Walk This Way: Lest I Forget

I've been trying to figure out why people would undertake this walk. For days I've been posing the question, to my companions, to complete strangers, to myself. In this day and age when religion is less prominent in the daily lives of far fewer people than of old I have been trying to figure out what drives people to walk towards Santiago in their thousands (10,000 predicted in October this year alone we are told). The answer is often similar and, barring subtle shades, comes down to 'because it's there'. Several people have told me they suddenly found they had time (through redundancy, retirement etc), others wanted the physical challenge, a few to celebrate beating an illness. Numerous people were inspired by the film, 'The Way': others cite the film but feel it has turned The Camino into nothing more than a tourist attraction (and to some extent they are right - but nevertheless you still have to make that commitment, in time and effort alone, and the local economy is hugely dependent on that same tourism so to my mind that's ok).

A considerable number of people I've talked to have grown 'connected' as they have walked, whether intentionally or not, with the millions who have trodden the same path before them. I guess I'm one of them. It's difficult not to. The rural villages remain largely untouched, the communal albergues are a reminder of a time when the norm was for the church or the hospitals to take pilgrims in and offer food, water and much needed care, and the support offered by one pilgrim to another en route is so freely given that you can't help feeling part of a 'brotherhood'. Even if the drivers are now different, even if the motivation is less to arrive at the cathedral in supplication, there's something about being part of The Camino community that makes this journey special.

The final category of pilgrim is the one walking in memory of someone they loved. One man told me that since his mother died a couple of years ago he 'hadn't felt right'. He couldn't articulate more than that but I knew what he meant.

Today we passed a memorial to a man who died whilst walking his Way and another of a woman who passed away in her sleep having arrived in Santiago. These are the more visible tributes, along with the countless ribbons which adorn trees and the prayers wedged under stones, but I suspect the vast majority remain hidden in hearts and minds.

I too have enjoyed the challenge but I'm not redundant, retired or recovering, and not recently bereaved either. So when I arrive in Santiago tomorrow what will I feel? Why did I walk?

I'm not a big one for planning my distant future and my memory these days is pretty poor so neither looking forwards nor backwards is my forte. Instead I'm a 'here and now' person so I've decided I'll be celebrating just that. I'm here, fit and well, with a happy home, a job I enjoy, and with friends and family I love and who love me back. Lest I forget x