Author Archives: Reino Gevers

Leaving Grandas de Saline this morning for Fonsegrada  – a good 25 km hike – our group of pilgrims spotted a familiar face. It was Frans from the Czech Republic, cheerful as ever and still going his pace. 

He arrived at the Albergue the previous night at 9 pm as most of the other pilgrims were getting ready for bed. For the past two days we had been wondering about him. The guy is amazing, limping, red-faced, his back hurting. If he has made it so far I’m sure he will manage the remaining 160 km to Santiago. Its amazing what will power and a positive mindset can do. I call him the hero of the day.

 

Compared to the previous stages, the route to Fonsegrada is a relatively easy walk, taking us from the province of Asturias to Galicia. In Asturias the Camino scallop shell, that serves as the route marker along with the yellow arrow has the longest line of the shell pointing to Santiago with all the other lines symbolising the different routes on the St. James Way. In Galicia the shell points in the other direction which is sometimes confusing.

 

For the past few days I’ve been walking with Patricia from Germany. She has walked the Camino three times and she is an excellent help as she speaks fluent Spanish. Every morning at the start of our walk and climbing another steep hill I hear her mumbling: ‘This is my last Camino!’ Well I’ve taken a bet with her that she will be walking again.

 The Camino is challenging physically and mentally but it gives so much on so many levels.
Reino Gevers – coach, trainer, author

http://www.reinogevers.com

It was another foggy morning starting out from Berducedo this morning. Walking to the next village of La Mesa the clouds opened up to sunlight spotlighting the chapel of Buspol – another magical Camino experience.

  
The Camino Primitivo has many more pilgrims on the path than I had thought. At the strong recommendation of a Spanish couple we have had to reserve beds in the towns ahead. It goes against the Camino spirit but like on the main Camino Frances more and more people are walking the path. From the conversations I’ve had with some, especially younger Peregrinos, there is a search for meaning in a world that is becoming increasingly complex with difficulty to find orientation in an age of information overload. 

There is a deep yearning for soul purpose and many people – and not only on the Camino – are expressing unhappiness with ‘treadmill jobs’ that provide no room for self-development. 

We met a guy in Borres, who looks like Balu the Bear, who has been on the road through Spain with his dog for more than two years. He is one of those people who have obviously decided to extract themselves from the obligations of a normal life. 

Some people certainly are able to walk things off on the Camino for others the problems lie deeper. One guy, who reminds me of the Hobbit in The Lord of The Rings, is very talkative – but only to himself. 

Reino Gevers – coach, trainer, author

http://www.reinogevers.com

   
 
One of the many lessons on the Camino is  dealing with life’s ups-and-downs. After a bad night in the fly infested village of Borres, today was one of the most physically challenging sections I have walked on the Camino.

 It is called the Hospital Route because the ruins of the hospitals run by nuns for pilgrims in the Middle Ages can be found in several places at an altitude of 700-1200 metres. The modern day Camino is a walk in the park compared to what the pilgrims accomplished centuries ago who were on the road for months many not surviving. 

For the past few days I have bonded with an interesting group of pilgrims from Italy, France, Spain, Denmark and a teacher-radio journalist from Germany.  Poor Frans from the Czech Republic is having a really hard time not understanding any of the languages spoken here. I saw him the first time a couple of days ago having a really hard time getting up a hill – one of those Peregrinos who are really suffering physically. But I’ve never heard him complain always smiling and greeting us with a cheery Buen Camino! A Hospitaliero (inn keeper) wrote in his Credential (camino passport)

 ‘Have Faith in the Path and you will forget your Fears’

The other interesting Peregrino we met yesterday was Guillermo, who is on the Camino with his donkey Marcel and his dog Willy. They are a real attraction with Marcel greeting every horse on the paddock with a ear-piercing ‘eeh ahhhh!’

Reino Gevers – coach, trainer, author

http://www.reinogevers.com

 

  
 
Shortly after leaving Cornellana the Camino offers a spectacular view of the San Salvador monastery. Parts of the building date back to around the year 900 with the complex being restored section by section.

The good 18-kilometre walk to La Espina is a fairly steep 700 metre climb through forest and lush green countryside that remind more of Ireland than Spain. 

In Salas I met again two young Italian women, I had passed on the way earlier. The reason one of them is doing the Camino: ‘I have lost myself and am trying to find myself again.’

There are many different types of pilgrims:

• the tradional pilgrim or Peregrino walking for several weeks with a backpack who will never take a bus or taxi come what may. 
• the ‘Tour-Grino’ who comes by tourist bus to do small 5-10 kilometre walks with the bus taking the luggage to the next luxury hotel.
• the Bike-Grinos. These are the guys storming at you from behind on mountain bikes, who see the Camino as a sports exercise. At best you get a Buen Camino greeting at worst they force you off the road. Thankfully I’ve met very few of them on the Camino Primitivo.

Then there are those that don’t fit into any category, talking to themselves with a strange look in their eyes and carrying gigantic back packs.  In La Espina two French girls were doing the Camino with a mule, two dogs and a cat.  So they might have a small farm by the time they reach Santiago.

Reino Gevers – coach, trainer, author

http://www.reinogevers.com