The Camino is all about connection. Reconnecting to your soul and connecting with the people you meet while walking. Pour a glass of Vino Tinto at The Camino Cafe as we feature the stories of Pilgrims. We hope to inspire those that want to walk the Camino someday and to nurture the Camino essence for those that have already walked through telling the stories of our pilgrimages. Join Host, Leigh Brennan, as she discusses all things Camino with fellow Pilgrims. Interviews are also available on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6VN9ze3z61n6tRLtDXWuQw and at our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/thecaminocafehttps://linktr.ee/leighbrennan
The Camino Cafe's intro and outro song with thanks to fellow Pilgrim, Jackson Maloney. Original Song - "Finnis Terre" - written and performed by Jackson Maloney - Singer, Musician, and Songwriter. Connect with Jackson: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3fdQsSqq9pDSwKcWlnBHKR
Speaker 1:
Hello Co-Grams, and welcome to the Kamino News Update. It's Wednesday, February 28th. I'm Lee Brennan, Johnny Walker and the team will join us shortly. Well, let's get to it. Bill Bennett's movie trailer for the Way, my Way it's Out, and seeing the huge positive response on social media alone to it, well, I think it's going to be a mega hit. And what Wait? A hot minute. Is that our Johnny Walker? Is he in the movie? You betcha, Johnny, what do you have for us?
Speaker 2:
Lee, hello everyone. As you can see, santiago is rain sweat at the moment and this has been going on for some time, not just here in Santiago but throughout Lithia. A plenty of rain, plenty of floods, plenty of wind. Pilgrims have found it quite difficult but, of course, still arriving. I'd like to show you this photograph, which is published on Facebook by the page Compostella really photograph. I think it might become an iconic photograph of Santiago and it looks like a swimming pool. In fact, a friend of mine wrote you think they'll replace tourist bus with a ferry. Well, I don't think it's quite as bad as that. The last week, though, battling through the rain and the wind, 781 pilgrims arrived. The Pilgrims office received the Compostella magnificent achievement. That number slightly down on the numbers over the last couple of weeks, nearing 1000. Since the 1st of January, 4,831 pilgrims have received the Compostella here in Santiago. Now it's still 2 to 3% increase the numbers last year. So the numbers are not yet going down. We don't know if they ever will.
Speaker 2:
We've said in the last week or so we're now after Ash Wednesday in Arnaval, if you remember that, we're now in the period of Lent, which the Catholic Church is a period of preparation leading up to Holy Week, to Manasanta, called here in Spain, when the Catholic Church celebrates and remembers the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the resurrection celebrated Easter Sunday. So Manasanta, was announced the other day here in Santiago, will have 16 processions throughout the streets. Did these processions take place all over Spain? And in the forthcoming weeks I'll tell you more about them. There'll be 16 processions, with a final one on Sunday, the 7th of April.
Speaker 2:
Now, these are magnificent affairs with involving many, many people dressed in medieval penitence, and just I came across rehearsal the other day. We're in the pre-reparation. Let's just have a look at this and you can see that these figures are very large and very heavy and they're carried by 30 or 40 people. As you can see here, there are men on either side of this, men and women on either side of this carrying it. There are also people underneath and, because of the weight of it and the number of people involved, you can hear the marshal being orders as to how they should march in step.
Speaker 2:
So I will tell you more about preparations for Holy Week in the weeks to come. I thought I would close this with another remembrance. You know these, these Holy Week processions, are often accompanied by marching bands and I came across rehearsal of one of the marching bands which put me very much in mind, of my youngest daughter, lindsay, who when she was about 10 or 11, decided to pick up the trumpet, and rehearsal of this marching band sounds very like rehearsals which Lindsay used to do in her house and it was torture. And with that thought I'll close. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1:
My Tricia's and my walk to Fatima. We were often lost, tired and hungry. Luckily, Camino Angels kept coming through to us and the Portuguese people were just wonderful. First we met a really kind lady. We were passing by a house and just as we got past it she came running out and she said come back in. Come back in for a snack. Well, we were lost and we were tired and so we hesitated, but we decided that we probably should go in and accept her offer. And then she served us cold coax and fresh oranges right out of their backyard, and she really seemed like she wanted to talk. And she began to tell us a story, how she and her husband first met, which was on a plane seven years ago, when they were both going to Casablanca. She then decided well, the rest was history. She moved from Korea and moved to Portugal to be with him. She then got really teary eyed and she said that meeting us that day, she felt like it was a stroke of luck and good fortune, because she rarely got to speak to people because their house wasn't right on the path. So remember, we were lost. Well, we felt like it was a blessing for us to receive her hospitality and to be able to chat with her.
