The camiño E-Book

Mara Fernandes

• Herausgeber: Editorial Bubok Publishing
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Santiago's Camino is one of the most walked routes on Earth, pilgrims from all parts of the world make that journey. This is what Mara and Luz decided to do during October 2022. Two women who barely knew each other decided to embrace the challenge of completing the journey between Porto and Santiago De Compostela during 12 days - 320 kilometers. 12 days, 12 lessons! The magic of the Camino can be felt in every step of this journey. They have come across many challenges, tears, laughs, self discovery and achievements. Nothing can be compared with the physical and mental exhaustion that 12 days walking can bring to you, but certainly nothing can be compared with the love, compassion and empathy you receive during this journey.

Leseprobe

The Camino

How the Camino became my own inner path

Mara Fernandes

© Mara Fernandes

© The Camino. How the Camino became my own inner path

January 2023

ISBN papel: 978-84-685-7297-0 ISBN ePub: 978-84-685-7296-3

Edited by Bubok Publishing S.L.

[email protected]

Tel: [phone]

C/Vizcaya, 6

28045 Madrid

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing by the Author, or as expressly permitted by law, by license or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

“Free your mind, and you will find the freedom you have never experienced before!”

Mara Fernandes

Index

Dedication Section

Chapter 1. Day zero

Chapter 2. Day One

Chapter 3. Day Two

Chapter 4. Day Three

Chapter 5. Day Four

Chapter 6. Day Five

Chapter 7. Day Six

Chapter 8. Day Seven

Chapter 9. Day Eight

Chapter 10. Day nine

Chapter 11. Day Ten

Chapter 12. Day Eleven

Chapter 13. Day Twelve

Chapter 14. After the Camiño - Day 1

Chapter 15. After the Camiño - Day 2

Chapter 16. After the Camiño - Day 3

Pictures

About the Author

Dedication Section

To João, my loverboy, who is always there, when I fall and when I fly, always proud of me, supporting me, loving me. I love you!

To my family who always, ALWAYS support me, even on the craziest ideas.

To my best friend Nexy, who has always been there, even if we are miles away and in a different time zone.

To Le, who has my back at work, any time I decide to go away, who feels my stories even more than myself.

To Florbela, who always says that I am special, and I will be able to do anything in life.

To Sara, who was the first person who believed I would write a book, giving me a pen in 2020 to sign my autographs.

To my friends who gave me the support to keep going by cheering me up every day.

To everyone else who followed my online diaries and kept sending me messages or calling me during the Camiño.

To all pilgrims who crossed my path during this journey.

And last but not least, to Luz… to accept my presence on her Camiño, for being able to stand me for 12 days without going mental, for supporting me, for making me realise what I have and what I can achieve, for being there, for the tears, the laughs, the hugs, the love. What a beautiful soul you are!

Chapter 1Day zero

I am sitting at Leitaria Quinta do Paço in Porto waiting for Luz. We booked at 5pm and I arrived 2h early. Nerves, anxiety, or pure adrenaline I couldn’t distinguish what I was feeling. I asked the waiter for a simple lemonade, unsure why, as in reality, I wanted a Licor Beirão, a typical liquor from Portugal.

Luz was staying in a hotel near a pastry shop, very famous for the eclairs they made, which they claim to be the best and oldest in Porto. Despite it being a Tuesday afternoon, the pastry shop was full of people, mainly Spanish tourists.

Porto has been kind to me during the last 4 days. I had been enjoying the food, spending time with my parents in law, showing the city to Luz, reconnecting with one of my best friends and disconnecting from busy London.

Life in London moves so fast that every single other city seems so peaceful in comparison. In addition to all the stress of a busy city, a week before coming to Porto, three people were stabbed in front of me while I was coming out from one of our buildings in Liverpool Street and I was still recovering from the shock. It was actually a good idea to come a few days before starting the Camiño for a break.

The Camiño. Why the Camiño? I was trying to understand why I decided to do it.

Back to July, I met Luz to help her out with some issues at work. We both work for the same company. I am the Health & Safety Manager and Luz is an Operation Manager on one of our sites. We have known each other for a couple of years already, but our relationship was mainly based on work. We were always nice to each other, and we talked, but we were not friends.

