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In the summer of 2005 Shihan Henderson walked across Spain on what
is known as El Camino de Santiago. The Camino is an old Christian
pilgrimage that has in one form or another been underway since the turn
of the last millenium (1000 A.D.). Shihan Henderson walked the Camino
in memory of his father who had recently past-away. It was a personal
spiritual journey and Zen walk rolled into one. The walk is over 1000
kilometres long and begins in St. Jean Pied de Port, France or
(Roncesvalles in Spain) and continues on foot to Santiago 100
kilometres from the Atlantic seashore. Shihan Henderson includes his
comments on the meditation walk below.
People go on a pilgrimage for many reasons. In the
case of The Camino de Santiago many people do it simply because they
wish to complete a big feat and they love nature, some people are
spiritual while others are religious while still others really aren't
sure. In my case, I wished to walk it in order to think about my father
who had recently passed away. It was a chance to walk sometimes with
other people but also most of the time by myself. The
walk is challenging and most people complete around 30 kilometres a
day. Some people do more and 50 to 60 kilometres a day is not unheard
of. With that much walking the body goes through many changes. At first
it starts to adjust and then it starts to rebel and after a while
fatigue takes over and people cross over beyond the pain and simply
walk. When
people get to the point where they deal with the pain of walking so
many miles (or kilometres) or they transcend the pain with sheer
determination to complete the walk an interesting
thing begins to happen. First off, you are walking through rural Spain
and it is very beautiful and the beauty that surrounds you starts to
take on a very strong influence on what you are doing. This happens
because as you walk and you leave the modern world behind the clock
starts to slow down. Soon you realize that there is no cell phone to
answer, no fax machine ringing in the background and no television to
turn on or off. There is just you, your feet and the Camino. Simplicity
abounds and you begin to get a strong understanding of how
complex you've let your regular life get. Is all that complexity
necessary? Many people make a promise to themselves that upon finishing
and returning to the regular world they will clean up their lives and
get rid of the unnecessary clutter. This process, this personal inner
garage sale of useless baggage helps us to get back to a truer sense of
who each and everyone of us is. What a beautiful gift to take away with
you.
Naturally,
as you walk the Camino you meet many other people, some who share your
outlook and some that have their own unique view on the world. One of
the joys of the Camino is to speak with these people and find out about
their world. Who they are. Why they came to walk the Camino. Are they
walking it for a special reason. What do they believe in? These are all popular questions on the
Camino. The
other nice thing about the Camino is that you meet individuals from all
over the world and you meet people from every age group. After a short
while, the Camino becomes a United Nations of walkers and seekers and
you start to realize that we aren't really that different after all. If
there was one reoccuring theme on the Camino, other than the pain your
feet and body are going through, it must be love. Love of nature, love for one
another, love for yourself, and the love to trust in the unknown.
Everyone faces a deamon on the Camino. I think this might be true
because there is just so much time to think about your life that often
upsetting things percolate to the surface and then call to be dealt
with. This is the therapy of The Camino. But at the same time many beautiful things come rushing at you
seemingly out from no where and you are reminded of how complex and yet
how simple life really is. This is the healing of the Camino.
I
recommend walking the Camino for everyone, because it will teach you
something about yourself in an unintruding way. It will gently push you
and push you and push you some more until the door to the secret room
opens and you meet an old friend standing there.
We
all have an inner person we need to find or re-explore and the Camino
gives us that chance. At times on the Camino when you are walking alone
you feel very lonely, at other times on the Camino when you are walking
alone you feel like the whole world is walking with you. This is the
mystery of the Camino and is why thousands of people a year for over
1000 years have been braving its course. I hope one day too you will
find the path of the Camino and for a while the seeker in you will
take your hand and lead you down the path on to a new way.
 A beautiful street in Raba de las Calzadas
 Hermitage of Our Lady of the Monestary
 Long stretch of road toward Hontanas.
 Cafe outside Hornillos del Camino, only 469 kms left to walk.
 Happy pilgram with Bo (Staff) in his hand.
 Happy pilgram #2
 Hola Perrigrino ! Happy pilgram #3.
 Cross on rock pile as encouragment to keep going.
 On The Camino walking starts each day at 6 AM.
 A personal remembrance bracelet to remind me why I came to The Camino.
 The Camino changes shape often.
 Hundreds of miles of farmers fields to walk by. The thoughts of how we are all tied to the land in one way or another come to mind.
 The Convent of Saint Anton. Here you will get a calm feeling passed down from the many centuries.
