Plans and reflections

Walking plans

We have walked 302 km in the last fortnight. That’s a similar distance between London and Manchester. We’ve walked up to 1,440 metres which is 100 m higher than Ben Nevis. Our total ascent was 5,500 m compared to Everest at 8,300 m.

Our Credenciales have been pleasingly stamped.

May has been a great time to journey through green Spain. It has been cool with beautiful spring flowers to delight the way. There have been plenty of fellow pilgrims but it is not too busy. We will return again at this time of year.

Today we are catching a bus to Bilbao and then fly back to Gatwick.

Our plan is to return next year to walk a further 300 km to Ponferrada which is just beyond León. Then in 2025 we come back again to walk the remaining 200 km to Santiago de Compostela and on to Finisterre, another 100 km.

Reflections

Has this been just a walking holiday or a pilgrimage? It has been both. We’ve enjoyed the walking and the tourist experience of northern Spain. And it has also been a time to reflect on life.

Beryl and I have spent many days walking together. Our relationship was put on to a permanent basis when we agreed to be married during a walking holiday in the Yorkshire Dales in 1980. 43 years later we still very much enjoy each other’s company particularly when exploring on foot together. We are fortunate we can continue to enjoy this aspect of life together.

In the last 18 months my father and uncle both passed away aged 90. It is not to be morbid but to appreciate life whilst we have it and the health to be active. These are precious years that we have left. We want to make the most of them.

We have very much enjoyed the slow, deliberate pace of life. It has been fascinating to see the landscape alter gradually around us. We have seen where will be in two days’ time. Looking back we can see a similar distance in time. It is a curious conflation of time and space.

Travelling like this allows one to appreciate life around us, the birds, trees, flowers, crops. On much longer timescales the geology shows the movement of the earth with layers of sedimentary rocks at varying angles. The sandstones show different deposits over millenia. A few metres can display thousands of years. Again time and distance become almost interchangeable.

The Camino was thought to align with the Milky Way. The two Ways are linked. Not just the Earth but a wider progress.

From a religious perspective I can claim no insights or understanding. I have though come to an appreciation of iconography in the church context. There is something beautiful about the images that transcends the object itself.

We have met people from different countries and had fascinating conversations. We have exchanged Buen Camino many times and it has been heartfelt. The Way is a great leveller. We are all making the same journey. Some are faster, some slower. Some are carrying heavy loads, some the lightest of day packs. But the road is the same. We all get to the same destinations. It rains or shines independent of status, age, gender, wealth.

I was concerned at the start how my replacement hip would stand up to the constant walking. All has been fine even if the muscles got a little tired in this leg. I am most grateful for the medical technology and the skill of the orthopaedic surgeon as well as all the other medical staff who helped me recuperate.

As we look forward we want to maintain this gratitude for the joy of life. To enjoy the company of our family and friends. To appreciate the world around us at small and large scales. To take time to contemplate. To enjoy walking together both literally and metaphorically.

And we will be back in Spain. Hopefully with some more language skills and a better understanding of Spanish history and culture.

¡Hasta pronto!