El Primero Café Con Leche Del Dia NEXT CAMINO ......Sing the Camino is a 12 day walk, running for the first time from May 1-12, 2014 (bookings closed), and is now taking bookings

Canberra Friends of the Camino De Santiago meet @ Spanish Australian Club of Canberra ACT Inc 5 Narupai Place, Narrabundah, ACT, 2604 ph: (02) 62956506

NEXT CAMINO GATHERING: Saturday 15 March at 3.00 pm for 3.30 pm @ The Spanish Australian Club of Canberra

WHAT IS THE CAMINO GATHERING? The Camino Gathering is a regular meeting for those that are interested in the 1,000 year old Spanish pilgrims walk through Spain called the Camino De Santiago. Over 100,000 people from all over the world walk some part of the Camino every year. There are many Camino routes in Spain but they all end up in the Galician capital city of Santiago De Compostela (Saint James of the Field of Stars). The Camino can range from 100km walk to over 1,500km and can be done walking, cycling or on horseback.

PROGRAM Pre-meet social and drinks Talk: A Winter’s Walk—Wal Wolzak Tech Corner: Backpacks General Q&A on the Camino. About the talk: Wal Wolzak walked the Camino Frances during the winter months of November and December 2013, arriving at Santiago on Christmas Eve. In his presentation he will talk about the unique experience of walking the almost deserted Camino when most accommodation and shops are closed and the weather is unpredictable and demanding.

El Primero Café Con Leche Del Dia Ramblings with Jose Vega [email protected] Welcome to the Canberra Friends of the Camino March 2014 Newsletter. The last gathering was once again held at the Spanish Australian Club of Canberra. A big thank you to Alex Tewes who gave an enlighten talk on his Camino experience. Alex is a professional photographer and this showed in his many photos that he presented during his talk. Without volunteers like Alex and others that are willing to talk about their experience this Friends group would be very much diminished. This next gathering we have a veteran of the Camino Frances who has walk the Camino now three times with the last one being in winter. The talks in the pipeline are (in no particular order): Paul Mullins—Setting the Tempo along the Camino Jose Vega—A Cultural Tour of the Camino Mozarabe Juan Rodriguez—A Gourmet’s Tour of the Camino Frances As always I am looking at volunteer speakers for our gatherings as well as articles for this newsletter. So please contact me, on [email protected] if you are able to assist with either a talk or an article or two. Buen Camino

All are welcome to come along and enjoy good company, Spanish wines and beers and riveting conversation! Check out the Friends’ website for updates: www.canberracamino.webs.com

The Gastronomy of El Camino Juan Rodriguez Rick Stein, the famous English chef, once said that “to understand a country, first one must eat it”. Now, whilst I agree with him, I wouldn’t go as far as practicing it. In that particular instance he was talking about India. And, really, there is only so much curry one can eat!

Juan helping the Spanish economy with a few dishes of food!

But it is true, the axiom or cliché, depending on how you look at it, does express the simple idea that food is a very important, indeed some would say central, part of a society’s values and heritage and that eating its food is a good way of getting to know a country. Food is not just fuel for the body, not only does it keep us alive, it helps to bring people together it agglutinate us, to use a quasi culinary term. Think of the family meal, the company meal, the wedding banquet, the village culinary feast, the biggest paella, the longest sausage and so on and on. Food, what we eat and how we eat it say a lot about us. Unfortunately this is not so obvious in Australia where, despite our so called multicultural society, our main street establishments lack culinary diversity. Travel through any small to medium sized town and even small cities and what you are likely to see more than anything else are hamburger, chicken and pizza outlets. We have allowed the big multinational food chains to take control of our taste buds and gastronomic

desires and in the process have lost an important part of our identity. And I am not talking only about us Europeans, with our weird food. In a previous incarnation many aeons ago I was part of an Anglo-Saxon household who prided in their weekend family roast. A pumped leg of lamb or a big lump of corned beef and the three veggies! The offspring of that family today are more likely to gather at the nearest Mac for their weekend meal. Fortunately this is not the case in the north of Spain, well at least not yet any way. If you are one of the myriad pilgrims who have walked the Camino de Santiago and have partaken of its culinary variety I am sure you’ll agree with me. Take the Spanish part of the Camino Frances for example. It extends over more than 700 km and traverses five regions, if we start from Pamplona, and crosses at least six mayor cities. The gastronomical diversity of that small stretch of Spain is incredibly interesting.

