I'm Home from the Portugues Route

[Scott Horton]

Thank you for your account.  As a new member of the listserve, it was the
first I have read!
I am hopng to do the Camino from the France/Spain border in the spring of
2005 and look forward to hearing more from members of this site.

Peace and best wishes,

Scott


>From: Sue Kenney <sue.kenneyaSYMPATICO.CA>
>Reply-To: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
>To: GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
>Subject: I'm Home from the Portugues Route
>Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2004 14:10:04 -0400
>
>Everyone,
>
>I made it. I walked over 500 kms in 18 days. Valenca, Portugal to
>Santiago for Easter Sunday. Santiago to Fisterra. Fisterra to Muxia and
>then back to Valenca. What an incredible journey. This is a long note,
>so if you are not interested in some of the experiences I had you might
>want to just delete it. There weren't many convenient internet sites to
>send emails so I apologise for not writing.
>
>I left on 040404 the day before a full moon. Flew from Toronto  and
>while on a stopover in Frankfurt on my way there, I was professionally
>pickpocketed and lost about 300 Euros. I thought about the story of the
>Queen who built the bridge in Puenta la Reina so the pilgrims wouldn't
>be robbed. Here I was a modern day pilgrim, being robbed. Then I arrived
>in Vigo, Spain to find they had lost my backpack. For 2 days I walked in
>the same clothes I wore on the plane. A young male pilgrim lent me a
>sweatshirt to wear to bed and I found some blankets to use because I
>didn't have a sleeping bag. Lots of challenges. Had the wrong socks and
>no vaseline so I got really nasty blisters. Then I left my eyeglasses
>for distance, somewhere in a forest when I stopped for a break. A true
>pilgrm stripped of all the assumed basice needs. Eventually got my
>backback and had a least some conveniences.
>
>Had 14 days of sun with 5 minutes of rain one day. Then 2 days of
>constant rain.(I was told by the English professor Adam who lives in
>Mos, that the rain one of those days equaled 1.7% of all the rain that
>fell in Galicia last year!) Even my Gortex jacket leaked.  The albergues
>are excellent offering hot water, heating, kitchen facilities and new
>bunk beds. But I wonder why they are always situated on the top of a
>hill...at the end of the day the last thing I wanted to do was climb
>another hill.
>
>Galicia is like a heaven on earth. Climbed many mountains, walked
>through many gorgeous forests of Eucalyptus trees, chestnut trees and
>green foliage. For the first time I have seen the Spanish flora. The
>grape vines were just blooming. Butterflies were out and so were the
>flies and bees. Saw a couple of mosquitos too. Part of the route is
>along the highway, which can be very discouraging but well worth it when
>you get to the forests.
>
>The week before Easter there were many celebrations in the smaller
>cities and villages. I was fortunate to see some of them. No pilgrims
>mass on Easter Sunday in Santiago, but I left all the intentions in a
>stone on a pillar near the Portico de la Gloria entrace.  I was the only
>pilgrim not from Spain or Portugal walking the route. Also, the only
>"sola" pilgrim. The people couldn't understand why I was walking alone.
>They were all there with their families and friends to celebrate Easter
>and ended up caring for me. It was lovely.
>
>Before I left I was given an Eagle Feather by a woman on the Six Nations
>Reserve near where I live. She has the responsibility of deciding who
>should receive one of the highest honors of their culture, an Eagle
>Feather. She had a dream about me that she was to give it to me to give
>to someone on my journey. Every person I met was a prospect for the
>Eagle Feather. The stories are wonderful.
>
>I loved Fisterra, but really loved Muxia even more. (Thank you David for
>encouraging me to go here.) The church is built on the rocks overlooking
>the Costa del Morte where the oil disaster happened over a year ago. I
>slept in a gymnasium that night with 3 other pilgrims, on the floor on
>mats since there is no Albergue. That day I had taken my boots, socks
>and bandages off my feet to go into the sea. As I stood there the waves
>crashed around my feet and the sea salt felt great on my blisters. Then
>my blisters started to hurt. I thought it was the salt, but when I
>looked closer, the crashing waves had forced the sand into the blisters
