Looking for Happiness

Transcription

1 Anna Malou Looking for Happiness A woman going on a pilgrimage along the Via de la Plata Engelsdorfer Verlag Leipzig

2 Bibliografische Information durch die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über abrufbar. ISBN Copyright (2013) Engelsdorfer Verlag Leipzig Alle Rechte beim Autor Translated into English by O.H. Mineheart Hergestellt in Leipzig, Germany (EU) Urheberrechtlich 13,80 Euro geschütztes (D) Material! 4

3 Contents Introduction...11 Further information about the Walk of St. James The route of the Via de la Plata Historical items concerning the Via de la Plata Time of the year and equipment Preparations/ Useful languages Safety along the Caminos My Pilgrimage Day 1, May 26 th : Hamburg Palma de Mallorca Sevilla (Andalusia)...21 Day 2, May 27 th : Sevilla...23 Day 3, May 28 th : Sevilla...26 Day 4, May 29 th : Sevilla Santiponce ( 10 km and even more)...29 Day 5, May 30 th : Santiponce Guillena (14 km)...31 Day 6, May 31 st : Guillena Castilblanco de Arroyos (20 km)...34 Day 7, June 1 st : Castilblanco de los Arroyos Almaden de la Plata (29 km by bus)...38 Poem: Andalusia...40 Day 8, June 2 nd : Almaden de la Plata El Real de la Jara (Extremadura), Urheberrechtlich (15,4 km)...41 geschütztes Material! 5

4 Day 9, June 3 rd : El Real de la Jara Monasterio (19,7 km by taxi)...43 Day 10, June 4 th : Monasterio Fuente de Cantos (21,3 km)...45 Day 11, June 5 th : Fuente de Cantos Zafra ( 25 km by bus)...48 Day 12, June 6 th : Zafra Villafranca de los Barros ( 21 km)...50 Day 13, June 7 th : Villafranca de los Barros Torremeyia (28 km)...53 Day 14, June 8 th : Torremeyia Merida (16,3 km)...57 Day 15, June 9 th : Merida...60 Day 16, June 10 th : Merida - Aljucen (15,9 km)...61 Day 17, June 11 th : Aljucen-Caceres (58 km by bus)...62 Day 18, June 12 th : Caceres...65 Day 19, June 13 th : Caceres Casar de Caceres (11 km)...66 Day 20, June 14 th : Casar de Caceres Tajo Reservoir (22,4 km)...68 Day 21, June 15 th : Tajo-Reservoir - Canaveral (11.8 km)...70 Day 22, June 16 th : Canaveral Galisteo (35 km by taxi)...71 Day 23, June 17 th : Galisteo Carcaboso (10,5 km), Plasencia (12 km), Salamanca (Castilia and Leon) ( by bus 120 km)...73 Day 24, June 18 th : Salamanca...74 Poem: Castilia...78 Day 25, June 19 th : Salamanca Calcada de Valdunciel (16,3 km)...79 Interim Statement

5 Day 26, June 20 th : Calzada de Valdunziel El Cubo de la Tierra de Vino (19,7 km)...83 Day 27, June 21 st : El Cubo de la Tierra de Vino Villanueva de Campean (13,3 km)...84 Day 28, June 22 nd : Villanueva de Campean Zamora (18,7 km)...88 Day 29, June 23 rd : Zamora- Montamarta (17,9 km)...91 Day 30, June 24 th : Montamarta Riego del Camino (16,2 km), Granja de Moreruela (Mozaribic Way) (7,1 km) = 23,3 km...93 Poem: The Mozaribic Way...97 Day 31, June 25 th : Granja de Moreruela -Tabara (26,7 km)...98 Day 32, June 26 th : Tabara Santa Marta de Terra (23,2 km) Day 33, June 27 th : Santa Marta de Croya Rionegro del Punte (27,7 km) Day 34, June 28 th : Rionegro del Punte Puebla de Sanabria (Rionegro Mombuey 9,5 km; Mombuey Palacios de Sanabria 20 km by bus, another 11 km to Puebla de Sanabria) Day 35, June 29 th : Puebla de Sanabria Lubian (Galicia) (33 km)..109 Poem: Galicia Day 36, June 30 th : Lubian A Gudina (24,7 km) Day 37, July 01 st : A Gudina Laza (35,8 km) Day 38, July 02 nd : Laza Xuntqueira de Ambia (33,8 km) Day 39, July 3 rd : Xuntqueira de Ambria Ourense (23,4 km) Urheberrechtlich Day 40, July 04 th geschütztes Material! : Ourense Cea (21, 9 km)

