The Lack of Blackness on the Camino by Briana Morris

I’ve dreamed of leaving the US, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have reservations about how blackness is received in Europe. While still a minority group, African American communities can thrive and function independently in the United States. African American culture diverged from American mainstream as a whole, creating a space in America where blacks support each other and rewrite generalized perceptions of blackness. The black pride that we are able to engage in within the States does not seem to exist along the Camino de Santiago.

 

I was shocked to see the amount of diversity when arriving to Lisbon. Specifically there was a higher African presence than I expected. The U.S. seems to have a greater number of biracial or mixed blacks, but Lisbon presented many of African descent who migrated and made Lisbon their home. I anticipated being one of the only darker skinned individuals upon my arrival in Portugal, and I found myself falling into my African American traditions that do not seem to be present on the Camino.

 

The amount of black bodies moved me to give the traditional head nod African Americans generally exchange with each other– this cultural norm is taught since childhood and creates solidarity between fellow brothers and sisters. In Lisbon my nod was not returned, but instead I received stares or the other party turned their eyes away from me. Despite there being a clear community of African individuals, there does not seem to be the camaraderie I am familiar with back home.

 

The prevalence of black faces fades as one moves from the city of Lisbon and into smaller villages along the Portuguese route. This shift was not just after departing Lisbon, but from major city to rural town. There are clear effects with the decline in overall diversity. While my exchange with locals of the usual “Buenos días” was returned, this was not always the case. Older individuals would stare after my greeting, but when other pilgrims behind me did the same, their salutation was returned. The definition of diversity changes from person to person and across cultures. This makes it challenging to discuss and define blackness in racially homogenous places, even on the multicultural Camino. This is evident in that the general population has little exposure to groups classified as other or a minority.

 

A married couple from South Africa had explained that they love the diversity of their home country and “would not want to live anywhere else”. The husband even described a time when he went to Lithuania, where everyone had blue eyes and blond hair–that was all he saw and he did not like it. This was an intriguing comment, considering the fact that he was a white South African. I think people are more comfortable with what they have been exposed to. We are accustomed to our own environments. When describing the demographics of South Africa (specifically the Cape Town area) blacks were substantially more prevalent, followed by “white people, Indians, brown people and Asians.” This probably explains his preference for a multicultural community rather than homogeneous, even with his own ingroup.

 

Exposure seems to be key in the different ways one approach is a black individual. The famous homestay of Fernanda’s provided an interesting encounter that would be considered quite inappropriate in the US. I was seated next to another student from the course who also has a darker complexion. The homeowner asked if we were brother and sister, although we had told her upon our arrival hours earlier that we were with the class group. At home in the US, most African-American individuals would probably feel out rage and as if they were being lumped together simply by the color of their skin. I realize that this woman has had a little experience with people of color, but this is still an issue that is probably present in many other places.

 

A couple in their mid to late 20s described an island off of France named La Routine. The man described the way that Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together in this place in harmony. Religion was not the only way people mixed, but racially as well. His voice rose with enthusiasm and a hint of shock when saying that there we girls with “dark skin, blond, curly hair and blue eyes”. The mere way he told this specific group to me revealed that he probably has little exposure to multiethnic individuals at home. This became more clear as our conversations diverged somehow to the topic of skin color and temperature preference. I was bundled up in all the layers I brought for the trip, while a fellow classmate (also of darker complexion) wore shorts. The woman commented that my coldness made sense because people with dark skin should like hotter weather as opposed to the cold.

 

On the other end of the spectrum it seems like steps are being made to create a more inclusive environment in Portugal. A religious museum in Fátima had a nativity scene with black skinned figurines and Fernanda’s house also had a black Virgin Mary. Holy figures and scenes often depict individuals with light skin, hair and eyes. This is something that is discussed even within the U.S. both in and outside of the religious sphere. While no one knows exactly what the Madonna or Christ looked like, it is the general norm to see them in a way that represents the racial majority. The black figures were small and definitely not as prevalent, but it may be a sign of a growing knowledge of blackness along the Camino.

