People I've met on "The Way"

Wed, Apr 3rd 2024 at 12:40 am - 2:00 am

The Inspiration of El Camino de Santiago told by Tommy Brown

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The speaker this week was Rotarian and club member, Tommy Brown, describing his experiences walking the Camino de Santiago and the ‘People I’ve met on 'the Way’’. Tommy explained that El Camino is the most popular Christian pilgrimage route in the world, named after St James who was beheaded by Herod and whose remains are reputed to be buried in Santiago Cathedral. How impressed Tommy had been by the people he met en route -the locals so welcoming and helpful, the inspirational character and determination of those on the pilgrimage. While some cover the 800km from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago in one go, Tommy tackled it in three stages, 250km in 2017, 438km in 2019, the final stage in 2023. Passing through the major cities of Pamplona, Burgos and Leon the route is otherwise rural. Route planning, discipline, physical fitness and mental stamina are required. Every walker has their own story -only around 50% are there for religious reasons. People Tommy met on the way: Pablo whose bar boasted it had no flies because flies hated the number 58 on display; a violinist in the middle of nowhere; a man dressed as a monk helping a mourning friend whose companion had died of a heart attack en route; Jamie, a blind walker. At one stage Tommy met up with a group who became friends and later visited him in Scotland. A kind doctor, Gigi Osler, offered to treat Tommy’s blisters and spent several hours getting him fit for the road; Tommy later discovered she was the Canadian Chief Medical Officer. The route became busier as the end approached. Tommy was joined by his son Alistair for the last few days plus friends Rick and Nicol who had travelled specially from the States. Why did he do it? a means of getting away from daily life. Would he do it again and recommend it to others? done in stages, yes. His overall impression? inspirational, ‘One of the best experiences of my life’.