6 8 Day 41, July 5 th : Cea Oseira (9,2 km) Castro Dozon (11km) Lalin by bus (20km) Prado (6kms) = 26 km Day 42, July 6 th : Prado Ponte de Ulla (32 km) Day 43, July 7 th : Ponte de Ulla Santiago de Compostela (23 km) 132 Day 44, July 08 th : Santiago de Compostela Poem: Santiago de Compostela Day 45, July 09 th : Santiago de Compostela Day 46, July 10 th : Santiago de Compostela Day 47, July 11 th : Santiago de Compostela Fisterra (120 km by bus) Day 48, July 12 th : Fisterra Cape Fisterra (7 km) Day 49, July 13 th : Fisterra Santiago de Compostela (120 km by bus) Day 50, July 14 th : Santiago de Compostela Hamburg Particulars and details along the Via de la Plata Comparison of Camino Frances, Camino Portugues and Via de la Plata Information about the Camino Fisterra and my walking to Murcia Comparison of a pilgrim hostel and a private hostel Comparing a flat rate tour with the Camino Travelling alone or with a partner? Walking as a pilgrim changes your life...155

7 Epilogue Literature Appendix Package List Acknowledgement Biography of Anna Malou Bibliography

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9 Walking is the best medicine for everyone. (Hippokrates) Introduction I am on my way again, looking for happiness. So again I am asking myself, what I am searching for. Many people are absolutely fortune-hunting. But first of all it is your head, the way of thinking, and last not least the coming to a decision before you make up your mind to start the walk. The head is giving you the impulse for moving, to leave your passiveness behind and start being active, so that you want to walk. Being on the walk, there will be other emotional elements and you will be pleased to have started something new. There will be the surprises and curiosity concerning your life and many people you will come into contact with. You will be overwhelmed by the landscape and hoping for more than daily reflection of everyday life. If you try to define happiness, so to me it is a new wave in the ocean of contentment, but it is never lasting. 1 If you compare children and adults, you will come to the conclusion that children live for the moment and do not have to worry about anything. I am longing to feel the same while being on the pilgrimage, living for some time in a cheese-cover, where I am safe and where I find rest, leaving my problems behind. This leads to a new feeling for time and distance and your inner speed and hectic is reduced. It is obvious that the pilgrimage gives you immense possibilities for long reflections. So your soul is stabilized and you intensify your sensitiveness, giving yourself spiritual input. 1 Compare with this: Wie kann man Glück lernen? from: Für Sie-Report 7/2011, S.70 11

10 In our commercialized world many of us have forgotten to find the key for happiness. That leads to the mistaken belief that owning a house or a car can make you really happy. But last not least the joy of life must come from your inside. This can be a smile from a little child or a sudden sunshine that lets you forget your problems for a while. So take the chance to relax and invite a good friend for a cup of coffee and talk about God and your wishes, for example, and you will be in heaven for a while. Being on pilgrimage I listened to the people, reflecting about the different possibilities how to walk the Camino: There are people who are diving into themselves, finally finding God. Other people are looking for God and learn a lot about their individuality and selfishness. That leads to the consequence that if you have enough time and if you want to learn many things about your inner feelings and the glorious nature that surrounds us, you should follow the Holy James into his world and see the world out of his perspective. You will follow your intuition. Enjoy your life and explore the world with the eyes of a child. You will be full of joy and satisfaction to enjoy the simple things in life. Before you definitely decide to leave your family for a while, you must be sure to be able to undertake that walk without the support of a person, you could rely on in the past. That is why many pilgrims start in a group or with a confident company of a second pilgrim, in order to have mental support, in case of problems arising. But it is not easy to start a pilgrimage with regards to others, and so it often comes to the result that walking quite alone is much better. That does not mean that you cannot meet again at your next village, where you come together again in the evening. It is even possible that one of the partners hurts himself and has to return home. Now you have to make up your mind if you want to continue the long walk. For me there is no Urheberrechtlich doubt to walk geschütztes alone, as I Material! already did on my pilgrimages along the Camino Frances and along the Camino 12

