A Nice Adventure — Camino de Santiago; Michael
I’m not sure exactly when I first heard about the Camino de Santiago. It is a grand 780 kilometre, month-long pilgrimage route from the French border, through Spain, to the city of Santiago de Compostela (the “French Way”, although other less popular routes exist). I do remember becoming excited about the idea of walking it upon seeing the film The Way starring Martin Sheen (actor for the president in West Wing), and then visiting Santiago in 2018 and watching pilgrims (or peregrinos in Spanish) reaching the cathedral at the end of their journey.
I was attracted to the idea of a long walk through the European countryside, farmland and villages. I had heard people speak fondly of their time walking the Camino, and the people they had met along the way. The camaraderie and the culture of the Camino appealed to me.
In 2019, Michelle asked me what I wanted for my 40th birthday. Rather than a party, I told her I’d like to go walk the Camino instead. At the time, in the midst of all of the stresses associated with running Rome2rio and selling the business, the idea of escaping to the other side of the world to take this journey and decompress was very appealing. Life had other plans, however, and by the time we’d sold the business, and I had departed, COVID had come along. Two more years later, and now living in France, it was much easier to finally undertake this journey. At the end of our recent holiday I flew directly from London to Spain to begin walking a section, some 248 kilometres, of the Camino.
I chose the small town of Rabanal del Camino as the starting point for my journey, and arrived late afternoon after flying to Madrid, taking a high-speed train to León, and then a taxi to the town. I’d chosen Rabanal because my research had indicated I could complete the Camino and arrive in Santiago within 10 days, meaning I’d be back in Nice in time for Brendan’s Grade 5 Exhibition (it was the culmination of many weeks’ work and he was very keen that I attended). A guidebook that had been lent to me by our friend Gina indicated that I had 11 stages to complete, but I figured I could combine two of the shorter stages into one and get home in time. Online forums also suggested that this final 248 kilometre stretch of the Camino was quite scenic.
I arrived at my hotel and sat down for dinner next to a Hong Kong — American woman named Julie, who was taking a break from life as a mother and wife to walk the Camino. I told her she was the first pilgrim I’d met and preceded to pepper her with questions. Like most pilgrims she was staying at Albergues, the standard dormitory accommodation along the Camino. This accommodation costs around 10–12 euro. Since I’m pretty passionate about my sleep, I opted for hotels which generally ranged from 1 to 2 stars and cost a pretty modest 50 to 60 Euro for the night. They were perfectly comfortable.
Julie and I both had the Pilgrim’s Menu, a pretty standard Entree — Main — Desert menu at restaurants along the trail for around 10–12 euro. Afterwards, Julie took me to the bar of an Albergue, where I purchased by Credencial del Peregrino. This is the booklet I needed to collect stamps along the way. All going well, those stamps would be shown at the pilgrim’s office in Santiago to prove I had completed the Camino (or at least the minimum of the final 100 kilometres) and receive my certificate of completion.
I learnt that pilgrims really love their Credencials, complete with a range of colourful stamps that provide a memory of the journey and places they visited. You should collect at least two stamps each day, from the accommodations, restaurants, bars and cafes along the way. Pilgrims are often quite selective of which stamps to get, given the limited space in the Credencials for pilgrims completing the entire French Way. If someone discovers an attractive stamp then others will rush to also collect this one. Sometimes the worker will stamp the Credencial for you, but at more popular rest stops we found the stamp set up on a DIY table.
The next morning I walked briefly with Julie but it was pretty clear I had a faster pace, and she was happy to walk alone, so we parted ways. Some people you bump into many times on the Camino, but Julie’s slower pace than mine meant I would not see her again. I spent most of the day walking solo, whilst chatting to a few people at restaurants and cafes along the way. I reached Cruz de Ferro, the highest point along the Camino Frances (French Way). At this cross, you are meant to leave a rock that represents your burdens or worries. I regretted not bringing a nice smooth Galet pebble from Nice’s beaches. Instead I deposited a small rock I had collected earlier that day. I was moved as I watched a lovely older couple place of a photo, presumably of a lost loved-one, amongst the pebbles. This was clearly a journey of grieving for them.
I finished the day in the town of Molinaseca, having walked around 26 kilometres. The next day I started early with a distance of 31 kilometres required to complete the next stage according to Gina’s book. After visited the castle in Ponferrada I met Steve, a sporty Welsh ex-military guy who was walking the Camino to raise funds for his war veterans charity. Steve was clocking 45 kilometres each day through a combination of walking and running. In the middle of a rather daunting 31 kilometre day myself, I was in awe of Steve’s accomplishment. I managed to keep pace with Steve for about an hour before he headed off down the track whilst I stopped for a break.
Later that day I met Josh and Betsy. These two young, energetic Americans were good company and two of my favourite people that I met on the Camino. We walked together that afternoon, covering some 15 kilometres, as we shared stories. They pointed out the Jesus tags that were spray painted all along the Camino. Somebody had decided to similarly place Michael Jackson tags along the way as well. Often Jesus and Michael Jackson were found together. It was one of those odd little cultural bits of the Camino experience.
Aside from the stunning landscape — we were now entering the Spanish region of Galicia — and the pretty villages, the Camino was full of art. I loved this part of the Camino experience. This included interesting sculptures, amazing murals, donavitos (little shops where you pay through donation) and an unusual bar decorated with thousands of empty beer bottles. The markers showing the way were also varied and often beautiful. The shell symbol representing the Camino appeared in many forms, as did the indicative yellow arrow.
