the last week). When I was thirsty and needed a sip of water, just around the corner I found a fountain. When I needed to buy a new pair of boots, I passed through a town (Ponferrada) where there was 'Decathlon' and another sportshop.
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| Never throw away old boots before you have new ones! |
Many people will say 'Ah, that is all just coincidence'. Well, not me, also beacause I had told myself to look out for signs of His presence.
And then my two daughters Valerie Clemence Christel and Kesso Gabrielle, each of them walked with me for two days. Again this was such a pleasure and gave comfort. We encouraged each other and talked and talked, and laughed. God has been a guide to instill in both of them values and norms that reflect my own. Valerie walked with me from Fromista to Sahagun (63 kms) and Kesso from Arzua to Santiago de Compostela (43 kms). What more could a father have asked for?
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| Close to Calzadilla de la Cueza with Valerie Clemence |
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| In Arzua after dinner with Kesso Gabrielle |
As I walked into the building where one receives the offical certificate of a 'finisher', the computer recorded that on that day 28th October 2023, 12.45 am I was pilgrim # 339 that had arrived. Using a rough extrapolation and based on the estimate that 70% of all pilgrims walk the 'Camino Frances', one can safely say that around 300.000 pilgrims walk and finish the Camino each year. Well, perhaps only 1% really start from their homes as far away as Poland, Italy or the NL. I started from Lourdes, a holy place as well, and the first two days I only met one pilgrim (Luca from France), and the first week in France I did meet travelers/randonneurs but no one on their way to Santiago de Compostela.
Then, coming out of the French Pyrenees Atlantiques and quite suddenly arriving at the bordertown of Saint Jean Pied de Port, hundreds of pilgrims were preparing their start of the Camino Frances the following day. This pretty town with over 50 accomodations came as a little shock to me: now I will have every day tens of pilgrims in view before me and behind me I thought. But I was mistaken as many pilgrims walk for a day or a weekend, or in stages every year, or only to Pamplona or Burgos, and so on. The road from France to Santiago is some 800 kms and it turned out that until the town of Sarria one can walk 'your own Camino'= you walk your own pace, you want to talk you can, you want to walk in silence, no probs. From Sarria, a bit over 100 kms from Santiago, the road gets quite busy, even end of October and why? Sarria is the closest town to Santiago that will get you your certificate on the condition that your pilgrim's passport / your 'credencial' / is stamped properly by the albergues/hotels where you spent the night.
How did I proceed? Most of the times...and I walked every day...getting up between 6 and 7 am; shower, shave and use the restroom. Then if there was breakfast in the albergue or b&b, pension, hotel, I bought it with a cup of 'cafe con leche'.
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| Morning cafe con leche in Pamplona |
Some days I walked the first 10 kms on an empty tank as well. At times I started before daybreak but mostly when I could see the path with the indicators. Then walk at least 12 kms and stop for coffee and a tortilla (tortilla with chorizo I liked best!); continue walking another two or three hours whilst I determined the village where to stay....between 1 and 3 pm I then had found a place to stay. Checked in, quick shower and change and then hunt for a popular restaurant with a daily menu (most of these catered for pilgrims and were about 12 to 14 euros for a three course meal and a full bottle of wine). Then a good rest/siesta...a walk through the village, visit the church, perhaps buy a 'bocadillo' to eat and chat with other pilgrims. By 9pm I was in dreamland again. So I never booked any accomodation upfront. Never had great difficulty to find a place. Most were good and cheap. A few were dicy in terms of cleanliness. Now, after the Covid-era, practically all albergues provide a single-time use pillow-cover and a bedsheet. So a light sleeping bag is a must on your packing list! Dormitories housed a lot of snoarers. Grrrr! Dorms were about 12 euros a bed. A private room with bathroom as cheap as 25 euros in Pamplona and closer to Santiago a bit more expensive. I set myself a budget limit of 45 euros for a private room 'habitacion'.
Along the 'Camino Frances', except for the 17 kms stretch between the villages of Carrion de los Condos and Cazadilla de la Cueza, West of Fromista, the distances between villages are not more than 6 kms...doable for anybody who is a pilgrim I would think!