 The church of Saint John (San Juan) at Catrojeriz. Large and impressive.
 Castle ruins at top the hill at Castrojeriz. Incredible how they built such things.
 A long stretch of The Camino on the way to Fromista. Doesn't it ever end ?
 Very tired feet. Make sure to have good walking boots, lots of water and your trusty staff.
 Walking outside of Carrion, only 475 kilometres to Santiago by foot. Yippie !
 The Camino is so long it never seems to end and the temperature is above 35 degrees centigrade (+90 F).
.jpg "Image") The Royal Monastery of Santa Clara where we slept for the night.
 The road to Sahagun, the ground now changes and you can see the iron minerals colouring the ground.
 The road is long and hot ! But peaceful and contemplative. Is it a mirage or do I see a cafe in the distance ?
 Santuary of the Virgin of The Bridge and church.
 This bridge is 1000 years old and still very strong - Amazing !
 The Monastery at Sahagun.
 Leaving Sahagun and walking towards Bercianos del Real Camino (Royal Camino).
 A good friend who encouraged us all the way.
 Many pilgrims push too hard for their health and we are left with a memorial. We keep them in mind while we walk on our own.
 Parts of The Camino remind me of the Canadian praries, it is very, very hot here.
 The incredible Cathedrale at Leon.
 A country road outside of Leon. Nice and cool under the trees for awhile.
 Taking a break at Hopital de Orbigo
.jpg "Image") Stone cross of Santo Torbio in San Justo de la Vega. Arthur and Jane standing by.
 The incredible brick work at the Cathedrale in Astorga.
 A message of love in the middle of the walking path. Funny how soothing that was.
 A fellow perrigrino (pilgrim), Meagan (a.k.a Little Star), walking towards Foncebaton.
 An old church along the way to Foncebaton.
 Arriving in Foncebaton and Paul taking a break next to an old shed.
 The back side of a church where the pilgrims stayed overnight in Foncebaton.
 The famous cross above the pole at Foncebaton.
.jpg "Image") A knight Templar outside Foncebaton in the hills attending to his refugio (refuge). Only 222 kilometres left to walk !!!
 Sheep grazing in the mountains along the way.
 11th century Templar castle at Ponferrada.
 Back side of the castle. The place is massive.
 Outside Ponferrada you start to enter wine country. It is very beautiful and looks very peaceful and happy.
 Some friends on the Camino are with you for only a short time. Flowers abound along the path.
 It is hot and beautiful. Sometimes dusty always magical.
.jpg "Image") The palace castle of the Marqueses (Circa 1490)
 A foot bridge along the Camino. A camino symbol to remind us to cross over our burdens and arrive safely on the other side. Open your heart and you shall see.
 In the mythical mountain town of Faba a rebuilt church by the Parish of Astorga. The church serves 10 villages and was out of commission for 30 years. A statue of a perrigrino stands at the side.
 In Faba you can lose yourself to your imagination as the mist comes in and surrounds everything around you.
 Inside the rebuilt church in Faba, lighting remembrance candles for my father.
 A cross on the side of the road outside Faba which indicates the Dharma road. It reminds us that all seekers are bound together.
 This is real country walking along a muddy road.  More mud but easy to walk. Reminds me of the Zen koan that the Lotus only grows in the mud. You might be surrounded by mud in your life, but you are the beautiful Lotus flower. This you must believe.
 The destination of some paths are often unknown but if we look at our heart and are honest we find the courage to go forward. How many others have gone down the road before you? Who will you meet when you brave the darkness and come out the other side? Maybe you will meet yourself on the other side!
 Another memorial to a fallen perrigrino.
 Leaving the mountain village of O Cebreiro
 An old church on the way to Tricastella.
 In the mountains it rains a lot. I wish I hadn't thrown away my rain gear when I was in the desert !
 A fellow perrigrino asking if I had a carrot ! The rain didn't seem to bother him and he was very friendly with everyone who walked by.
 Very wet mountain walking, but very beautiful and mystical.
 Misty mountain walking, sometimes you lose yourself in your thoughts when you are walking and you must be careful not to go off course.
 Oustide Tricatella (Three Castles) where there is no longer any castles ! C'est dommage !
 A fellow perrigrino, Gabriella, doing Tai Chi after a 30 kilometre day walk.
 A small church in Santiago.
 A view of Santiago from the main park, Santiago is a dedicated UNESCO world heritage site.
 The front view of the Cathedrale of Santiago and our final destination. A prayer for my father in the church, some moments along and then the desire to do it all over again ! An incredible walk.
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