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I ventured into one of the local outdoors stores here today to start doing some research on the kind of gear I will need for the Camino. Half an hour later, I bolted out the door in a cold sweat. Who knew there was so much to choose from and how was I ever going to figure out what was right for me?? Then again, my cold sweat could have simply been because I wasn’t wearing the proper breathable ‘Microporous PTFE laminate banded to a face fabric’ gear!
But take jackets for example. There’s hard shell or softshell. There’s waterproof or water resistant. Or windproof. Or fleece. There’s 3-ply or 2-play or even 2.5-ply. There’s Entrant DT or Entrant EV or Entrant Dermizax or just Entrant. There’s Polartec Powershield light or Polartec Powershield high loft. There’s GORE-TEX, Schoeller dryskin, Cordura, Lycra, Coolmax, polymide, polyester, nylon ripstop, Windstopper or N2S. There’s sewn-through or quilted, offset quilted, baffled or triple-layer. It goes on and on.
You want a backpack? How do you feel about ReCurve suspension, HDPE framesheet, AirScape back panels, Bioform CM hip belts, dual density foam or dual peripheral rods?
Hiking boots? Apart from heavy or light, make sure you consider Seamsmart, biosmart, trail radius regrind soles and synergy heel systems.
I didn’t even get to things like sleeping bags, socks or underwear.
When Joe and I hiked the Annapurnas in the 1980s, it was simple (not the hiking mind you; the purchasing of gear). We bought backpacks (way too heavy by today’s standards…do you know today you can buy packs that weigh less than 600 grams?), leather hiking boots (they cut up my feet and I ended up walking most of the way in sneakers and flip flops), MEC sleeping bags that we still use today and Therma-rests (again, still in use). The rest was just whatever was in our closets – cotton t-shirts (cotton is a no-no for hikers since it takes way too long to dry), a pair of pants (again, cotton), down vests and a couple of skirts for me and shorts for Joe.
Today you have to have a PhD to even understand what the labels say!
Lots of people are aware of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, but lots aren’t. I’ve had quite a few people ask me what it is and why I want to do this walk.
A good explanation of the what can be found at this site. Here is an excerpt:
Since people came from all over Europe, there exist not just one but several routes to Compostela and no one “official” starting point. In France alone there were four towns that marked the starting points of different routes to Santiago: Arles (Via Tolosana), Le Puy (Via Podense), Vezelay (Via Lemovicense) and Tours (Via Turonselle). A lot of people simply started walking their way down south towards the Pyrenees from wherever they lived. In Spain, these routes combined into two main routes: Camino Aragones for those who crossed the Pyrenees through the Somport Pass, and Camino Frances for those who used the Roncesvalles Pass. Still other routes, coming from the northern Spanish seaports and the Christianized ‘mozarabic’ areas of southern Spain, joined the Camino Frances before arrival to Santiago. Of all the routes, it is the “French route” or Camino Frances that is by far the most important both historically and in modern times.
In the High Middle Ages, all roads led to Santiago de Compostela. The city, located in northwestern Spain, was one of the three main holy cities of Christendom (the other two were Jerusalem and Rome). As a center of pilgrimage, it was perhaps number one. Rome was too intimately tied with the Papacy – a pilgrimage there wasn’t a mere spiritual journey but also a political statement which meant taking sides in the power struggle between the Pope and the Emperor that tormented the medieval cosmos. Jerusalem on the other hand was much of the time inaccessible or dangerous to reach due to being held by the moslems. Santiago benefited from these struggles; it was neutral, safe ground – less dangerous than Jerusalem and less confusing than Rome.
