I'm Home from the Portugues Route

[Sue Kenney]

Scott,

Glad you enjoyed the account. I have a short story about my spiritual
experience on the Camino Frances walking alone in 2001 that you can read at
http://www.suekenney.ca/mycamino

Buen Camino,
Sue

Scott Horton wrote:

> 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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