 

Portuguese and Spanish individuals seem to have less exposure to blackness than Americans in the United States, but inclusive efforts such as the one mentioned above may allow more black individuals to feel comfortable and accepted when traveling the world. The more African Americans move through different cultures, the more they can change stereotypes as they have in the U.S. This benefits not only black individuals, but the people in these foreign countries as they gain more knowledge about histories and cultures they would not otherwise be exposed to.

 

 

Why Do People Walk the Camino, Then and Now by Andre Mershad

With the Camino de Santiago being rooted in Catholicism, one would most likely assume that the main reason for walking is religious or spiritual. After all, pilgrims walk hundreds of miles to arrive at the place where Saint James’ bones are supposedly residing in a silver coffin. When walking a pilgrimage in medieval times, you may have found many pilgrims walking to repent for their sins. But, also in medieval times displayed a large flux of reasons people would walk. Sometimes, those had no option. If a crime was committed, a viable sentence would be to send the guilty on a trek. This could be seen as a form of punishment, or a second chance to connect with God and right your wrongs. In contrast, one may have walked a Pilgrimage to escape from the plague, or conquer famine. A quote from Pilgrimage in Medieval Culture recites “Santiago de Compostela became above all a goal of the devout and the voluntarily and involuntarily penitent rather than a healing shrine.”

 

Today, pilgrims still walk for an amalgamation of motives, but these reasons have evolved. According to Caminoways.com, about 17% walk for exercise, 15% for adventure, 14% for reading of peace, solitude and relaxation, and 12% for social reasons. Religion is now the seventh most popular reason, with 9.6% in this category. Based on my experience on the Camino, these statistics make sense. A large majority of participants walk the Camino to stay young and fit. I met a 75 year old man who had walked routes to Santiago at least a dozen times, and he swears it keeps his body and mind in check. Because he feels so healthy walking so much, he also rewards himself with beer and cigarettes, only while on the Camino. I also met many people walking the Camino solely for adventure, and to figure out things about themselves that they had not yet unveiled. A quote I received from a US army veteran was “I needed a break from the United States.” I also asked a Polish veteran, who was in his 70’s,”why are you walking?” And he responded,”Why does a climber climb Mount Everest?” A 20 year old German-American I met said ” I walked the Camino to find answers… I didn’t find those answers, but I found the questions I wanted to ask.” Only one pilgrim crossed my path who was walking solely for religious reasons. She was Mormon, a college student, and walked with her two parents. She described to me that through being amidst nature, it brought her closer to God. When I decided to walk barefoot the last day into Santiago, I observed that most recognized me as part of this 9%; walking for God, or to repent which was the more common theme in medieval times.

The difference between then, and now is that pilgrims now seem like they are on equal plane. In the past, the reason for walking mattered, and some communities of people, like women were inhibited from experiencing pilgrimage. Although a hierarchy exists today based on miles walked, or if staying in hotels or albergues, it is far different from the hierarchy that existed in Medieval times that depended on class, and mainly your reason for walking.

Identifying Alan Morinis’s Six Typologies of Pilgrim Motives on the Camino, By Joanne Lee

Pilgrim mass in the chapel at the end of the Camino

Pilgrim mass in the chapel at the end of the Camino

Alan Morinis differentiates pilgrim motives into six typologies: Initiative, devotional, instrumental, normative, obligatory, and wandering. Although these typologies once seemed far away from me when we first learned them, I saw a few come to life as I heard others’ stories on my Camino.