Every European country had its holy places, but in Santiago the medieval idea of pilgrimage reached its undisputable zenith. The very word “pilgrimage” became almost synonymous with going to Santiago. Dante (in Vita Nuova) himself wrote that those who travel across the seas [to the Holy Land] may be called ‘palm-bringers’ and those who visit Rome can be called ‘Romegoers’, but the title of ‘pilgrims’ belongs to those only who are going to or coming from the House of Galicia, the holy grave of the apostle James. Innumerable pilgrims (at the height of the pilgrimage perhaps half a million per year) made their way to the grave of St. James in Santiago de Compostela, bringing prosperity to the towns and monasteries along the pilgrim’s route. A memory of their numbers is still reflected in the fact that in Spanish “El Camino de Santiago” or St. James’ Way also means “Milky Way” – a metaphor suggesting that there were as many pilgrims as there are stars in the sky.
Today the Camino is still being travelled by thousands of people, although most of them for other reasons than those devout medieval Christians, hoping to evidence miracles at the saint’s tomb or receive the absolution promised by the Church. The flow of pilgrims waned once, but never completely dried up, and is now most definitely on the rise again.
The why is a bit more difficult to answer, since it’s not one specific thing. I am about to turn 50, which I figure is a momentous milestone that should be marked in a way that goes beyond birthday cake and the discovery of new wrinkles. I have had a full and busy life raising three children and working full time, and until recently anyway, haven’t had a lot of ‘down’ time. The idea of getting up each morning with no set agenda, no timetable, no scheduled meetings and no deadlines appeals to me. The chance to just walk and be with my thoughts appeals to me. The idea of carrying everything I need in life in one small backpack appeals to me. And going on a long walk appeals to me (I love walking). Added to that is that on this route there is art, history, natural beauty and a good physical and mental challenge all rolled into one.
I have another rather embarrassing reason. Ever since I was a teenager and read parts of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales I have wanted to go on a pilgrimage. I loved the camaraderie that sprung up among the characters in the book and I instantly identified with the Wife of Bath…both for her fierce independence and the gap in her teeth! So you see this has been percolating in my brain for quite some time.
I thought I’d add links to a few YouTube videos to give you a better sense of what the Camino Frances (the route I’ll be taking) looks like. There are tonnes of them on YouTube…these are just a sample. Look here, here and here.
I bought myself an early birthday present today…the rain jacket seen below. I ordered it on sale from an outdoors store in Spain. It’s perfect for the Camino, lightweight, long enough that I may not need to take along rain pants, plus it will protect my pack too. I’ve never seen anything like it but I think it’s brilliant!
Not sure what got into me yesterday, but it certainly landed me in the soup pot! All I could think of all day was making soup. First I cooked up a big pot of seafood chowder, using (sadly) the last of the Alaskan halibut that Joe caught last summer. Next it was Caribbean black bean soup, which I’ve portioned and put in the freezer for my lunches this week. I was about to make French onion soup but thought, ‘Janet, enough is enough. Stop already!!’ so I’ll save that for another day. I have a big block of Gruyere cheese calling out to me though, so I’d better not wait too long.
Here are a few miscellaneous photos of our trip.
The flowers were just starting to come out when we were there. They were beautiful!
More flowers
Comical translation at the cheese table in one of the restaurants
Jamie finds a starfish. We threw it back in the water after taking this picture.
Joe chills out
Jamie strikes a defiant pose before I slaughtered him in a game of chess.
The one's for you Gary...it's me in my blue dress.
The hotel manager. He worked from sun up to very late at night, doing everything from personally welcoming us to operating this spot light for one of the evening dances. What a sweetheart he was too!
The purpose of our Cuban holiday wasn’t about much more than sun, sand and ocean. However we did take a day trip into Havana, which was an eye opening. We knew of course that staying at an all-inclusive hotel was a venture into Fantasyland, so it was good to get even a bit of a sense of the real Cuba.
My first thought on seeing the city was that it needed about 20-million gallons of paint. There were some beautiful old buildings there, especially in Old Havana, which still showed off their grandeur in spite of their faded exteriors.