>filling them up. I wondered how I would get the sand out and suspected I
>would end up at the hospital. I soaked my feet and opened the other side
>of the blister to try to flush out the sand. Got most of it out and
>could walk. The next day, I carried on even though the sand was still
>lodged between the skin. I literally walked with stones in my feet..
>Stone by Stone, ironically the name of my storytelling CD about the
>Camino Frances. 2 weeks later the stones are still under the skin, but
>there is no infection. Eventually, they will be freed I am sure.
>
>Now, let me tell you about walking the reverse route. Every day I got
>lost more than once. I added at least 5k a day to my mileage because of
>this. The first day walking back from Muxia, I walked up a mountain for
>about 2kms reaching the top. At the time I was meditaing while walking,
>and saw a yellow arrow. Forgetting that I was walking the return route
>of the Camino, I followed the yellow arrow all the way to the bottom of
>the mountain. I met a farmer and he informed me I was going the wrong
>way. When I realized I had walked all the way around the mountian, I
>started to cry. I sat down and waited for a car to come, but nothing
>happened. After 1/2 hour I put on my backpack and started to walk again.
>
>Often I reached a fork in the road and couldn't determine which
>direction to go in. There are "Blue" arrows painted along the way, that
>lead to Fatima. Often I followed these arrows and they saved me many
>times. The local villagers are very helpful, and although I don't speak
>Spanish, I managed to learn some key words. Most days on the return
>route I would start walking in the morning at 8sh and not get to the
>next refugio until 6 or 7PM. Getting lost not only involves more
>mileage, but it requires a lot more time to figure out where to go. At
>each intersection one mush stop and really assess the situation.
>
>In Santiago for the second time, I had the pilgrim's meal at the
>Paradore on Sunday night, Monday morning and stayed for Monday lunch
>too. There were only 3 pilgrims there each time. The food was great and
>it was a thrill to be there again.
>
>I tried to keep a log of the return journey with some details of the
>path to pass onto others who consider this route. I would strongly
>recommend doing the Portuguese route both ways. Coming home I findd it
>ismuch easier to integrate into my life here, so far. Although it is
>early, I have a different feeling of completion, that I didn't
>expereince doing the French route.
>
>The first day I walked from Muxia, I was really frustrated because I
>couldn't find my way. I kept questioning why I decided to do this to
>myself. I really wanted to quit, take a bus to Santiago and walk from
>there. I had a lousy map too. But I didn't quit. I met a Spanish pilgrim
>who told me when you are walking from Santiago/ Fisterre/ Muxia, it is a
>triangle. While walking the triangle, he told me, you are in the "eye of
>God". That was it for me. I wasn't quitting while in the eye of God. I
>made a barter with him, that if I continued then he would help me to
>tell my story. He agreed. I knew I would be taken care of...you are
>never alone on the Camino. A number of the locals invited me into their
>homes for cafe and food. I went to church with one family. They were
>proud to show me to the local villagers.
>
>After the second day of walking I found myself smiling all the time,
>knowing I was going home.
>
>I arrived in Valenca Portugal early in the afternoon and decided to take
>the bus to Mount Santa Tecla. What an experience that was. Wow.
>
>So many stories. I will try to get the details of the walk on my web
>site over the next couple of weeks. I have some pictures on CD but not
>sure how to send them to the archives.
>
>If anyone is interested in the Portuguese Camino, don't hesitate to
>email me for details.
>
>By the way, after meeting many pilgrims along the way, I didn't get the
>right feeling from any of them that they were to have the Eagle Feather.
>It represents leadership as the Eagle soars the highest of all the birds
>and recognises respect, love and gratitude. I ended up giving the Eagle
>Feather to a German pilgrim  I had met and fell in love with on my first
>Camino. We reconnected in Frankfurt on my return home. Long story.
>
>Thanks for all you wishes and prayers. I hugged the Apostle for all of
>you.
>
>Peace and love as you journey,
>
>Sue
>
>sue.kenneyasympatico.ca
>http://www.suekenney.ca

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