The first I observed was initiative. Morinis describes this typology as someone who walks a pilgrimage to discover personal transformation rather than for religious reasons. I met a 45-year-old German woman, who was a self-employed holistic healer. She had done this work for more than 15 years and just discontinued her practice before beginning the Camino. She told me that she was walking to find new direction in her life, both career-wise and for personal growth. She was on a quest to initiate a new vision for herself.
The second typology I encountered was devotional, which describes someone whose goal is to encounter and honor spiritual divinities and symbols. A young woman in a group of Catholic students I met told me about how much she enjoyed the beautiful cathedrals with traditional Catholic symbols and how excited she was to finally arrive at the cathedral in Santiago, not only because her feet hurt, but also because she wanted to experience the mass there. Her excitement around observing and participating Catholic spaces and rituals displays her motives as largely devotional.
Morinis describes instrumental motives as ones looking to accomplish worldly goals. I met an Irish man around 60 years old, who told me that he is walking to pray for his children’s futures. For his daughter, who now has a stable job, he is praying for her success in settling down. For his son, who just finished his undergraduate exams, he is praying for academic and career success. This man I spoke to is using his pilgrimage as a mechanism to attain a physical goal, making his purposes instrumental.
The fourth typology that I observed was normative. A normative pilgrimage is one that occurs as a ritual cycle. In a group sharing session, there was an older couple who shared that they have walked segments of the Camino every year for five years during the summer because of their work schedules. In this way, walking the Camino became a normal part of their yearly cycle.
Although there are most likely people who walk the Camino with the last two motives, obligatory and wandering, I did not encounter them personally. From the stories I heard, it seems that pilgrims do not walk this pilgrimage as a punishment or penance as they used to during Medieval times. Pilgrims’ decisions to walk is more self-authorized now. As for the wandering typology, which means walking with no predetermined goal, every pilgrim I have spoken to has set out with the goal of arriving at Santiago or Finisterre. Inherently, this gives each of them a goal to look forward to, discounting them from walking with a wandering motive. In the modern age, wrought with calculated schedules and seemingly always limited time, people may feel that traveling so far to walk the Camino must have a guaranteed goal of arriving at a final destination.05FE2189-5548-4F24-896C-4D43C93BF4E0
Having listened to the numerous stories of pilgrims I’ve met during my Camino, I have realized that rather than separating us, our unique reasons for being here bring us closer together as we support one another in our various stages of life.

Healing and Healers on the Camino by Ulysses Salcido

On the Camino de Santiago their are many examples of how the body and mind has been healed by the power that is in the belief of the healed, the healer, and the community. At times the healer can be the Camino itself.

A Brazilian women in her 40s spoke to me about a time she was traveling on the French route with her younger sister.  The two of them were religious but were doing the Camino more-so for site seeing and exercise rather than religious reasons. She began to get tired of her journey with her sister, she was getting annoyed, frustrated and wanted to go home. Suddenly, as she was walking she looked down and saw her mother’s feet walking besides her instead of her sisters. It had been a few years since her mother had passed and suddenly an immediate change in spirit washed over her. It was a Camino miracle, all her frustration were removed and se was glad to walk again.

Testimonials from healings in Church rectory

Testimonials from healings in Church rectory

The community showed their belief at a church just outside Padron called Sataurio de Virxe da Escravitude. I was led to a back room by a hurried but friendly man in his 50s who was saying “stamps, stamps”. I quickly hurried  to the back as he led me and others into what were once the private quarters of holy members of the church. Immediately he sat down with authority and began stamping pilgrims passports one by one as they cycled in. Instead of getting a stamp and leaving I was distracted by a looming 30 foot high wall of about 80 panels of paintings. I asked him what these panels depicted and with his eyes wide and full of excitement he said they are all miracles. In this area, whenever someone experienced a miracle they would paint the scene on a panel and send them to us and we would display them. Now we have so many that we announce them and pray for them during mass. The stories were written in Galician beginning from the early 1800s. Most of them depict a sick person in a bed with the Virgen Mary at their feet or over the bed shinning brightly. There was no doubt in his mind that the miracles were real, nor the families of the healed persons who commissioned these paintings.

Testimonial of a healing

Testimonial of a healing

1867 This patient was taken ill and asked the Virgen for healing. She was thus healed.

1867 This patient was taken ill and asked the Virgen for healing. She was thus healed.

At times the healers are not of the divinity type but are a helpful couple that revealed themselves to me as Camino angels. They say that the Camino is like a confessional at church and they have naturally been the healers to those who need to relieve the pressure on their hearts that have weighed them down like a heavy pack on a pilgrim. This couple has known each other for 35 years but have just rekindled their old flame after both having gone threw divorces and have now been dating for 3 months. They take pleasure in the fact that pilgrims feel comfort in walking with them and talking to them about all their issues. Although they may talk to them for anywhere from a few hours to a few days and never see them again, the conversation remain very intimate. The couple has seen men cry profusely on the Camino because of their help. It is a type of healing that the camino provides. For those who do walk the Camino for healing, they can find it through visions, on the walls a church, or in the deep conversations with angels.

