Camino to Santiago de Compostella - Blog 1

Ann Milner

So here I am again, on the Camino.

'What are you doing there?' I hear you ask. 'Well,' I reply, 'It was like this .…'

Last year I walked from Fromista to Astorga on the Camino de Santiago as a 'thank you' for the prompt treatment I'd had the previous January for my diagnosed lung cancer. The treatment outcome was very promising. They wouldn't tell me I was cured but they did say the tumour had responded well and no further treatment was needed at this time. They would put me into the 'monitoring' category. So that was good news.

Sometime later I was then told I was pre-diabetic and would I like to be referred to a programme that aimed to reverse the trend. Of course I said 'Yes'. Eventually the programme schedule came through. It was a 9 months programme whereby you attend an information meeting that advised on a number of diet issues and encouraged the development of lifestyle changes. This would occur initially every 2 weeks, then there would be a gap of several weeks, during which time hopefully one would develop healthier habits and then another series of meetings every 3 weeks. Looking at the schedule, there was a long gap from 31st March to 19th May.

'I could go back on the Camino and walk to Santiago during that gap.' I thought to myself. No sooner was the thought in my head but I felt I had to act on it. So I started planning how long it would take with very short stages. It looked like 30 days would do it. So I booked the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander. I then discovered I couldn't easily get to Astorga (where I had stopped last year) from Santander. Looking again at routes I found I could take a bus to Oviedo which is the start of another Camino route (called the Primitivo) and would therefore have pilgrim refuges, stay the night there, then get a bus to Astorga, arriving by midday, in time to walk to the next village, only 4 kms away but which has a pilgrim refuge.

'Great' I thought to myself. So I booked the ferry, then the bus to Oviedo, then a bookable pilgrim hostal and then the bus from Oviedo to Astorga. Normally I would not have booked accommodation but I realised my ferry would get me to Santander on Easter Sunday - a day when accommodation might be difficult to find. So, there you have it. All that remained to be done was to find some way of lightening my load.

I found a rucksack that was only 2/3rds the weight of the one I carried last year. I found a bivy thing that was lighter than my sleeping bag and I invested in a new Paramo brand rain jacket which was lighter than one I had worn previously. The pre-diabetic course started and I changed some of my eating habits and managed to lose a stone. I was ready to start the Camino again.

Having looked at a map of Portsmouth, I discovered that actually the station called 'Portsmouth & Southsea' was nearer to the Brittany ferry terminal than the station called 'Portsmouth Harbour' - who would have thought it! So I got off there, did some food shopping and walked the half a mile or so to the ferry, arriving ridiculously early. This did not matter. Better early than late and miss the ferry. So I had a celebratory beer!

Eventually boarded the ferry and had an uneventful trip. The ship, as last year, was full of references to the Camino. It also had examples of the Menina, a Madrid icon.

We arrived Santander on Sunday morning. I disembarked, found the bus station without any problem and had a coffee and croissant for breakfast. Waited for the bus. One came in which seemed to be the correct one but no, it wasn't. A girl who spoke excellent Spanish told me it was not the right bus. Apparently, she was also going to Oviedo. My bus duly turned up. Another uneventful journey to Oviedo. The fun started when I tried to get in to my booked hostel.

At the time of booking, I was informed that I had to download an 'app' and the key to my hostel would be sent electronically to my phone. Before leaving the UK I had downloaded the app OK. The hostel building was very near the bus station so I found it with no problem. I managed eventually to get the building door open. But it was an apartment building with 8 floors and the info from the owner didn't tell me on which floor the hostel was. There was a lift. 'Great' I thought. For some reason I thought the hostel might be the 2nd floor so I took the lift there. Wrong! I ended up climbing all the stairs right up to floor 8, checking each apartment door for the name of the hostel. Having reached the 8th floor without finding the hostel, I took the lift down to the 1st floor - the only one I hadn't checked. Naturally, there was the hostel door!

Anyway, I now was on the right floor. Joy of joys, I managed to get the hostel door open. So all I had to do now was get into my dormitory. I found what I thought was my room door and tried to get in. No way. Of course I didn't realise I was at the wrong dormitory! Eventually someone appeared from an adjacent room, just down the hall. It turned out to be the same person as stopped me getting on the wrong bus at Santander. She could see I was trying to get into the wrong room and it turned out I was in the same room as her. This was not the only co-incidence though. It also turned out she was starting a Camino, her 1st, from Oviedo.

We chatted for a while and then I went off for a wander. I hoped to find an open supermarket - the hostel had a good kitchen. However, being Easter Sunday, I was unsuccessful in my quest. I did see a church nearby which had Mass at 7:30 and thought I would be able to go next day before my bus to Astorga. I also visited an open church and prayed. Arriving back at the hostel all went OK till I reached the door of my room - the correct one this time! Would it open? No! I tried and tried, and then restarted my phone but to no avail. I was starting to get pretty mad and suddenly it obliged and I was able to get in.

From then on, any time I left the room (to go to the loo, kitchen etc), I wedged my boot in the doorway. These kind of 'apps' are great when they work and of course it means the proprietor doesn't have to pay someone to register guests (so someone loses their job?) so perhaps it keeps the cost of the accommodation down but when they don't work …..? Granted there was a phone number to ring if you had a problem but if one arrives late, tired after a long journey etc how long would one have to wait before someone came to let you in?

OK, soapbox moment over. To continue, checked my bus time and unfortunately it was at 8:30 next morning so no time for Mass. Kristi, my roommate, returned and we chatted some more then settled down to sleep. Next morning Kristi and I said our goodbyes and exchanged contact details so we could stay in contact. I wished her well on her first Camino. Had breakfast at the bus station and then it was off to Astorga. The journey had some magnificent views as we passed through the mountain range, the Picos de Europa.

It was a pleasant, warm sunny day and I arrived in Astorga just after 11:10. By now I was beginning to be a little tired of travelling and the idea of starting yet another journey was fast losing its appeal. I knew of a refuge in the centre of the town, just near the Cathedral, which I had stayed in previously. Last year when I arrived in Astorga it was still closed but apparently it had now reopened.

Finding it open I was able to get a bed for the night, leave my rucksack and go supermarket shopping. The refuge had a very well-equipped kitchen. Also, there was a smaller church next to the Cathedral and Mass was this evening at 20:00. Spent rest of day relaxing, writing diary, having hot ready meal - a frozen lasagne bolognese from supermarket and then getting to Mass at last. During the Eucharist the priest turned on a music player. It was beautiful, spiritual music and as we sat there after receiving the Host, I felt I was in a truly sacred space.

Next morning I started my Camino proper.

To be continued …..

Ann Milner has been an active member of the Hitchin parish of Our Lady Immaculate and St Andrew in Westminster Diocese for nearly 20 years. She is a member of the parish's very active One World/Livesimply group and has supported CAFOD's walking initiatives such as 'Walk for Water'. For the next few weeks she is walking a section of the French Way of the Camino.