Unbeliever on the Camino

[Channing Thieme]

Chris, I would like to give your questions a shot.

>...I am troubled about what seems to be a heavy emphasis on religion and
spirituality. Is this an illusion of the "virtual experience" or is it
really a day to day preoccupation of people on the trail?

I walked with my mate Tony for 31 days last Fall.  Religion-wise our
mind-sets are much like your own. There was no specific talk of religion
among the pilgrims on the Camino, per se', but there were half a dozen or so
shared 'religious' experiences in the form of nocturnal "Pelegrino"
(pilgrim) services in ancient monasteries and chapels along the way, often
with monks chanting.  Neither of us subscribe to a religion but these moved
us deeply.  In every instance the safety and well-being of the pilgrims was
asked for in prayer and the sense of unity among the congregation (fellow
pilgrims) was profound.  The official conclusion of a pilgrimage happens
upon receiving the "Compostella" (certificate) and attending the Pilgrim's
Mass at the Cathedral in Santiago, complete with incense, the announcement
of each pilgrim's country of origin, and an incredible sense of celebration
and accomplishment.

>...I always saw my journey on the Appalachian Trail as a sort of
pilgrimage...After many weeks on the trail I began to be aware of a sort of
"oneness" with nature....

The vast majority of the time we walked alone.  For all of our research
before heading to Spain we were taken by surprise by the magnificent beauty
of the land, whether on the mesa or in the mountains.  -Awesome beauty,
every day of the trip.  Almost all of the villages date back to medieval if
not Roman times, and much of the Camino resembles how it was a millennium
ago.

Pilgrims often mention the "flow" along the way.  Some attribute it to the
stars.  Apparently the 'trail' lies directly beneath the Milky Way.  Others
suggest that the millions who have walked this path since the 9th Century
have left behind a "stream of energy".  Whatever, even the greatest of
skeptics, such as Tony, acknowledge a kind of magnetic "pull".  I do not
mean to sound mystical, but in addressing your questions how can one not
mention these seemingly universal experiences of the Camino which
paradoxically are near impossible to explain?  You spoke of your "oneness"
with nature along the Appalachian Trail.  To me the glory of this pilgrimage
was the primal sense of simply 'being': that most comforting of realizations
that while one is but a speck on the horizon one is also an integral part of
'it all'.  I have never felt more at home. Day after day we followed our
shadows west.  -And, day after day consciousness came down to the awareness
of each step.

>With all the overcrowding that I hear so much about, is it possible to
avoid hearing discussions, and possibly arguments, about these very personal
matters?

We heard no arguments nor discussions about religion.  It was not uncommon,
however, for pilgrims to ask one another what brought him/her to the Camino?
Invariably the answers had to do with inner spiritual trekking.  I
appreciated the way in which people were ready and willing to speak honestly
about their personal motivations for making the journey, and never found it
intrusive or inappropriate.  Unprepared - or perhaps not clear enough - to
discuss my own reasons for being there, my answer to what had brought me to
the Camino was simply to say it was a "wake-up call".

 >Do the ever-present artifacts of mankind detract from the infinitely more
impressive works of nature?

There is an abundance of both and plenty of room for them all.

>Can one find solitude if one wishes?

Witness the above.

>Does an unbeliever like me even belong on the Camino?

Only you can decide.  I will say we met an astounding variety of people
stretching from as far away as Tasmania and New Zealand and Chile.  The only
thing we all shared in common was that we were THERE!

Saludos!

Channing