 

How To Spend an Hour or a Day in Fatima by Ulysses Salcido

Choosing a starting point to walk the Camino is a hard decision. You need to start at or further than 100km from Santiago but also want to experience as many cities as possible in the time you have allotted yourself. Through my Camino  to Santiago there has not been a city more recognized and revered as Fatima to locals and fellow pilgrims.

Pilgrim praying

Pilgrim praying

The holy city of Fatima experiences one of its busiest times on and around May 13th for the anniversary of the Apparition of Mary from 1917. Due to its place in history and recognition as a pilgrimage site, I believed that being in a special place like Fatima meant getting there early and making sure to participate and witness everything that was offered to Pilgrims on the daily itinerary, similarly as you would a supermarket checklist, marking sure not to return home without a basket full of holy experiences.

It is easily feasible to keep busy for several days. I attended several masses in multiple languages and in multiple areas including the original chapel from 1920 built upon the ground where the Virgin Mary appeared. Walking only a few kilometers away, I visited the houses and small town where the famous three Shepard children lived, even sitting in the kitchen where they ate meals together. You can also pray at the children’s burial site which is housed inside the original Basilica built in 1953 where the children can be prayed to and revered at their burial places inside. The new basilica found directly across from the old Basilica is built in a contemporary design and won a engineering and structure award in 2009 [and is a must see]. Underneath it was an amazing museum that guides you through the history of Fatima as well as many small chapels and confessionals. At night I experienced a large mass and procession for the Virgin Mary, as well as acts of devotion including walking on knees. In town there were many restaurants, gift shops, museums, and inscription/objects to read.

Pilgrims attend mass in the plaza

Pilgrims attend mass in the plaza

When on the Camino you come across people who spend a day in Fatima but also those who spend only a few hours. I spoke to a women on the bus ride to Fatima who told me she would only spend half the day in Fatima to attend mass then go home. Her pilgrims itinerary was short, her Holy supermarket basket was not full of history and historical sites and was not taking advantage of arguably the most important day of the year. She felt as though one did not need to complete an itinerary in the holy site to be especially close to God or receive miracles, “if you take the Eucharist every week you will be healed, you won’t get sick, He will take care of you”. Another women who was visiting for the day from Oklahoma spend a majority of her time at the original chapel. She too believed that the holy site did not need a full itinerary, saying “If you put your full belief in God, you will be blessed”. As expected the afternoon mass was filled with thousands of people, one women who worked as a guide estimated that there was 200,000 people “but there was no real way to tell”. Mass was held outdoors under a hot sun. For the priest at the alter, the crowd reached so far back that the pilgrims looked like ants; the echoes of his words from the speakers taking several seconds to reach the back of the crowd. At times the crowd seemed more concerned with the sun, the futbol score, and internal conversation rather than mass itself.Uly

After witnessing these behaviors at Fatima and hearing first hand opinion on being close to God, I now understand the power of a holy city. It is not that one is required to spend their day in the city making sure to take home with them the most spiritual activities but that there is no need to. If you are looking for healing, curing, devotion, forgiveness, or giving thanks; you can find this not by completing an itinerary and filling your supermarket basket but by traveling to the holy city of Fatima. Simply being present with Mary, God, the Holy Spirit and taking the Eucharist will serve as the conduit to your spiritual objectives.

What Makes a Pilgrim a Pilgrim by Maya Elimelech

There are many criteria that scholars have attempted to establish as to what makes a pilgrim a pilgrim. Alan Morinis established that a pilgrim is anyone who considers themselves as such. However, just as with anything, certain standards are established by which people judge the extent that another is a pilgrim. I witnessed a few different encounters on my Camino that have led me to question these standards.IMG-0516-min-1

