hard life
It´s been a while (long while: almost 3 weeks) since I last posted an update. I think it´s time I add something for the hurds of readers eagerly waiting for news from me ;)
The life of a pilgrim are a hard one: Walk long distances for hours. Eat bad food in weird places. Sleep under the rainy skies only to have a minimal bush (or tree) for cover. Oh well ...
This might have been the life of a pilgrim in the 1000 years ago when pilgrimage to Santiago started at the door of your home and you had nothing but strong will, 1 set of clothes (maybe 2) and little to drink and eat on the way and you had to count on your faith and the good will of churches and monasteries on the way to keep you going. The pilgrimage of the 21st century is a high tech big business (I´m writing this from one of the stops on the way which is free :) In the mid 1990 there were just above 1000 pilgrims a year. By 2003 there were more 18000 and in 2004 the numbers probably doubled. Why am I writing this??? Because you probably want to know how is it going for the unlikely pilgrim ... Going very well in some parts and interesting on others (to put it mildly ;) and it´s hard to write about myself (old habits die slow: though I´m getting better: I gave someone my camera to take p¡ctures of me instead of me taking of them). The question I´ve been asked most is: Am I having fun? Hell yes :) whould be just about the right question. Not all days are good and amazing. I had some miserable days (being sick at the begining and some others I will post about separately) but summing up: Recommended adventure for everyone. It´s not an easy undertaking: You walk anything between 5 (usually the minimum) to as much as you can (I walked 33 KM today) walking. Mostly on tarmack (asfalt), gravel roads and hiking trails. The reward is coming to a place where you are welcome: in most of them you have to pay a little and in the more traditional ones it´s based on donations (those are the ones I enjoyed more and I donated more than I´m asked in the paying ones). Whalk makes Camino de Santiago so amazing is the people you meet and talk to on the road. They come from all walks of life and from all over the world for different reasons. Real pilgrims (reguarded more as vagabonds now :( normal spaniards that took a few days off to walk a few strechs. People that really started from their door step around Europe and tourist that had nothing better to do (like me).
The daily routine is to wake up: Walk for about half (or more) a day. Reach a albergue or refugio (the more traditional shelter). Have a shower. Wash your clothes, relax and eat dinner (red wine is usually on the table if you want it or not and I got drunk a few times). Sleep and all over again the next day. With the people on the way I had some amazing dinners. Interesting talks about life, beliefs, relgion, history and what not.
Details in future posts ... Hasta mañana
The life of a pilgrim are a hard one: Walk long distances for hours. Eat bad food in weird places. Sleep under the rainy skies only to have a minimal bush (or tree) for cover. Oh well ...
This might have been the life of a pilgrim in the 1000 years ago when pilgrimage to Santiago started at the door of your home and you had nothing but strong will, 1 set of clothes (maybe 2) and little to drink and eat on the way and you had to count on your faith and the good will of churches and monasteries on the way to keep you going. The pilgrimage of the 21st century is a high tech big business (I´m writing this from one of the stops on the way which is free :) In the mid 1990 there were just above 1000 pilgrims a year. By 2003 there were more 18000 and in 2004 the numbers probably doubled. Why am I writing this??? Because you probably want to know how is it going for the unlikely pilgrim ... Going very well in some parts and interesting on others (to put it mildly ;) and it´s hard to write about myself (old habits die slow: though I´m getting better: I gave someone my camera to take p¡ctures of me instead of me taking of them). The question I´ve been asked most is: Am I having fun? Hell yes :) whould be just about the right question. Not all days are good and amazing. I had some miserable days (being sick at the begining and some others I will post about separately) but summing up: Recommended adventure for everyone. It´s not an easy undertaking: You walk anything between 5 (usually the minimum) to as much as you can (I walked 33 KM today) walking. Mostly on tarmack (asfalt), gravel roads and hiking trails. The reward is coming to a place where you are welcome: in most of them you have to pay a little and in the more traditional ones it´s based on donations (those are the ones I enjoyed more and I donated more than I´m asked in the paying ones). Whalk makes Camino de Santiago so amazing is the people you meet and talk to on the road. They come from all walks of life and from all over the world for different reasons. Real pilgrims (reguarded more as vagabonds now :( normal spaniards that took a few days off to walk a few strechs. People that really started from their door step around Europe and tourist that had nothing better to do (like me).
The daily routine is to wake up: Walk for about half (or more) a day. Reach a albergue or refugio (the more traditional shelter). Have a shower. Wash your clothes, relax and eat dinner (red wine is usually on the table if you want it or not and I got drunk a few times). Sleep and all over again the next day. With the people on the way I had some amazing dinners. Interesting talks about life, beliefs, relgion, history and what not.
Details in future posts ... Hasta mañana
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home