Speaker 1:
And then there was this old man. He became a real beacon of guidance for us. We had gone through several roundabouts that were unmarked, and then he was coming up the street. He told us which way to go, and so then we went on our merry way, and several minutes later we were getting ready to make a turn and we started hearing this voice yelling and turned around and there was the old man coming down the hill as fast as he could, pointing us to go the opposite direction, and somehow, you know, our beacon of guidance knew we were getting ready to go the wrong way once again.
Speaker 1:
And then there was the restaurant where we went. That was really too fancy for two tired and sweaty pilgrims, but they took us in and treated us like family, and at the end of the meal they actually gave us free bottles of water. And we were like, hey, that's super cool. And we went on our way. And then, as we're walking, all of a sudden we hear our server yelling for us again. And here they had packaged up a big bag of food for us to take further down the road, which was so sweet.
Speaker 1:
And then there was a loveliest young couple who invited us into their oasis and fed us the most nutritious meal. We had a lovely chat and when we asked why did you do this for us? Because they were technically closed for the season, they said well, because your pilgrims. And then there was Vitor, a modern day caretaker of pilgrims, and he invited us in to see his albergue and restaurant and over free wine, he began to tell us the story of his dream and how he wanted to take this really olive oil factory that was in ruins and he wanted to turn it into a place for pilgrims. And he told us how he met many obstacles but he never gave up hope and now today it's a haven for pilgrims. More on our walk next week. Next up is Rocco Rossi from the Santa Braz.
Speaker 3:
Hi Lee, I've completed the plata, santa Braz, and I'm on the path to Fisterra and Moushia and it's just such a glorious morning after several days of heavy rain and rain last night. So loving this and reflecting on last week and on the plata as a whole. A thousand kilometers later, so many wonders, world heritage, sites in Merida, casaras, salamanca, spectacular beauty. Really, at the end of the day, as always, it's the people.
Speaker 3:
And the big moment for me was walking through a village, in the pouring rain, tiny village, and there was a man ahead of me and he had a white cane tapping away, blind man, and without turning around, he said Buenas dias, pedegrino. And I greeted him but said how did you know it was a pilgrim. And he said well, this is a small village. I know all my neighbors and they would have greeted me and said my name long before they got as close as you did. Plus, it's raining heavily and none of my neighbors are mad enough to be out in this. So it had to be a pilgrim. And I said but you're out in this and you don't have an umbrella, so are you mad? And he said look, I've lost my sight.
Speaker 3:
I haven't lost my senses, in fact the rest of my senses are even stronger. I come out into the rain because I love the sound of the drops hitting on the slate roofs. I love how it sounds hitting that metal bucket over there or this plastic one up here. I love the sound that my cane makes splashing in the puddles, because it reminds me of when I splashed as a boy in puddles. But most of all, I adore the rain because I feel the water embracing my face. Pedegrino, most who can see don't use all their senses, and some who can see have no sense at all. Buen Camino, pedegrino. And he ducked into his house and was gone. A lot of wisdom in that, Buen Camino.
Speaker 1:
Here's Lindsay Taitsine from the Camino Maserabe.
Speaker 4:
Hi there, lindsay, here again I'm on day 13 out of Valmaria, somewhere between Granada and Cordova, I think, all up. Now I'm sitting at about 270 kilometres and I'm planning to finish in Marido, which will be about 600 or so. The weather today has been cold and wet, but nothing like the freezing temperatures in the north of Spain. It's not unpleasant walking because the tracks are well formed and wide and there's no puddles to navigate. Having said that, it is extremely muddy if you step off the track into the olive groves. The countryside has changed now, from the ragged desert hills east of Granada Now we are looking at rolling hills of manicured olive orchard after olive orchard, even though the landscape has changed, though each corner and crests, some new vista unfolds, although, to be fair, they all involve olive trees, the almond trees, the source of blossoms. East of Granada still think it's winter here though, which technically it is, but there's no very few blossoms around.
Speaker 4:
Along this route there's no municipal albergos, so the only accommodation available is private albergos. They generally range in price between 20 euros and 25 euros for a single room and generally it has sheets and towels and a heater, which is good for drying clothes, and that has been a problem in municipal albergos. For the past week or so, I've had the company of a couple my age, from Bilbao, and they're helping me improve my Spanish. Last I saw all of them helping them with their English. Couldn't be more delighted with this route. I think it's my favorite so far. Until the next update, buen Camino.
Speaker 1:
And well, that's a wrap for this week's news from our team, and we'll be back next Wednesday to bring you all the news from the Camino. See you in Santiago, pilgrims, ciao.