 On beautiful wooded day on the Portuguese route, I spoke to a father and son from a small village in southern Spain. I asked the son (Alex, a short man in his late 20s) where him and his father started their Camino, to which he answered “we started in Tui.” I found myself comparing his journey to my journey in my head and thought to myself that his Camino was not as hard as mine. He had missed out on the difficulty of walking from Porto to Tui. As I continued talking to him, he shared with me that his father had been wanting to do the Camino his whole life, and took this opportunity with his son as his only chance. He said “I was going to go alone, but when my father found out I was going, I couldn’t say no.” It dawned on me that Alex’s father had spent his whole life dreaming of the Camino, while I had only heard about it this year. Alex’s father was going on the pilgrimage for religious reasons, which was another way he had me “beat.” This interaction unveiled some of the complexities of comparing one’s status as a pilgrim with another. If I had not spoken to Alex for longer, I might have been left believing myself to be the more “authentic” pilgrim. After analysis, attempting to rank our statuses just made me feel silly in my head.

 However, I know I am not the only one measuring other pilgrims worth’s by arbitrary details of their journeys.

 In a cafe in Villanova, it was brought up that one of the pilgrims we had been traveling with, Tracy, had decided to stay in a nicer hostel that night with a private room. To this information, someone in our group answered innocently “we don’t consider that a hostel, we consider that a hotel.” This struck me because I realized we were abiding by the secret criteria of the Camino that a pilgrim must suffer to truly be a pilgrim. We have no way to measure the suffering, introspection and impact another person’s pilgrimage has on them, yet we still seem to get caught up in the culture of looking at these details. Does staying in nicer accommodations really make a pilgrim any less of a pilgrim?

 On one of the last days of the Camino to Finestair, I was stretching on the lawn of our albergue listening to a man poorly play popular hits on his guitar. He seemed very drunk, and someone had told me he was drinking before we even arrived at the hostel hours earlier. He started to get more agitated, maybe because he wasn’t getting any attention or tips from anyone. This then escalated to him yelling “this is is terrible, this isn’t Santiago, f*cking tourists, no culture, no feeling” whereupon he looked at me and said “you too, you’re one of them.” This man had just called me a tourist, when I knew in my heart that I was a pilgrim. He had just called the entire albergue, reserved entirely for pilgrims in this tiny farm town where no tourist would think to go, tourists. Maybe it was because he saw people dining in the albergue cafe, or he attributed their lack of involvement with his playing as apathy. To him, a pilgrim is someone who is nice to him, someone who can appreciate his music and SUFFER (ie, not relax in cafes of on the lawn of an albergue). It struck me that this mans interpretation of whether or not I was a pilgrim was only wrong because I consider myself to be a pilgrim.

Camino friends, author on far right

Camino friends, author on far right

So ultimately, it is the pilgrim that determines whether or not they are a pilgrim, and though there are established characteristics that pilgrims might have in common, they certainly do not define their experience, or their identity.

 

The Shadowy Man By Maya Elimelech

IMG-0735In Santiago, there is a shadow of a man dressed in walking clothes who never walks. Sitting in front of the Cathedral de Santiago, a woman named Tracy told me the story of the Shadow of the Pilgrim. In the distant past, a nun and a priest fell in love, but they could not be together because of their vows to the church. One day, they decided to run away, and made a plan to disguise themselves as pilgrims to leave the city. They said they would meet beside the cathedral at night. The priest waited and his lover never came, and so he still waits, still today, still a pilgrim, as the monument of the Shadow of the Pilgrim.

 This story strikes me because at any time, the priest could realize that his lover is not coming, and move on with his life. But the priest does not let go of the idea of his beloved, plagued with cluttered fantasies that keep him stagnant in stance. I think the Shadow of the Pilgrim takes many forms within many travelers who walk the Camino for love: here are a few.

 I walked with Tracy on the last day of the journey to Santiago. She spoke with zest and lively German articulation as she shared her life with me. She said “I’m walking to get over someone, who I was with for a very long time. I don’t even like hiking! I could have stayed at a luxury hotel somewhere instead of the Camino, but I like not thinking about him. I walk and I don’t think about him, and I rest and I am too tired to think about him or I am too busy.”

A pilgrim becomes a pilgrim in order to let go.

 Heather, I met a crosswalk 13.5 miles into a trail when the sun was HOT and little slivers of ocean flowed between buildings. This was not her first Camino; she had walked the Camino frances the year before. She told me “I think the greatest thing I learned on the Camino is that I can do anything. On the Camino I learned that it’s ok to be alone; I learned that I can love myself and that is enough. I know how I deserve to be treated, and if a man cannot recognize my worth I don’t want him.” I asked her why she was back now to which she answered “I think I am a little lost at the moment.”