Sometimes I used the app 'mycaminobed' to explore where to sleep. A useful tool.
Just a bit of history does help in the context of Santiago de Compostela.
Saint James the Greater, de Heilige Jacobus, Saint Jacques le Majeur, San Thiago, was one of Jesus disciples and was beheaded by Herodus Agrippa in Jerusalem around the year 45 of the first century. He is credited to have been the first missionary in Spain as ordered by Saint Peter in Rome. Legends say that James had several apparitions of Maria a.o. in Tarragona and in Muxia when he felt he could not do his missionary work well enough. Most likely he spent perhaps as many as 5 to 10 years in 'the Espagnes' and finally returned to Jerusalem. How his remains were transported to Galicia in Spain remains some kind of a mystery but much scientific research on his body over the past centuries led to a confirmation by the Church that indeed the skeleton that was found by a hermit in the year 828 (again told to him in a dream!) is that of the apostle James the Greater. We shall never know the truth though.
Then a church was built in Santiago de Compostela where his remains were placed and already around the year 850 people undertook a pilgrimage to pray and ask for the forgiveness of their sins. Obviously in those days such a pilgrimage was a hazardous affair. Bandits around Cebreiro and wolves in the woods of Roncesvalles were lurking around; some pilgrims took years to arrive at their destination; many died. And then...those who made it had to return as well.
The Camino has now developed into the most populated walking pilgrimage on the planet. Some 10 different routes exist from inside Spain, from Portugal and from France. The European Union declared it a cultural monument and supports it financially. Without such support, and the interest of Spain, many villages would be left barren and monuments like churches, chapels and way-side crosses simply left to rot. Basically, every village on the Camino Frances has stories to tell!
Father Armand in Arudy (France): 'Vous permettez que je vous lave vos pieds'? On day two of my pilgrimage I started to use the 100 euros coffee money that Biya generously had provided! I walked from the monastry in Betharram where I had spent the night to Arudy and was told by the priest in the morning at breakfast that his clerical colleague in Arudy always had a place for any pilgrim to stay and that he, Father Armand was special. After 26 kms I arrived in Arudy and found the door of his 'auberge donativo' open with the Father (baret basque on his head) and his helper Christian welcoming me. Father Armand led me into the kitchen and simply asked 'Antonius, do you mind if I wash your feet'? I said that I did not, and he meticulously washed and dried my tired feet. The Father acted like Jesus. His eyes sparkled and he prayed while he took care of my feet. He wanted to know the names of my wife and two children and then prayed for me, my wife, family and friends aloud. Really, my feet were not only clean but all tiredness was gone and the Father and me prayed together. He then gave me a medaillon to protect me during my long walk and went on to see sick people in his parish. What an event; I never even had expected something like it in my life.
I was the only guest in the dormitory and slept very well, hearing the river gurgling outside the open window. Then at breakfast I met a young French couple from Lille that had stayed overnight in the only room he had; they were on their way back, walking of course, from the famous Catholic youth gathering featuring Pope Francis in Lisbon. Father Armand briefly peeked into the kitchen and blessed us all handing each of us three a note in our language (translated by google) in which he was thankful for our visit! What a person! Such a saint!
FEAR....les 'Patous'; the dogs that protect the sheep at all costs.
During my six days walk through the French Pyrenees I saw every day a few shepherds, mostly in their sixties guiding large herds of sheep. All had two kinds of dogs:
1. the Scottish 'Border collies' that keep the herd together, guide these upon the instructions of the shepherd and bring back sheep that wander away from the herd. A wonderful sight to see these intelligent and skilled 'collies'.
2. the French 'Patous' that actually protect the herd against wolves and bears. These 'Patous' are huge white dogs at the shoulders measuring upto 75 cms. The shepherds assure that the puppies are born inside the herd (on the farm in the winter and outside in the pastures during spring and summer). Puppies grow up for two years with the sheep and basically are kept away from the shepherds and other humans. As a result these 'Patous' associate with the herd and are prepared to protect the sheep vigorously. They do listen to the shepherd and a few times I was able to come very close to them in my conversations with these mountain shepherds.