I don’t recall how the conversation started, but I remember we were going to one of Luz’s contracts and we were on the Piccadilly Line with Lenise, a friend and work colleague.

Luz seemed tired and I asked her if she had any holidays coming up. She said she was planning to do the Camiño Português da Costa in October.

I had been thinking about this for a while but maybe I was too scared to take the first step and without thinking twice, I told her I would join her.

Luz is kind and polite, maybe that´s why she said yes without any further questions. She told me the dates she was planning to go, so I promised her I would be in touch soon with the confirmation of my holidays. She kept smiling and nodding while in my mind I was already doing the all plan.

-“You just offered yourself to go with Luz on holiday, did you realize that?” – Lenise asked me when we left the building, completely surprised by my attitude.

- “I know, right? I know it is crazy, but I always wanted to do it. Anyway, Luz is nice, I am sure we will have fun.” - I replied completely ignoring Lenise’s worries.

-“I am just thinking if she actually really wants to go with you…” – Lenise said staring at me.

-“And why not?” – I asked while already checking some details on my mobile phone.

Two weeks after, while I was going to another contract, a lady with two walking poles crossed my path. I took a picture of her and send it to Luz:

“It’s a sign! xx”

Luz replied to me with a simple:

“Ahahahah, xx”

Lenise kept saying that I should make sure Luz didn’t mind me going with her, but I kept telling her: -“Why not?”

We met a couple of times to start our plan, we were preparing all the equipment, checking the route to take, booking flights, making notes of the Albergues, and physically preparing ourselves with lots of walking and exercise.

Not once, did I ask Luz if she was happy for me to go with her. Not once did I think of the possibility of not going. Everything just came together so well that I didn’t have any reason to ask questions. October came as quickly as a bullet, and there we were, ready to go.

Sitting here now and reflecting about the past 4 months, I think of all the questions I should have asked before. What is it about the Camiño that makes everyone speak about it? Why am I doing this? Why am I coming to this adventure with Luz? Why is Luz coming with me? Am I physically and mentally prepared for this challenge?

Some friends have asked me if I was doing it for religious purposes, and when I said I was looking for a higher spiritual connection, they got even more confused.

Since I was a child, I had this connection with the spiritual world, with the non-physical, with other types of manifestations that the Universe can give to us. During the pandemic I started to explore more, spending lots of hours studying and completing courses in subjects like reiki and tarot. Doing the Camiño just seemed a logical thing to do and a personal natural progression in my journey.

Logical to who? Because now it seemed illogical to me.

The waiter came for a third time to ask me if my lemonade was good, as he realised I hadn’t touched it at all. I kept writing loose notes in my travel diary, but my mind was far away, I hadn’t even realised that the 2 hours had passed and suddenly, Luz was just outside waving at me. Luz was happy and confident, her mood was high and the complete opposite of my melancholy situation.

-“Are you ready?” – she asked me while cleaning her wet face from the rain.

I nod at her, paying for the lemonade, then we took the bus to our Albergue.

During the 20-minute trip, we talked about Luz and the time she spent with her family during that day. Her family was in Porto doing a cultural trip with some other friends from Valencia. It was a welcome distraction from my pondering.

Our Albergue was located at Boavista, a residential district in Porto. A Thai girl, with little English, completed our check-in. The Albergue was actually really good, there were only 4 beds per room and our bathroom & shower were only shared with one other bedroom, quite luxurious in reflection.

Whilst I was analysing everything with my mind full of question marks, Luz kept smiling and telling me that the Albergue was great and how things changed since her last Camiño.

Luz had completed two Camiños before, and I was wondering why was she so enthusiastic? Was my mind not prepared for this experience? Should I let her into my secret, that I wanted to do this more than anything else, but my mind was not allowing me to enjoy the moment?

When we got to our bedroom, another pilgrim was already there. We introduced each other and he shared his story with us. He was walking from Lisbon and he was now ending his Camiño in Porto, he was planning to complete the full journey up to Santiago next year. Actually, knowing the other’s motivation was helping me to relax, the atmosphere and hearing other people’s experiences and enthusiasm started to soothe my worries.