There were lots of hustlers: people wanting to sell us cigars, draw our picture (one man had drawn Jamie in 10 seconds flat before he even had the chance to object!), or give us taxi rides. In spite of this, I didn’t see the heartbreaking poverty that is so prevalent in other Third World countries (or even on the streets of Toronto and Vancouver for that matter!) Education and health care are universal and free, and Cuba has one of the highest percentages of university graduates in the world. Their health care system is also ranked as being one of the best, if not the best, in the world. That being said, I’m told medicines are hard to come by (thanks in part to U.S. embargoes on food and medicine).
My impression of Cubans is that are smart, enterprising, highly educated and friendly folks with a wonderful sense of humour. To me they are hybrids, having the famous Caribbean joy for life but with a work ethic that is more often seen in more northern countries. Even when they were hustling you, you got the sense that they were genuinely interested in learning more about your life.
The other thing that you can’t miss is the passion they have for their country. No wonder, given their history. There aren’t too many small countries that would take on a super power like the United States. We saw signs along the highway that read (I’m translating here) ‘Freedom or Death’ and ‘Unity, Firmness, and Victory’. Children start their school day with a chant to ‘be like Che (Guevara)’. The University of Havana must been one of the few universities in the world that has a monument of a military tank.
One word about Che Guevara. You see him on t-shirts, buildings, hats…everywhere. He was of course the Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary who fought for freedom throughout Latin America. I won’t write more about him here…there’s much literature available if you want to learn more. Suffice to say, he sittith on the right hand of God the Almighty in Cuba.
The Capitolio, built to look like the American Capitol building. It was the seat of government until 1959 and now houses some of the government departments.
Note all the old cars from the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. They all still run. I want to find a Cuban to be my mechanic!
The Jose Marti monument at Revolution Square. The square was used during the Revolution for all the major speeches. Fidel once gave an 8 hour speech here...the spectators stood the entire time.
I have a sad confession to make. Right around this point my camera’s batteries died. That’s why the next few photos were taken by Richard Smith. I wanted to include them because they depict street life in Havana so well.
Typical Havana street
Girl talk
I’m not back 24 hours and what am I doing? Researching my next major holiday, scheduled for either spring or fall of 2010. This one’s going to take some planning and training but I’m already excited!
We’re back! It was pretty hard returning to the cold and snow early this morning…our bodies were in a bit of a shock going from +35 to -15!
There’s much I could (and will) write about Cuba. For now, I’ll just say we had a fabulous time. It’s a beautiful country with some pretty wonderful people, and we definitely would like to go back. I need some time to gather my thoughts and photos, but for now here are a few shots to give you a little sense of what we did over the week.
The morning we left Vancouver we sat on the runway for two and a half hours waiting for the plane to be de-iced.
The wait was well worth it though. Here's the view from our balcony in Varadero.
The ocean was just steps from our hotel room.
Most days the biggest choices we had to make were: "Beach or pool" and what to select from the huge array of food available at this resort. It's a rough life!
The nights were devoted to more mojitos and dancing. Note my dance partner's blue eyes! Leo was a bit of a hustler, but he was sweet nonetheless. He asked us for a cell phone but seemed happy enough to settle for the shoes and t-shirts that Joe gave him.
There were tonnes of activities to partake in, including snorkelling, which Jamie and I tried.
Jamie's new friends from Alberta. The resort we stayed in had about 80 percent Canadians. The rest were Europeans. No offense to any Americans reading this, but with U.S. citizens not able to vacation in Cuba, it created a very different energy. We've heard that Americans will soon be allowed to travel there though, so I believe this will result in some pretty big changes.
There were lots of silly games each afternoon by the pool. Here, Joe and Jamie are chugging beer with a straw. They also both had to dance like Shakira. That in itself was worth the price of the airplane tickets!
Next time I’ll write more about the people and about our trip to Havana.
Bags are packed; we’re ready to go. And yes, my little blue dress is in the suitcase! Talk to you soon.
We’ve finalized our holiday plans. Less than a week from today we’ll be sitting on a beach in Cuba. Jamie is looking forward to the snorkeling. I’m just wanting to feel the hot sun on my face. I’m excited!