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| A Patou sheep dog on the alert |
I was told that in general these dogs are not agressive but I was warned to keep my distance from the herds during my walk. Then on day three close to Devil's Bridge outside Oloron Sainte-Marie it happened: I merely followed a wide dirt road; one side the forest, the other side a pasture coralled by a hedge. I saw the sheep some 30 meters away and then suddenly two 'Patous' must have smelled me or heard me and crawled underneath the hedge and came growling after me. Aiaiai, two of these big dogs together. I immediately put my one walking stick close to my body and started to walk very slow, avoiding eye contact with these two growling monsters. They were close...not more than a meter but I kept walking very slow; they kept following me for at least 40 meters growling and ready to attack, I guessed in case I made a sudden move. 'Mon Dieu' I prayed, 'please protect me and let them go back to their sheep'. Then, as the distance between the herd and me increased the dogs let off. Jeepers! Was I scared! I immediately changed my attitude when I saw or heard a flock of sheep: 'Anton stay away of them sheep and move into the forest away from the path'. I later heard from a shepherd that often the herds are left by themselvs with the 'Border collies' and the 'Patous' for hours on end.....no shepherd to be seen.
Convent / Hospital San Anton, close to Castrojeriz: no facilities and therefore unique; 12 October, day 19.
The now defunct Order of Saint Anthony was established by noblemen in the 11th century in France and at one stage the Order managed more than 370 hospitals. In the Middle Ages 'St. Anthony's Fire' was a serious illness caused by fungus-contaminated grain (rye) which in many regions throughout Europe was a staple food; including the NL. It starts off with sores all over the body with convulsions and a burning sensation felt in toes, fingers, hands, knees etc. It could lead to gangrene, hallucinations and eventually a horrible death.
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| St. Anthony's Fire; Painting by Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch. Around 1500 |
The monks in San Anton had an excellent reputation to take care of and operate those who suffered from it (mostly amputations...) and they treated suffering pilgrims as well. Hospital and convent were separated by the road (still as it is now) and for those pilgrims that did not ask for a health check or treatment there was a special niche in the wall where bread and wine was available 'to take and go'.
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| Wine and bread for pilgrims to take and go; 'para llevar'. |
The Order was taken over by the Benedictines in the 13th century and by 1700 the illness had somehow disappeared. Nowadays only the ruins exist and it is an excellent place to rest and stay overnight. Which I did. And I was the only pilgrim since the Convent (donativo) is without electricity, no wifi, no hot water. Clearly the modern pilgrim cannot do without a smartphone! I was alone in the simple dormitory and had an excellent dinner outside under the stars with the volunteers Peter and Antonino who run the place.
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| Ruins of Convent/Hospital San Anton Now albergue donativo |
Xacabeo and his legend in Muxia: la 'Costa da Morte'. In the Galician dialect and writing San Thiago is called Xacabeo. My last 10 days of the whole trip I walked through the rain across Galicia from the East to the coast; to the infamous 'Costa da Morte' that gets its name because of the many shipwrecks in the past 2000 years. And indeed, I encountered a few heavy storms with howling winds myself. Already the last 6 days before entering Santiago it was every day 'poncho day'. On and on it kept raining.
I had a few days on my hand before taking the plane back to Charleroi in Belgium and therefore I took the bus to Fisterra ( finis terra = the end of the world as seen some 1000 years ago). I walked up to the famous lighthouse and decided to give it a try and walk the 55 kms from Cape Fisterra via the village of Lires to Muxia.
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| Cape Fisterra |
Two days later I entered Muxia along its pretty beach and walked up to the port where there is a statue indicating that at that special place nearly 2000 years ago Saint James was present to work as a missionary. Legend has it that he felt disappointed for lack of success and that Maria appeared to him and his fellow missionaries in a boat approaching the beach and encouraging them not to give up!
I was surprised in a positive way that so many pilgrims continued from Santiago to Fisterra and eventually Muxia.....The End of the Road and it was for Saint James himself kind of the end. I guess he must have seen that he had arrived at the very Western end of the Roman Empire.