After a night at Villafranca del Bierzo, I had my sights set on another 30 kilometre day. This time I’d be combining two stages from Gina’s book. They were 18 and 12 kilometres respectively, and an climb of around 900 meters to reach O Cebreiro. I figured if I could pull that off, I would then be set to reach Santiago in time. I departed early and made good progress solo, listening to music and podcasts. I chatted with an American from Seattle, two young Dutch brothers, and saw Betsy and Josh again. I made the final push up to O Cebreiro only to discover that all the hotels were full. I ended up grabbing a taxi (which are actually readily available along the Camino, as well as baggage services if you’d rather shell out 5 Euro to have to bag taken to your next stop) 12 kilometres down the road to Fonfría and a lovely looking Albergue that featured private rooms. (So I actually only walked 236 kilometres of the Camino.)
It turned out most fortuitous, because I met David and Gaurav (both American) and their Camino family in Fonfría. I ended up walking the rest of the way with this fantastic group that also included Mette-Lise from Denmark, Ben from Korea, Tony from the US, Dorne from Germany, and the amazing Orka from Belgium. Orka was just 15 years old and had started the Camino solo, something that I could never imagine having the guts (or perhaps blessing from my parents) to do at that age. I enjoyed walking the rest of the way to Santiago with this group, sharing stories and learning about them and their lives.
Most of the group had walked the French Way from the beginning and met early on in the journey. They were mostly in their 30s, and had built up a fair bit of fitness over the last few weeks. They were ready to walk 30 kilometres each day, and by sticking with them I was going to have no trouble completing the Camino in time. The group also included Helene from Belgium, and Johannes from Germany, but I didn’t meet them until a couple of days later. They were ahead of the rest of the group, and helpfully relayed information over Whatsapp about the trail ahead, such as which way to go at choice points or which towns or restaurants were nice.
Somewhat to my surprise, few people I met on the Camino were overtly religious or clearly walking it for religious reasons. Some were doing it to escape regular life, perhaps because of the loss of a loved one or maybe due to a relationship break-up. I met a few people who worked in healthcare, who were burnt out by Covid and needed the break. Most people I met were doing it for a cultural / backpacking experience and as sport, to accomplish something physical like running a marathon. Some people I heard about and never actually met. Several people mentioned an Australian father and son duo that was a couple of days behind me. One woman sat down at a cafe and asked me “where is your son?” clearly confusing me for this other legendary dad. I heard about a woman who was walking all the way from Hungry with no money, begging along the way. About half of the pilgrims were Spanish and I couldn’t even really communicate with them. Many of the rest were from Europe.
On my forth day of walking, along with my new Camino buddies, I reached Sarria. This town is around 115 kilometres from Santiago and a popular starting point for pilgrims wanting to accomplish at least 100 kilometres and receive a certificate of completion. The next day I was amazed by the sudden increase in pilgrim numbers, it seemed roughly four times as many people were walking along this final stretch of the way.
By this stage my feet were in pretty rough shape with a lot of blisters. (For the reader’s benefit I have omitted photos.) I had never walked 30 kilometres in a day before. Typically when hiking in Australia we do up to 20 kilometres in a day since we are carrying a lot more gear and the walking is often challenging and technical. The Camino is flat (sometimes undulating) track. Other pilgrims used Vaseline on their feet each morning. Gaurav swore by his “toe socks” (socks with individual space for each toe, preventing rubbing between toes). My walking mates had been walking for weeks and their feet had toughened up. Mine were covered in blisters and I was doing my best to patch them up.
After two more 30 kilometre days, we walked into the town of Melide at about 7pm. Over dinner the group talked about making a final push and walking the final 52 kilometres to Santiago tomorrow. The idea of a big 50+ day had been discussed by the group for the last few days, and I had listened in thinking they were crazy. Orka was planning to set off at 3am. The rest were planning a 5am start. I went to sleep a bit disappointed that I’d be completing the Camino without the company of this lovely group of people.
I woke the next morning at 6:45am to discover that Mette-Lise and David had yet to depart. They’d decided to set off at 7am and see how they’d go. I excitedly joined them, and the first 5 kilometres before breakfast went quickly. The weather of the last week had been almost perfect for walking; and today was no exception. We made good progress and by the time we had a late lunch, we had done 25 kilometres and had “just” 27 kilometres to go. I was ready to commit and booked a hotel for the evening in Santiago. We had dinner at 7pm with 10 kilometres to go. The sun was setting at 9pm as we made our final approach through the forest to reach the city limits. Finally, at 9.45pm we reached the finish line, the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
It had taken just seven days to reach Santiago. The next day I submitted my Credencials and received my Compostela, a document certifying my completion of the Camino, which was a bit of an emotional moment for me. Our group spent the day resting and exploring Santiago, and I enjoyed hanging out at the square in front of the cathedral and watching other pilgrims arrive. The next day I said farewell to the group (many who were walking a extra four days to the western coast) and returned to Nice — two days before Brendan’s exhibition.
All up it was a great experience and pretty much everything I hoped it would be. I met some amazing people, and the landscape was gorgeous. I enjoyed the ease of walking with a smaller 28 litre backpack and carrying a relatively light 6–7 kilograms. It was nice to have regular cafe and hot food available throughout the day, and a comfortable bed and hot shower each evening. I am not sure I would walk the entire 780 kilometres in one go, but I would like to return and walk the first week of the French Way which is also meant to be very scenic. Or perhaps tackle the Portuguese Way, another route. Until then, I’m just happy to see my blisters and the rest of my body heal from the ordeal. Buen Camino!