11 Portuguese. That does not mean that I do not want to come into contact with other pilgrims and talk to them, whenever I want to. There will be lots of opportunities in the hostels in the late afternoon or in the evening. And as I already know that the preparations of the new route along the Via de la Plata take a long time, I want to get the necessary information. Therefore I read some books with interesting material and get further information through the internet. 2 It was difficult for me to find out the best time of the year, because I have read that there will still be snowfall in the mountains of Castile and Galicia in April. So I will start in May, leaving the cold and wintry months behind. The second reason to start in May is the fact that I want to reduce the possibility to hurt myself, because I know that the soil can be covered with ice and snow at that time of the early spring, and all my plans would come to an end. Before departing, I order the pilgrim papers via internet at the Society of St. James in Würzburg. They also sent me a flyer with further information and a packing list. The pilgrim papers are a kind of passport that allows me to stay in the different pilgrim hostels on my pilgrimage. And you can easily find out that I have been walking without a long interruption which is necessary to receive the Compostela, the pilgrimage document, after having arrived in Santiago de Compostela. But do not forget to reach a good fitness before starting the tour. That is why I am walking ten kilometres approximately two or three times a week, using the new boots regularly. At home I have to say good-bye to my family, friends and neighbours. They all wish me the best for an interesting tour and hope to receive 2 Compare that with the list of literature in the Appendix 13

12 good news via mobile phone or internet during the seven weeks of my absence. And I ask my family only to send me good news during my walk, if possible. So I am leaving, hopefully longing for relaxed days to come, walking in a warm climate, exploring the landscape, meeting interesting people, in order to regain positive power for my body and my soul. But when the day of departure comes nearer, I pray to God that everything will be fine, when I am returning home. Further information about the Walk of St. James Whenever people made up their minds to start a pilgrimage, they began their walks at home, using the different European tours, leading them to Santiago de Compostela. So the terminus Walk of St. James is in fact a variety of many routes, being used by the pilgrims. Only in Spain you will find the Camino Frances (leading from St. Pieds de Port to Santiago de Compostela), The Camino del Norte (leading along the coast from Hendaye to Santiago de Compostela), the Camino Primitivo (leading from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela) and the Mozarabic Walk of St. James (leading from Granada to Merida). You can also walk in Portugal, in Italy, in France and from many other countries to Santiago de Compostela. In 1987 the Unesco declared that these walks have a unique importance for the European culture. In 1120 Pope Calixtus II. declared some Holy Years, when the holy remembrance of St. James was celebrated on a Sunday. If you came to Santiago de Compostela at that time, all your sins were forgiven. The year 2010, when I will be on my tour, belongs to the Holy Years as well. Besides Rome and Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela is one of the most famous destinations for pilgrims. The founding of Santiago de 14

13 Compostela has inseparably to do with the grave of St.James, the apostle, in the ninth century. The Route of the Via de la Plata 15

14 Historical items concerning the Via de la Plata Preparing my pilgrimage, I found some interesting information about the Via de la Plata: The Via de la Plata is a very old bridle-path and trade-route that already existed, before the Romans came here. It is about one thousand kilometres long and leads from Sevilla to Santiago de Compostela, that is to say from the South of Spain to the North. The Via is older than the Camino Frances. The terminus Via de la Plata originally comes from Bal latta which is a broad paved way. In the second century before Christ was born, it was used for military and trade purposes, before the Romans stayed there until 711. Then until 1492 the Moors ruled the country. Especially after 800 past Christ lots of pilgrims followed this route, because the legend said that there was a mysterious light at the grave of St. James, who was one of the twelve apostles. That light led the people directly to Santiago de Compostela. The mortal remains of Apostle James are still to be found in the crypt of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Today the route of the Via de la Plata combines the old route of the Via de la Plata and the Camino Mozarabic, coming from Granada, Cordoba and Merida, touching the Via de la Plata in Salamanca. In the North of Salamanca, short after Zamora, close to Granja de Moreruela, the route splits into two: on one hand it leads into the direction of Astorga to the Camino Frances, and on the other hand the original route of the Camino Mozarabic leads into the direction of Ourense, finally ending in Santiago de Compostela. As I have heard in the pilgrim hostel of Zamora, 95% of the pilgrims follow the route through Ourense to Santiago de Compostela. But in the last years the number of pilgrims, taking the route along the Via de la Plata, has enormously increased. In pilgrims walked along the Camino Frances and preferred the Via de la Plata. Comparing the Urheberrechtlich number of pilgrims geschütztes in the last Material! ten years, you will come to the conclusion that they are steadily going up, especially in the 16

