A Journey from a Gloomy Start to a Beautiful and Memorable End
2024 Spring Camino de Santiago:
The Camino de Santiago is a unique pilgrimage offering a profound spiritual journey. Unlike traditional pilgrimages focused on reaching a holy site, this path emphasises encountering God along the way. Pilgrims, or "peregrinos," find spiritual insights through the landscapes, fellow travellers, and moments of solitude.
The Camino has several routes, each rich with history and offering its own unique experience. It encourages simplicity, community, and personal reflection, fostering a deeper connection with the divine. In medieval times, pilgrims walked from all over Europe to reach the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, believed to house the remains of St. James the Great. Today, the Camino continues to draw people from around the world, seeking both religious and personal fulfilment.
In April this year, Sanctum Pilgrimages organised a Camino during springtime. A family from Australia started 100km ahead of the rest of us and met us in Lugo. Even those of us from Malaysia came from different states. Initially, some of us felt like we were in the company of strangers. But through the days of walking together, we formed new friendships. We came from different backgrounds and had different reasons for undertaking the pilgrimage. Yet, we all experienced God in one way or another.
At the beginning of our journey, a few of us encountered some challenges. From making wrong turns and getting lost, being too tired to continue and hitching rides from passing cars, to receiving bad news from home and even losing important documents. Springtime may be cooling, but it rains a lot too. Thus, we faced some wet and cold days when the wind blew. You might say, "What a way to start a Camino." It truly felt like a gloomy beginning for some of us.
By the second day, we refused to let the negative experiences hinder us. We began each day with stretching exercises and a rosary walk before our adventure. As days went by, the atmosphere and the experience improved. Even the weather warmed up, and on the last walking day, it was hot, feeling like summer had begun. However, it was actually a transitional season experience. So, we carried fewer items in our knapsacks for our walk on those last two walking days.
On the final day, we had a big surprise. The person who had been last to arrive at the hotels every day turned out to be the first among us to arrive in Santiago. She skipped breakfast and started the journey earlier, only stopping for meals along the way. Her perseverance paid off and was admired by all of us.
The atmosphere in Santiago during this season was amazing. It felt like a fanfare of people welcoming us at the main square. Everywhere we turned, there were people cheering, singing, talking, laughing, and taking photographs. In my group, we walked at our own pace, arriving at different times, and initially, we did not see each other. Seeing other people having so much joy together while we were apart was a bit lonely at first. But after settling down, we all happened to be at the square at the same time. It was such an immense joy celebrating with our little Camino group of pilgrims.
It was a moment we won't forget.
The Camino is really a personal journey with God and nature. Some may encounter God there or have a moment of His presence, and for some of us, reflections may take place later. But whatever the experience, the Camino is truly a walk of life. There are good days and bad days, getting lost and being found. The Camino reflects our lives. As we leave the place, our Camino of life continues with us, and hopefully, along our lives, we encounter God in our own places too.
¡Buen Camino!
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Sanctum Pilgrimages
