On May 5th, 2013, the couples set out on their journey.
Although they were prepared and had trained for long distance hiking, there really was no preparing for what they were about to endure.
As Phil describes it, when the two couples began their journey, the four of them were like “kids in a candy store”—exploring, searching and discovering the meaning and ways of the Camino, together. After completing the first 100 miles, they all came to the realization that eventually, in order to achieve this monumental undertaking which they had planned for so long, they would inevitably have to do it in their own way—the pilgrim way—adjusting for pace and injuries.
Said Guy, “We’re all experienced hikers—Mikki and Phil climbed Mt. Whitney in California and Karen and I did the trek to Machu Picchu; however, I’m not sure we were prepared for the duration of this trip. The day-after-day walking took a toll on our bodies.”
If hikers get into trouble, they are given a phone number to call for help. According to the group, they saw their fair share of calamities.
“The person in front of us broke her leg, and the ambulance arrived in about an hour,” said Mikki.
Added Phil, “It would have been very unfortunate to have something major happen in some of the places—you have to go over two mountain ranges that are just as rough as the Pyrenees. You’re walking on a lot of farm country roads between the ranges, so to be in trouble in the mountains, that’s a whole different thing. Fortunately, you do have each other—other pilgrims are in view most of the time.”
“Storms happen through there and there is great risk,” said Guy. “There were two fatalities the week before we were there. We tried to be cautious and careful and take care of each other. The greatest challenge was keeping your spirits up each day through snow storms and rain storms.”
Although lucky not to experience anything dire, the group did not escape without injury.
“I managed to get through 470 out of the 500 miles, and then I got plantar fasciitis—which was excruciatingly painful. I did manage to get through the last 30 miles,” said Phil. “Mikki was the only one who didn’t have an injury of any sort.”
Said Karen, “After 260 miles, we had some injuries. Early on, I did a face plant, which tweaked my back a little bit, and Guy was having pain that felt like knives going up the bottoms of his feet, which turned out to be tendonitis. We went ahead on a bus and waited for Phil and Mikki to meet us in the next town. After that, we went in bits and spurts; we walked another 50 to 75 miles and partly with Phil and Mikki too, and then I got tendonitis and couldn’t wear my boots anymore. We took another bus at that point, and then Guy and I hiked the last 100 kilometers in sandals. Guy and I knew we would crawl in if we had to.”
According to Karen, hikers have to walk the last 100 kilometers, from Sarria to Santiago, in order to get an official 100-kilometer certificate (compostela). In St. Jean, the couples got their credentials, which they needed to have stamped along the way. For the last 100 kilometers, you have to have two stamps per day on your credentials to prove that you walked the distance. The couples got the credentials stamped at hotels, churches, or cafés along the route.
“We had a lot of rainy days,” said Mikki. “It would rain all day long, and it was constantly wet and cold every morning. I didn’t want to bring gloves because they were too heavy, so I put socks on my hands, but then the socks would get wet because of the constant rain. But the few sunny days brought it all together. Toward the end the weather got better—it was cold in the morning but nice in the afternoon.”
Karen added, “It was the coldest May in that region in 48 years—bitter cold. Sadly, they turned the heat off in the hostels and hotels on the last day of April. It was great for hiking, but when there’s no heat in your room, it’s freezing cold. Half the time it was so cold that you didn’t want to shower. The only places where they turned the heat back on were in the bigger cities, when tour groups were coming through.”
“There’s a saying—‘pilgrims should suffer,’” said Phil. “Some do their best to make sure that happened. It is a pilgrimage, and in the old days, there were no conveniences like they have today. They’ve done this trek for a thousand years; in medieval times, they’d ride on donkeys or on the back of ox carts. This last year, there were over 200,000 people that did the Camino. It’s getting progressively bigger.”
Phil sums up his experience on the journey in his final blog post on Monday, June 17, 2013, which says:
“Lastly, there is no way to express the feeling that I have for my ‘muse,’ my companion (who had no limits), the love of my life, other than to say—thank you, for talking me into this. It really wasn't about Santiago...it was about our journey together all the time."