We started to unpack our backpacks from the weekend we spent in Porto to make sure we were only taking the bare essentials to the Camiño. Here is the list of what I had:

•First Aid Kit

•One set of Pyjamas

•One rain jacket

•One sports jacket

•Two pairs of Pants

•Two T-shirts

•One pair of flip flops

•Three pairs of socks and three pairs of knickers

•One pair of trekking shoes

•Essential personal hygiene items such as: Hairbrush, toothpaste, toothbrush, nail clippers, deodorant, shampoo, shower gel, daily cream, contact lenses

•One microfibre towel

•One sleeping bag

•Sunglasses

•Tablet

•Chargers

•Head torch

•One notepad

•Passport, wallet, pen, mobile phone

•Two walking poles

•1 Litre Water bottle

I managed to condense my belongings to the recommended 10% of my weight, and the backpack wasn’t heavy at all, which was already a very good sign.

We picked some soups at the supermarket for our dinner and started to plan the next day.

Listening to Luz so confident that this would be an amazing experience was exciting and scary at the same time. But I finally summoned up the courage to ask her:

-“How have you done two Camiños and you are here again so happy to do another one?” – I interrupted her while she was eating her soup.

-“Because the Camiño always gives you the answers you need…” - she smiled more with her eyes dancing.

That wasn’t the answer I was expecting but it actually calmed me down. The Camiño will give me the answers I need, and they will come at certain point during this journey, I just had to keep calm and enjoy the moment.

Chapter 2Day One

I woke up at 5:30am with a massive storm roaring outside. The meteorological institute sent a warning for the Porto region due to strong winds and heavy rain.

Whilst Luz was still sleeping, I took a moment to meditate and write it down my gratitude list.

We had our breakfast at the Albergue with some other pilgrims, and I actually had to make an effort to eat something. My stomach was feeling my anxiety. I felt as though I was the most nervous person in the room, everyone seemed so relaxed and happy.

An old pilgrim asked me to help him with his head torch strip, I realised my hands were shaking. It took me a few breaths to calm down and settle my mind for the departure.

At 8:30AM we picked up our backpacks and left the Albergue, it was drizzling and there was a lot of humidity in the air. Our destination was Labruge and the route included Matosinhos, Leça da Palmeira and Angeiras on the list.

Whilst we were walking via Avenida da Boavista, the rain became stronger and I had my first doubts, my mind racing with questions: “Will I be able to do this?”, “What is the main purpose of all of this?”, “Why do I need to walk to connect myself?”, etc.

Luz was still showing me that confidence, however she was not talking much today, maybe lost in her own thoughts.

The endless street of Avenida da Boavista brought us to Matosinhos, seeing the ocean, definitely changed our mood.

We were keeping a good pace and I was happy to see we were getting on well. The conversation was flowing, and we were learning a bit about each other.

The smell of the ocean, the cold wind on our faces, the rain falling on us, I realised how free I would be during this Camiño and my mind set switched at that moment.

At Matosinhos we had a check point to get a stamp on our credentials. I was actually very surprised to see how organised this Camiño was, that felt reassuring.

Later, at Leça da Palmeira we found another check point. A lady called Eduarda welcomed us into the city. She was friendly and talkative.

While we were there sorting out the credentials she gave us some maps and restaurant flyers.

Eduarda seemed to be in her 50’s or 60’s. She was wearing a pair of jeans, a white shirt and a brown leather jacket, she seemed to be very modern for her age.

-“Where are you coming from?” - she asked from her desk behind the counter.

-“I am Portuguese and my colleague is from Colombia.” - I said taking my credential from my backpack to allow Eduarda to add another stamp on it.

-“So glad we have a Portuguese doing the Camiño.” - she smiled - “It has been rare lately!”

- “I am from Alentejo!” - I proudly replied.

-“Alentejo where?” – I realised a different sparkle in her eyes when I mentioned the region.

Alentejo is divided by Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alentejo and it’s very wellknown due to the amazing beaches, beautiful flatlands and a very tasty gastronomy.

-“I am from a little town called Sonega, located near Porto Covo and Sines.” - those are normally my reference places when talking with people who don’t know the region, or I assume they don’t know.