In early May 2022, James (Hamez) and I walked into Santiago de Compostela. We had walked 38km that day, determined to finish our Camino. We were tired, elated, laughing, crying and generally experiencing all of the emotions that millions of pilgrims have had over hundreds of years.
We had spent the last 5 weeks walking 800km from St Jean Pied de Port in France, west across Spain on the Camino Frances. We met wonderful people, walked amazing landscapes, ate incredible food and generally had a great experience.
When we returned home our lives were sent into a spin within a matter of days. Mum was rushed to hospital and within a few months we would lose her. Mum had always been so supportive of our adventures over the years. I know she got a great deal of joy out of reading our blog. With mum unwell and dad still fighting his own fight against cancer, we had no time to think greatly about our Camino experience.
On top of that, my eldest daughter Alexandra was studying in Paris and had some terrible struggles of her own. Then not long after mum passed away, my second daughter, Georgie, was rushed to hospital. The diagnosis after some weeks was multiple sclerosis.
There’s a saying that your Camino begins in Santiago. The second half of 2022 was such a whirlwind of anxiety and grief, the Camino had largely been forgotten. The reminders were messages from pilgrims, lengthy phone conversations about bringing the Camino home and Hamez and I appearing on Dan Mullins’ My Camino the Podcast. In January 2023, Hamez and I attended the Australian Friends of the Camino conference in Melbourne. It was great to meet up with Leo and his dad James, Dan and all the other wonderful people who attended.
The Camino was keeping a slender grip on our conscience, in spite of what was happening in our lives.
I thought it would be some years before another opportunity would arise to set foot on the Camino. Claire and I were planning a trip to Europe, mainly to attend a wedding in Yorkshire and to meet up with friends and family in France for Claire’s 50th. There was a small window of time between the two and I mooted the idea of a brief side trip to walk part of a Camino. I didn’t really know where to go – France, Portugal, Italy, Spain – there are som many options. When I sat down and thought about it, the most logical was to walk the 100 or so kilometres from Santiago de Compostela to the sea.
When Hamez and I got to Santiago last year, I asked him if he wanted to continue to Muxia and Fisterra. No! I’m done with walking, was his quick reply. We stayed a couple of nights and got to enjoy the company of so many great pilgrims we’d met along the way. Then, all too soon, we boarded a train to Madrid and the Camino disappeared into the distance.
This morning I woke early, caught a bus to Stansted airport and made my way through a river of anxious and excited humanity to board a flight to Santiago. Ryanair is simple and for my first experience, pretty good for a 1:45 flight. As we descended into Santiago, it looked cloudy. Once on the ground, it was sunny and hot. The first marker indicated a little over 15km and told me I was on The Sky Way, a short and to be honest, very dull few kilometres from the terminal to the Camino itself. Despite that, I may be able to brag in years to come – Have you walked The Sky Way? I will ask. Well no, will come the reply. I will raise my eyebrows in a manner that suggests that they are missing out on something great. If only.
It was little over an hour before I saw the first few pilgrims. I was setting a handy pace, unhindered by nearly 800km of walking. Many had bandages, straps and tape, their badges of honour as they hobbled along. They were either tanned by weeks under the sun or sunburnt. Tide lines were evident around ankles and shoulders. They had the manner and sensibility of a pilgrim, I looked like a tourist, for now.
The sun beat down and I broke out my umbrella, a new addition to my walking kit since last year and one I was grateful for. Under my hat I was sweaty and hot, under the umbrella, relatively cool.
So many memories flooded back. There was the spot Hamez and I stopped for a cold drink and Basque cheesecake. There was the place we threw our walking poles, knowing we only needed to walk another 5 or 6km mostly downhill. There was Monto de Gozo where we diverted from the Camino to take photos with the statues of the pilgrims. There was our first view of the Cathedral.
When I look back, walking across Spain with my son was such a great experience. To see him strong and caring and funny and laughing and crying – he started a boy and ended a man. I love him dearly and am so proud of him.
There are also so many memories of our pilgrim family – our pilgramily? Whilst Hamez and I walked into Santiago together, there were so many people who helped us get there. Mads & Mikal, Karin, Anthony & Simone, Dazza, James and Leo. The list goes on. So many great human beings. In Santiago, Hamez and I caught up with all of them. And now here I am.
I’ve checked into the Albergue KM.0, a few metres from the Pilgrim’s Office. I’m back in a bunk bed, oh the joy of being a pilgrim. It’s Saturday afternoon and whilst it’s busy, it seems quieter that when we were last here. The Square has groups and individual pilgrims drinking in the atmosphere, staring up at the Cathedral and reflecting on their achievements with joy and a deal of sombre satisfaction. They jump, they cheer, they cry, they simply lie there, staring up at a building they have walked 800km to see and to simply stop. I want to go and talk to them, ask them how they feel. Ask them what they expect to gain from their experience? What have they learnt, about themselves and about the world?
What about you? I’m sure they would ask. What did you take from the Camino?
What did I take away from my Camino? That you can set the pace of your own life in the manner that you set the pace of your walking along The Way. That life proceeds, whether you choose to engage or not. That if you open yourself to experience, amazing things can happen. But most of all, that, as Uncle Pete (my best mate) says – in the end, there is only love.
The Long Camino 
Great to see your spark has returned, Grant.
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