Camino Chronicle Australian Friends of the Camino Newsletter No 20, March 2017 Page 1 AFotC Newsletter #20 March 2017 CHAIRMAN’S CHAT Robyn Davidson, Australian author and adventurer said: As we've lost this idea of pilgrimage, we've lost this idea of human beings walking for a very, very long time. It does change you. Perhaps some in our community have lost the idea of pilgrimage, but AFotC members haven’t! We appear to have grasped the idea of pilgrimage with fervour and relate to the fact that walking for a very, very long time does change one! We return from our pilgrimages full of ideas – small and large, often with a desire to once again begin walking for a very, very long time . AFotC has reached a landmark! Early in January we issued our thousandth cre- dencial to Margaret, a NSW member who planned to walk the Via Podiensis from Le Puy-en-Velay. Over 50 more credencials have since been issued with many planning the C Francés, some the C Portugués, others the Via De La Plata, and one planning the C Invierno. An indication we are going to be busy this year. January statistics show 19 Aussies were among the 1,355 pilgrims who arrived at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago. It is noteworthy that so many of us are prepared to walk in the depths of a Spanish winter. Granted, it is the best time for many to take a long break, but those 19 pilgrims have chosen the hardships of the wet, cold Spanish winter rather than the sun and surf of summer back home. In 2015 3,856 Aussies reached Santiago de Compostela. As yet 2016 statistics are unavailable but there is likely to be a significant increase. We issued credencials to members planning Caminos along ‘roads less travelled’, far from Santiago. Some have no intention of reaching Santiago and would therefore not show in the statistics. Each year more ‘roads less travelled’ are being developed and becoming more accessible – clearly waymarked, and increasingly well supported with infrastruc- ture. Roads such as the Invierno in Galicia, the San Salvador in Asturias, and other Caminos such as the Ignaciano (see pp8-13 ) and further afield the di Assisi and the Via Francigena . Then there are the paths that stretch down from France (eg from Arles, pp18-19 ), Germany, Holland, even Denmark ( p16 ) and Poland. What a privilege it is to travel on them. To experience all that they have to of- fer, is indeed a special gift. Taking these roads, stepping out of our comfort zone, takes courage, but the rewards are immense. Make your Camino, relish every moment, and return energised for the road ahead. The American journalist, Katie Couric, sums it up nicely: Be fearless. Have the courage to take risks. Go where there are no guarantees. Get out of your com- fort zone even if it means being uncomfortable. The road less travelled is some- times fraught with barricades, bumps and uncharted terrain. But it is on that road where your character is truly tested. And have the courage to accept that you’re not perfect - nothing is and no one is — and that’s OK. Cover photo: Evening light on River Buen Camino, Janet Leitch OAM (SA) Agout, Castres (see article pp18-19) AFotC Newsletter #20 March 2017 Page 2 A celebraon of all things Camino the first national Camino gathering in Australia! 4-day festival to be held in the Blue Mountains 23-26 February, 2017 See next newsletter for the full report MESSAGE FROM AFOTC MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Which Caminos have you walked? My name is Rex Ranger and I am the Membership Secretary of the Australian Friends of the Camino. My function is to maintain a database of members, send out newsletters, and advise mem- bers of renewals. As a part of this I maintain - on the database - records of Caminos walked or ridden. The records are kept as accurate as possible but Have YOU checked the when members change details (especially vital Australian Friends of contact details such as email addresses) it is the Camino website difficult to contact them. Also, the record of lately? Caminos is updated on notification of comple- It is bursting with tion. To that end, I would appreciate it if interesting articles, members could notify me, when they change news items, pilgrim sto- email addresses and also Caminos they have ries, and old newsletters completed (including starting and finishing points as well as the only place if not completed the whole Camino). to obtain your Aussie credencial (free to mem- Please contact me at [email protected] or bers). Write in and tell at the group email [email protected] . us your Camino story! Send to: bell.alison*optusnet.com.au Buen Camino, Rex Ranger (SA) (replace * with @ to avoid spam). Page 3 AFotC Newsletter #20 March 2017 