I believe I talked, mostly briefly, with at least 150 fellow pilgrims on the road. Then there is a bunch of pilgrims with whom the talk became longer and more detailed about all kinds of subjects; we exchanged names: The seven Brazilian ladies whom I met in France and who walked from Carcassonne to Saint Jean Pied de Port. One evening we all stayed in the same dormitory at Hospital St. Blaise.
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| The ladies from Belo Horizonte and me at dinner/ all of us >65 years |
Luca (FR), Vittorio (IT), Szandor (HU), Joshua (FR), Sabine (DE), Irmgard (DE), Mischa (DE), So (JP), Nancy (CA), Matt (US), Eun Sang (KR), Christian (FR), Javier x 2 (SP), Robin (US), Celine (FR), Alessandra (IT), Serge (FR), Cecilia (SE), Carlos (BR), Stefan (CH), Peter (CZ), Antonino (IT) / those that I do recall. A couple of them I saw on the road again and again.
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| With Javier and Robin early morning in El Espinosa de Camino close to village of Ages, day 16 |
A review of my daily schedule:
23 September day 0 Arrival Lourdes from Bordeaux / FRANCE
24 September day 1 Lourdes to Betharram 18 kms / Chemin de Piemont in FRANCE
25 September day 2 Betharram to Arudy 26 kms
26 September day 3 Arudy to Oloron Sainte-Marie 29 kms
27 September day 4 Oloron Sainte-Marie to Hospital St. Blaise 24 kms
28 September day 5 Hospital St. Blaise to Mauleon 18 kms
29 September day 6 Mauleon to St. Juste Ibarre 29 kms
30 September day 7 St. Juste Ibarre to St. Jean Pied de Port 25 kms
1 October day 8 St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles 25 kms / entering SPAIN on Camino Frances
2 October day 9 Roncesvalles to Zabaldika 35 kms
3 October day 10 Zabaldika to Pamplona 12 kms
4 October day 11 Pamplona to Lorca 38 kms
5 October day 12 Lorca to Sansol 39 kms
6 October day 13 Sansol to Navarrete 33 kms
7 October day 14 Navarrete to Azofra 24 kms
8 October day 15 Azofra to Belorado 34 kms
9 October day 16 Belorado to Ages 28 kms
10 October day 17 Ages to Tardajos 30 kms
11 October day 18 Tardajos to Convent San Anton 28 kms
12 October day 19 Convent San Anton to Fromista 26 kms
13 October day 20 Fromista to Cazadilla de la Cueza 39 kms / with Valerie Clemence
14 October day 21 Cazadilla de la Cueza to Sahagun 25 kms / with Valerie Clemence
15 October day 22 Sahagun to Mansilla de las Mulas 37 kms
16 October day 23 Mansilla de las Mulas to La Virgin del Camino 26 kms
17 October day 24 La Virgin del Camino to Villares de Orbigo 27 kms
18 October day 25 Villares de Orbigo to Santa Catalina de Somoza 28 kms
19 October day 26 Santa Catalina de Somoza to El Acebo de San Miguel 26 kms
20 October day 27 El Acebo de San Miguel to Camponaraya 28 kms
21 October day 28 Camponaraya to Trabadelo 27 kms
22 October day 29 Trabadelo to Alto do Poio 31 kms
23 October day 30 Alto do Poio to Sarria 32 kms
24 October day 31 Sarria to Portomarin 23 kms
25 October day 32 Portomarin to Palas de Rei 25 kms
26 October day 33 Palas de Rei to Arzua 29 kms
27 October day 34 Arzua to Pedrouzo 21 kms / with Kesso Gabrielle
28 October day 35 Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela 22 kms / with Kesso Gabrielle / Arrival in Santiago de Compostela