A pilgrim becomes a pilgrim to find out where to go, who to be.

 On a pleasant and windy incline I met two pleasant and windy voices from Antiga. MusicMaria and Jeorge walk the Camino to celebrate 29 years of marriage. To that information I answered “What’s your secret?” To which they answered “Do things you like together, do things like this together. Stay moving.”

Some pilgrims become pilgrims because they know that the future is written by action.

 When I go home, I know I will think about the shadows pilgrim who couldn’t find his future or his body or his now. I wish I could have shared these stories with him, so that they free him as they have freed me.

The Camino in Four Poems by Frost Post by Victoria Friend

1.A Question

“So why did you decide to walk the Camino?” The answer varies from person to person. A forty-five year old German woman wants to get away from a bad breakup. A Canadian couple walks to celebrate their children’s graduation, and the independence it gives them. Another couple from South Africa is celebrating their fiftieth anniversary. Of all the people I ask over the course of our walk, none of them cite relgious reason – many have a background in faith, but not have it as their primary motivation. It would seem that the Camino draws the secular more than the religious.

  1. The Road Not Taken

What is one to do when two roads diverge with not a yellow arrow in sight? One of the first Camino miracles I here about is from an Irishman – he describes how when he was at a loss for arrows to look for in the dark before sunrise, he instead followed a light he assumed was another pilgrim’s headlamp. He followed that light all the way to an open field, where he found the yellow arrows to guide him, but no light or fellow pilgrim to whom it belonged. An inexplicable occurrence, meant to lead him to the right path rather than allowing him to go astray.

  1. Acquainted with the Night

On our final day, I walk into the city of Santiago alone, buoyed by the optimism and trust that the Camino usually provides. As the urban sprawl builds up around me and the arrows become few and far between, that sense of comunitas begins to dissipate. It feels like I’m back in LA at midnight – I remember the need to brandish keys as a form of weaponry, I remember what it is to be scared of the voices approaching behind me, and I remember what it is to be always checking over my shoulder, walking just a bit faster. I remember what it is to be alone. When I make it to the Cathedral, I am not so much victorious at finishing the walk as relieved to be safe again with my community.

  1. Nothing Gold Can Stay

Our first day of walking is also our first day of poetry is also our first day of collecting advice. “It’ll be over before you know it. The walk itself is what will change you.” And we smile and nod and laugh with each other and continue on. And the old wisdom is right – the days fly even when the miles drag, and suddenly in a moment that stretches hundreds of kilometers, we arrive in Santiago. Even knowing that we’ll continue on, keep walking and eventually journey home, it still feels like gold, pure gold.

 

Vegan on the Camino by Andre Mershad

download-2One may find it completely impossible to be vegan on the Camino. It is definitely a challenge, but from my experience it is more than doable. In Portugal, the main vegan dishes in traditional menus (majority of menus are traditional there) are fries, a mixed salad, and bread. There is really no protein in these dishes, so a vegan must find other sources for this. I bought sunflower seeds in our first walking town, and ate handfuls every morning. Luckily, these lasted me quite a long time. On the occasion, like in Fatima before the walk started, there would be an organic store that catered perfectly to vegans. One day I was able to eat a delicious vegetable soup, with no meat in the broth, and two types of vegan empanadas. I was stoked beyond belief. They also told protein bars there, including Cliff bars, and I took advantage of that even though they were more expensive there than in the states.download-1

A vegan can also survive well on the Camino by going to the little markets, and in bigger towns supermercados. Almost every vegetable and fruit offered in California was offered here as well, and the freedom of fresh produce never tasted better on these days.

It is not too common to be vegan on the Camino, but there are people doing it. In Porto, I gained another perspective on the movement in Portugal specifically. I talked extensively to a vegan chef and restaurant owner who quickly caught my eye because of her alternative fashion. She explained that two years ago one would find absolutely no vegan restaurant here, but here she was with a new, successful veggie joint. She also went in length about the healing powers of a vegan diet and how it had “cured” her irritable bowel syndrome. She and her partner asked us to hang out on the terrace after we’d finished our meal; we stayed much past closing time, got their contacts and exchanged hugs with high hopes to see them again.

