THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO: More than just a walk.
I guess I should probably delve into the “what” of it all a bit more before going much further…
The Camino was actually my second pilgrimage.
In 2019, I did the Kumano Kodō’s Nakaheshi route in Japan. This historic (mostly, it’s complicated) shinto pilgrimage links three main shrines, the main one being Kumano Hongū Taisha. It’s a route that was even undertaken by emperors back in the day. In addition to shrines, it’s also home to Buddhist temples and sacred natural sites like the stunning Nachi falls. Although much shorter than the Camino Francès (the Nakaheshi is typically completed in 5 days), it takes place in the mountains over more challenging terrain. Rather than 20-30KM days, you aim for 10KM on the Kumano Kodō.
But what makes a pilgrimage different than a walk? I liked that my (soon to be abandoned) Brierley guide nudged me to think about the question a bit before starting my journey on the Camino Francès.
For me, both pilgrimages were a way to try and recover from overwork, and came about from a desperate need of the polar opposite of spending days sitting at a desk, looking at screens filled with artifice. Both pilgrimages were not just walking, but intentional walking. No distractions. No music*. Just me, my feet, a backpack, the path, and the wide open world all around.
And an awareness of it all, good and bad.
And not just any path, but a path with a long and deep history of people who, just like you, find themselves searching for something by simply putting one foot ahead of the other. From saints to royalty to regular-degular Joes.
Side note: One of my Camino friends said they chose the Francès path because, since it’s the oldest one, they like to think that if any of their ancestors did the pilgrimage, this was the route they would’ve taken. And there’s something nice about sharing that same path. Having mostly French and Western European ancestry myself, I thought that was a neat idea.
Of course, the word pilgrimage implies religion. And the Camino, with its end point being not only Santiago de Compostela but the (alleged) tomb of Saint James, definitely qualifies as a religious endeavour for many.
Religion.
I know.
It’s a tricky word for me, too.
I had a very religious upbringing. For many years, catholicism and Acadia went hand in hand. Because of geographical and linguistic isolation, our villages didn’t have cops, they had priests. Two of my great aunts are/were sisters, and another one was a cloistered nun. I grew up with the phrase “C’est pas catholique!” as a way to describe anything odd or different or just plain wrong — and it wasn’t until I was a bit older that I realized how striking that choice of words was. If mass at least once a week was non-negociable, you can imagine how it was for catechism and the sacraments…
Only once I moved out was I free to do as I pleased.
(And only once I moved out did my parents stop going to mass themselves. I won’t get into it.)
These days? I’m way too much of a feminist to ever be anything close to a good catholic.
And yet.
From the stories, to the guilt, to ongoing studies of the evolution of art and architecture through its iconography…
A lot of that stuff stays with you.
And that’s how I found myself going to mass for the first time in 20 years while I was on the Camino.
I was pleasantly surprised by some of them. Simple and down to earth affairs, where priests or brothers would openly and emphatically eulogize about the situation in Palestine.
And I was repulsed by grand affairs in gaudy gold-clad cathedrals, with incense and multiple priests parading around the altar.
I was tickled by the portrayals of Saint James as pilgrim along the way… Just another slob probably cursing his hoes and holding onto his walking stick for dear life…
…and I was disgusted and could’ve died of embarrassment by his portrayals as Matamoros. I might be walking the Camino, but I don’t condone ANY of this shit.
Thankfully, a pilgrimage is much more than its buildings.
And it’s much more than its religions.
* Okay, I actually DID listen to music while I was walking one day. It was a cheat day. But for the most part, I wore no headphones while I was walking.
MÉLANIE DAIGLE 