15 Holy Years 1999 and So I hope to meet many people in the Holy Year The number of pilgrims, walking traditionally, is said to be in The Holy Compostelian Year is celebrated whenever the festivity of the Apostle James, July 25 th, is on a Sunday. The Holy Year is identical to the calendar year and begins at the gate of forgiving, a holy gate, in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, on December 31 st of the year before. This is the custom since the fifteenth century. The next holy years will be celebrated in 2021 and In 1991 they coloured the typical signs to lead the pilgrims on the walks along the Via de la Plata, the arrows, yellow. But nevertheless it is sometimes difficult to find your way. The Via de la Plata is giving the pilgrims a unique stimulating impression, because there are landscapes without any people living there and there exist towns with a Roman or Moorish tradition. Especially in the southern part of the Via de la Plata up to Salamanca you will seldom meet any pilgrims. But during the summer months you can come into contact with Spanish people or cyclists. Cyclists like it to move along the Via, because the route is acceptable for them and they can easily find a place in a pilgrim hostel. And it is worth mentioning that the number of women, walking along here, is absolutely low. In spring and late summer the number of pilgrims from other countries is going up. Time of the year and equipment There are no general rules for the months of a pilgrimage along the Via de la Plata, because you are going to touch different climatic zones. That means that Urheberrechtlich every pilgrim geschütztes has to decide Material! it on his own. But you have to consider that every human being has its self-interest to choose the 17

16 warmth of the summer or to prefer walking in the cold period of the year. The Via de la Plata leads the pilgrim through two mountainous regions, the one leading from Caceres to Salamanca and the other one from Salamanca to Ourense, where you can still find snowy mountains in April or have already snow in October. Nevertheless, the months April to June and September and October are absolutely best choice for starting your pilgrimage along the Via de la Plata. Some people say that it is no problem at all to walk there throughout the year, because of the mild climate. But I have more fun enjoying the summer time, because I do not have to wear lots of clothes, which reduce the weight of my rucksack enormously. Do not take too many things with you, but keep care that your equipment has a high quality! I found out for myself that it is best to wear one habit while you walk and to have a second one for changing it, after having had a shower in the afternoon. Last not least you should have a third number of clothing as a kind of reserve with you, in case something is torn on your way or it has not yet dried during the night. The general rule and my motto are: the less you carry, the better for your fitness! The total amount of weight in your rucksack should not be higher than ten kilogramme. In addition to that, you have to carry the food of the daily walks and two litres of mineral water. It is not possible to leave your sleeping-bag at home, because on the Via de la Plata you will mostly find pilgrim hostels and no private rooms. Taking into account that I always put a thin blanket over the mattress before crawling into my sleeping-bag, I have to carry it as well. Your clothing must consist out of microfiber, because it does not weigh much, keep your body dry and are soon dry, after having been washed. Your walking shoes should be out of an excellent material. I would like to advise you not to buy leather boots, but to look out for light elastic 18

17 boots, you can also use, while walking through a humid climate. But it is necessary that they reach up to your ankles, in order to have a feeling of stability, so that you do not slip. Being on the plane to Spain, my backpack is safe in my suitcase, so I cannot lose anything, before I start with the tour. Preparations/ Useful languages If you decide to start your pilgrimage, it is absolutely necessary to prepare yourself carefully. As the route along the Via de la Plata is very lonely and your daily walks take thirty kilometres at least, you have to get used to wearing your walking shoes and training the walking as often as possible. I always walk ten kilometres twice or even three times a week without my backpack. Shortly before my departure I have walked twenty kilometres several times. Many older people say that the older you are, the harder you have to train, before going on the route. When you finally are in Spain, you will have to be adapted to the climate and you must carry your belongings in your rucksack. English is spoken, wherever you are on the Camino. But if you are able to speak a little Spanish, it is really helpful, especially in Southern Spain. In addition to that, the Spanish people you meet will be delighted to hear the pilgrims, the peregrinos, speak their language and so they are more helpful to you. If you want to understand the menu, you need a good Spanish dictionary, so that the things, you have ordered, are on the plate. 19

18 Safety along the Caminos Generally spoken you are safe as a pilgrim, because the Spanish local people treat you with respect. They are normally friendly, tolerant and helpful to you. Of course there is no absolute safety, because it is possible to meet unfriendly people all over the world. So your walking-sticks can also be used as a hold or as a useful method to defend yourself. They can even be needed to fight against dogs if necessary. To be on the safe side, I always have a pepper-spray with me. But be careful that the wind does not blow it into your face! In any case, it belongs into your luggage during the flight and not into your handbag. I have come to the conclusion that a mobile phone with an emergency call can help you a lot, if the circumstances require this. You will get further information at the Societies of St. James or a tourist information. 20