The first vegan I met while walking was a 31 year old Englishman named Jeremy. He was walking about three times our groups average pace of 12 miles a day, and I’m sure he gave some credit to his diet for his remarkable physical fitness. Jeremy admitted to me, though, that it was very tough for him to be vegan on the Camino. A couple of times he gave in and ate dishes with eggs, as they can be found in countless dishes in Portugal. I met him at a cafe in Tui, Spain that had many options for vegans; I literally spent most of my day at that restaurant. Because of our commonality with diet, James and I bonded immediately, and realized our diet was one of many beliefs and traits we shared, another including spirituality.download

I also realized I’d encountered other vegans on the Camino when I received a very friendly reaction for eating chickpeas straight out of the jar, and spotted peanut butter in one of the two young adults’ backpack. Svet and Shivani were two university students from the Netherlands, studying environmental studies as many vegans do, including me. Again, I bonded immediately with these girls while talking about all of the, very few, restaurants that catered to a plant based diet among the Camino– We had been to all the same ones, finding them through the mobile app HappyCow. From here, we realized we had much more in common, as vegans usually do. Environmentalism– they had hitchhiked all the way from Holland to Portugal. Also the same love for music festivals, and even the same types of music.

I’ve realized that veganism can really bring people together, as I connected easily with these fellow strangers. Although the Camino doesn’t provide the richest options for people who want to eat vegan, it most certainly provides like minded friends.

 

Hidden Treasures on the Camino by Jenny Ventura

A typical pilgrim on the Camino De Santiago is known to carry the contemporary form of a staff, satchel, shell, and sometimes a hat. However, on my Camino Portugues I was thrilled by the additional fun and practical items pilgrims carried along with them. The following are my top five:

Water to Wine Bottle :  First, I encountered a 69-year old pilgrim with a uniquely shaped container. It is undoubtedly a water bottle, but the cap resembles a suction cup. Curiously, I asked her about her intricate water bottle, and she cheerfully responded that her bottle cap serves as a wine glass. She joked, “You never know when you’ll need it!”

Vick’s Vapor Rub: Days later, I had a late-night and deep conversation about blisters with a 30-year old Brazilian woman who I met after crossing the Portuguese-Spanish border. She said her must-have item on the Camino is Vick’s Vapor rub. She uses it as a preventative measure against blisters formed by the friction caused after walking several miles. Furthermore, she is a fan of this product because “the camphor in it makes your feet smell good, and it’s vaseline at the same time.” She also suggested applying it on your hips where your backpack may chafe your skin.

Scarf and Clothespins: As I lay in a room in Armenteira, in close quarters with 59 other pilgrims, I caught a glimpse of a woman on a bottom bunk. She had used clothespins and a wide scarf to create a shade around her bed. Though envious, I was amused and certain that this woman would sleep comfortably, as she had blocked out the light and created her own private space in a very public room.

Bucket: On one of the final days before reaching Finisterre, I met a Canadian-American pilgrim who walked with a blue bucket strapped to his pack. I assumed it was for washing his clothes, but he actually carried it to wash people’s feet. Inspired by Jesus’ act of charity, this religious pilgrim was fully equipped with bath salts, lotion and soap to gift any pilgrim’s feet with his gentle touch.

Author getting her feet washed.

Author getting her feet washed.

Lavender oil: On a similar note of scented substances, I chatted at a cafe in Finisterre with three men from Australia and the U.S who received lavender oil from a fellow pilgrim. One of the men excitingly pulled the aliquot of lavender and insisted I smell it. The other man confirmed that the smell has been so soothing, and it has helped him sleep well the past 12 days. The last man shouted, “It might be placebo, but when we smell it, we know it’s bed time!”

These five items are not listed in a particular order, rather they are the top creative things that I would have never thought of bringing along my Camino. As a new pilgrim, I thought of bringing the “necessities” such as earplugs and socks, but these creative pilgrims have taught me that frisky and innovative items can also create a successful Camino!