Contemplation and connection on the Camino Trail

Vinnies SA volunteer Angela Tait and Vinnies Refugee and Asylum Seeker Service manager Gaby Kinsman both walked along the Camino Trail in recent weeks. In this article, they share their experiences. Angela is a regular volunteer on Vinnies SA's assistance line, where she puts her faith into action helping people in need. 

Angela's Story

Why walk the Camino Frances (French Way)?

I don’t believe anyone has a definitive answer to this question; everyone’s motivation and response would be as diverse as the 2,000-plus pilgrims who finish the Camino each day.

For me, it was a new goal I knew I wanted to pursue. I have always felt very blessed, surrounded by a large tribe of family and friends, and extremely fortunate to be fit and healthy. The idea of a long walk where I could reconnect with my faith and practise gratitude daily appealed to me; and I now recognise this is God’s perfect timing.

The French Camino is long, just under 800 km, though I always described it as 500 miles as it sounds shorter. My intention was to walk slowly, as a religious pilgrimage, and my journey took 49 days - 41 walking days, plus 8 rest days.

During this walk I met many pilgrims from many walks of life, and friendships formed quickly. I think this comes from the readiness to share emotions, fears and feelings. This willingness to form a walking community, with shared goals, is very unique to the Camino.

Life on the Camino is simple, and you quickly fall into a daily routine. Eat, sleep, walk; and for me, pray, attend pilgrim mass, then repeat. Each evening, I reflected on the day’s walk, chatted with new friends, savoured the highlights and checked the next day’s weather forecast and path profile (some Spanish hills should only be walked at the start of the day!).

As you may know, Europe is in the middle of a heat wave, which meant many early starts to avoid the heat, rewarded with beautiful sunrises. I can only describe the scenery as magical. It was spring and each day offered an abundance of beauty and flowers; happy poppies dancing in the breeze, the scents of lavender and wild orchids, the call of cuckoos, and nesting storks perched high on church steeples.

The path is steeped in history and the many areas along its route come alive each day, as it crosses medieval bridges, narrow streets and walled cities, always passing the local church, offering an opportunity to rest, say a prayer and collect a Camino stamp or “sello”. 

At times it is surreal to remember pilgrims have walked this path since the 9th century.

Along the way there were many sites full of religious significance and surprises, including:

•    Chickens living in a coop at the rear of the Cathedral de Santo Domingo de la Calzada
•    Singing nuns hosting pilgrims each night at Carrion de los Condes
•    Cloistered Poor Clare nuns baking pastries to sell to pilgrims
•    Benedictine Monks celebrating daily liturgy in Latin with Gregorian chants
•    Mass at a church in O Cebreiro credited with a pilgrim miracle
•    A crucifixion painting attributed to Michaelangelo in the Logrono Cathedral 
•    The chance to explore the Templars Castle in Ponferrada.

A personal highlight was meeting a nun early one morning offering blessings and a Miraculous Medal to pilgrims. She was from the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul Convent and recognised the SVDP badge on my backpack. She instantly hugged me, and in that small moment we both acknowledged the presence of the Lord and a testament to faith.

This embrace will remain a very special Camino memory.

The route starts in France, in St Jean Pied du Port, and traverses four Spanish regions. Once you successfully climb over the Pyrenees, you leave France and enter Spain. My first rest day was Pamplona, where I visited the Cathedral and explored its rich history of bullfighting.

The path continues through the abundant vineyards of the La Rioja Region. There is another hill climb, Alto del Perdon, historically known as the hill of forgiveness, which was once believed to atone for a pilgrim’s past sins.

From here, the walk enters the Castile and Leon Region and continues for 400 km, predominantly on the flat Meseta Central plateau. Many people avoid this region as it is long, flat and considered repetitious, and yet I loved it.

The peace and quiet gave me the opportunity to find inner peace on a path surrounded by beauty, and was not a mental test of endurance at all.

Galicia is the final region, and home to Santiago de Compostela. It is here you encounter the Cruz de Ferro, where many people leave a stone carried from home. 

Regardless of the reason for walking the Camino, I witnessed vulnerability and relief as pilgrims left their stone and personal struggles at the foot of the cross. This was another simple gesture with a huge spiritual impact.