THE CAMINO INGL ÉS FROM A CORUÑA TO SANTIAGO - PROGRESS AND POTENTIAL From 28 November to 3 December 2016, I participated in an international meeting on the Camino Inglés from A Coruña to Santiago, as the representative of the Australian Friends of the Camino. It was very well organised and led by Lanzada Calatayud, Head of Tourism in the city of A Coruña - and replete with gracious Galician hospitality. This coming together of representatives of pilgrim associations worldwide was convened at very short notice by the council of the large, attractive and histori- cal city of A Coruña in NW Galicia, following the late release of funds to do so. Other pilgrim association representatives able to be at the meeting were from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Hungary, Japan, Norway, South Africa, The Netherlands, UK, and USA. The Camino Inglés This short Camino to Santiago has two starting points - from A Coruña (74.8km to Santiago) and El Ferrol (118.39km to Santiago). In recent years it has been, like the Camino Portugués, experiencing growth in the order of 9% per annum, calculated from the number of pilgrims walking from El Ferrol and receiving a Compostela. The number of pilgrims starting from A Coruña is unknown but is relatively small. It does not reflect that Camino as the well documented main route followed in medieval times by thousands of English, Irish, Scottish, Flemish, and other northern Europeans who sailed across the notorious Bay of Biscay, mainly from ports in southern England. In 1414, for example, the pilgrim William Wey sailed from Plym- outh in 4 days and was astonished to find 84 ships in A Coruña Bay, 37 of them English. El Ferrol was never the main destina- tion for these boats, but it - a smaller city than A Coruña, and which I visited the day before the meeting started - has become the main departure point for the Camino Inglés. This is largely because it is over 100km, long enough to recognise pilgrim commitment with Maps from ‘Camino Inglés a Compostela. book’: Deputación da Coruna, 2nd ed. 2015 AFotC Newsletter #20 March 2017 Page 4 The Compostela itself is a modern recognition which pil- grims value - just as medieval pilgrims valued the shell they acquired in Santiago at the end of their pilgrimage, and wore on their homeward travels as evidence to all of their pilgrim- age. Due to its distance, the Camino from A Coruña is the only Camino which unfortunately is not eligible for a Compostela. Purposes of the meeting One purpose of the meeting was thus to encourage local and international awareness of the historical primacy of the Camino Inglés from A Coruña to Santiago, and gain support for pilgrims completing it to be eligible for a Compostela. A second purpose, achieved by the delegates walking the Camino from A Coruña to Santiago, was to assess and recommend on improvements to the route, its wayfinding, safety, accommodation, cultural and historical awareness, and promotion. Day 1 This started with introductory and historical presentations about A Coruña and the Camino, and presentations by the pilgrim association representatives about their associations. The different sizes and structures of the associations was in- teresting – the Dutch Association for example has 10,000 members. These presentations were followed by questions and discussion, and then a visit to the palatial A Coruña Town Hall for a reception by the English-speaking mayor and others, in the presence of considerable media and photographers – our expe- rience during the whole week. We then broke into three working groups to iden- tify issues for the Camino’s development and promotion. In the evening an inno- vative enjoyable two-hour tour of the old city showed the historical substance it has to offer today’s pilgrims, including being able to walk through the stone gateway by which the medieval pilgrims arrived, the church they attended, and the gateway through which they left for Santiago. More recent features included the floodlit tomb and surrounding park of the revered British General Sir John Moore, located very close to where he was killed by a cannon ball in the Battle of Elvina against Napoleon’s troops in January 1809. A Coruña is also famous for the Tower of Hercules, a massive Roman lighthouse 2000 years old, still in use, and justifiably a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was also the very first thing that medieval pilgrims saw as their boats approached A Coruña. Page 5 AFotC Newsletter #20 March 2017 Days 2-5 On these days the delegates walked the Camino, taking an undemanding 4 days in fine winter sunshine all the way, cold mornings but day temperatures about 18 degrees (it was raining in most other parts of Spain).