29 October day 36 Bus Santiago de Compostela to Fisterra town
30 October day 37 Cape Fisterra to Lires 28 kms
31 October day 38 Lires to Muxia 25 kms
1 November day 39 Bus from Muxia to Santiago de Compostela
2 November day 40 Visit Santiago de Compostela
3 November day 41 Flight Santiago de Compostela to Charleroi, train to Hamont and car to Leende = home in the NL.
25 September day 2 Betharram to Arudy 26 kms
26 September day 3 Arudy to Oloron Sainte-Marie 29 kms
27 September day 4 Oloron Sainte-Marie to Hospital St. Blaise 24 kms
28 September day 5 Hospital St. Blaise to Mauleon 18 kms
29 September day 6 Mauleon to St. Juste Ibarre 29 kms
30 September day 7 St. Juste Ibarre to St. Jean Pied de Port 25 kms
1 October day 8 St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles 25 kms / entering SPAIN on Camino Frances
2 October day 9 Roncesvalles to Zabaldika 35 kms
3 October day 10 Zabaldika to Pamplona 12 kms
4 October day 11 Pamplona to Lorca 38 kms
5 October day 12 Lorca to Sansol 39 kms
6 October day 13 Sansol to Navarrete 33 kms
7 October day 14 Navarrete to Azofra 24 kms
8 October day 15 Azofra to Belorado 34 kms
9 October day 16 Belorado to Ages 28 kms
10 October day 17 Ages to Tardajos 30 kms
11 October day 18 Tardajos to Convent San Anton 28 kms
12 October day 19 Convent San Anton to Fromista 26 kms
13 October day 20 Fromista to Cazadilla de la Cueza 39 kms / with Valerie Clemence
14 October day 21 Cazadilla de la Cueza to Sahagun 25 kms / with Valerie Clemence
15 October day 22 Sahagun to Mansilla de las Mulas 37 kms
16 October day 23 Mansilla de las Mulas to La Virgin del Camino 26 kms
17 October day 24 La Virgin del Camino to Villares de Orbigo 27 kms
18 October day 25 Villares de Orbigo to Santa Catalina de Somoza 28 kms
19 October day 26 Santa Catalina de Somoza to El Acebo de San Miguel 26 kms
20 October day 27 El Acebo de San Miguel to Camponaraya 28 kms
21 October day 28 Camponaraya to Trabadelo 27 kms
22 October day 29 Trabadelo to Alto do Poio 31 kms
23 October day 30 Alto do Poio to Sarria 32 kms
24 October day 31 Sarria to Portomarin 23 kms
25 October day 32 Portomarin to Palas de Rei 25 kms
26 October day 33 Palas de Rei to Arzua 29 kms
27 October day 34 Arzua to Pedrouzo 21 kms / with Kesso Gabrielle
28 October day 35 Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela 22 kms / with Kesso Gabrielle / Arrival in Santiago de Compostela
29 October day 36 Bus Santiago de Compostela to Fisterra town
30 October day 37 Cape Fisterra to Lires 28 kms
31 October day 38 Lires to Muxia 25 kms
1 November day 39 Bus from Muxia to Santiago de Compostela
2 November day 40 Visit Santiago de Compostela
3 November day 41 Flight Santiago de Compostela to Charleroi, train to Hamont and car to Leende = home in the NL.
Now I have been to all major Roman Catholic Pilgrim sites:
1. Bethlehem and Jerusalem; where Jesus was born and crucified
2. Rome / the Vatican; seat of the first Pope Saint Peter and capital of the Holy See
3. Lourdes; in 1858 Maria appeared to Bernadette Soubirous
4. Fatima in Portugal; Maria appeared to three shepherd children in 1917
5. Santiago de Compostela; burial place of the remains of Saint James the Greater = San Thiago
6. Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City; Mary appeared to Juan Diego in 1531.
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| Overlooking the Pyrenees from France |
The End of this Camino Frances; hopefully next year with Biya the Camino Primitivo from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela...some 340 kms.
A detailed and excellent book, published in 2005 with illustrations is:
Les Chemins de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle (in French) ISBN 2-911515-21-8
www.msm-editions.fr
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| Arrival Cathedral Santiago de Compostela |
PS1 My backpack weighed 6.3 kgs without food/water. I traveled with only a bottle of half a liter of water. Food can be bought everywhere. So I rarely had more than 7kgs on my back!
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| Packing at home came to 6.3 kgs |
PS2 How much did I spent? Roughly for flights/train/bus ; lodging and food and small incidentals,
plus new boots over a period of 42 days.
My estimation roughly calculated comes to 2400 euros.
And I lived very well!!
If you feel like it you may leave a comment on my blog.
Otherwise comments can also be sent to my e-mail: tonvanzutphen@gmail.com