Although I have been to Santiago de Compostela twice I have only managed to walk the last four kilometres of the Camino, from my Hotel at San Lázaro to the Cathedral in the Plaza do Obradoiro. And, believe me; even in such a short stretch I was able to get a fairly good insight into the culinary delights of the Camino. I walked the distance with a friend and we managed to stop at several bars for drinks and tapas and three “pulperias” to sample the famous “pulpo a la gallega”. It lived to its reputation. In fact I was so impressed by the quality and variety of the eating places that I decided then that I had to come back to Santiago but next time it would be totally unencumbered by official business. And so I

2—Canberra Friends of the Camino De Santiago

did. The following year I visited Santiago with my wife and stayed at the Parador de Santiago for a week.

Spanish Jamon Serrano and Iberico—that’s what a call a Deli!

Again I avoided walking in a straight line along the Camino for any appreciable distance preferring instead to zigzag my way through the streets of Santiago visiting all the bars, restaurants and assorted other places I was able to before succumbing to the local drop. One indelible memory I still keep of that week in Santiago was our dinner in the Restaurante Don Quijote in the Rúa das Galeras. The owner Sr Manuel Garcia had been a migrant to Australia in the 60s and had opened a restaurant in Sydney called, yes you guessed it, Don Quijote. He told us he left Australia in the 70s to return to his beloved Santiago where he then opened a restaurant which he called, yes

again you guessed it, Don Quijote! It was a wonderful evening, at least until the third bottle, which is as far as I can remember. Since then, the prospects of really “doing the Camino” have lingered large over my life, to the point where I cannot make any plan for a trip without feeling guilty that I have not yet “done it”. Some time ago I finally came to terms with my fate and decided that I would do the Camino but it would be a Gastronomic Camino. I would sample as many different local dishes and drink as I could and keep a picture diary of the experience. I just need to talk my son into coming with me to make sure that, drunk or sober; I end up in bed every night and get up the next morning ready for the next stretch of the Camino. He has almost surrendered to my constant nagging. So, we my son’s help, I have been revisiting a few of my favourite Spanish regional dishes and drinks at home. My son, by the way, is a terrific cook who loves eating what he cooks and also likes to try new dishes. The problem we find is that despite our culinary skills some dishes just cannot be replicated here unless one has the “real” ingredients. Take, for example, Fabada Asturiana, where do I get real morcilla and chorizo?

I really have to get cracking and packing and start booking my flight!


Sing the Camino Jessie Vintila, a passionate and talented gospel choir director from Byron Bay, Australia, and fellow singer/tour manager Emma Royle, are inviting pilgrims to join them on a wonderful and unique new Camino experience, Sing the Camino. Jessie walked the Camino in October 2013, along with Emma, and felt the only thing missing was the gospel choir singing she usually spends much of her life immersed in. Like the Camino, a capella gospel music from the African American tradition has Christian roots, but singing gospel attracts people from diverse secular and spiritual backgrounds, simply because the music is so undeniably uplifting. Like many pilgrims' experiences of walking the Camino, remarkable bonds are formed between people sharing this joyous and heartfelt singing. Sing the Camino is a 12 day walk, running for the first time from May 1-12, 2014 (bookings closed), and is now taking bookings for a second trip, from August 30-September 10 2014, and expressions of interest for May 2015. Places are limited and an Early Bird Discount is available at the moment. Every day you will walk, at your own individual pace, an average of 21km, and every evening enjoy an incredible and energising singing session. You will also be treated to some local Spanish musical

experiences. Director Jessie Vintila specialises in teaching fantastic, simple songs, suited to both skilled singers and people with little or no singing experience. The focus is on fun, expression, and some improvising and vocal jamming. Jessie says: "From my experience of gospel singing workshops, within half an hour of starting you will be amazed at the gorgeous, four part harmony music you're creating together. In groups, people are much better singers than most individuals give themselves credit for. Over the 10 nights of singing, we'll sing up a storm of some of the most funky, uplifting, joyous music you have ever heard." Jessie teaches over 60 people every week in Raise the Roof Community Gospel Choirs, in 3 locations around Northern New South Wales. To read more about Sing the Camino, see video footage and hear Jessie in action with workshops around Australia, go to http://www.singthecamino.com.

Jessie Vintila - Musical Director Sing the Camino

http://www.singthecamino.com https://www.facebook.com/singthecamino Phone: (61)417 277 211


http://www.singthecamino.com/

http://www.singthecamino.com/

https://www.facebook.com/singthecamino%E2%80%8E

A Book of the Camino (from the Web)

Pilgrimage to the End of the World The Road to Santiago de Compostela

Conrad Rudolph is a professor of medieval art and chair of the art history department at the University of California, Riverside. This is his fourth book

Traveling two and a half months and one thousand miles along the ancient route through southern France and northern Spain, Conrad Rudolph made the passage to the holy site of Santiago de Compostela, one of the most important modern-day pilgrimage destinations for Westerners. In this chronicle of his travels to this captivating place, Rudolph melds the ancient and the contemporary, the spiritual and the physical, in a book that is at once travel guide, literary work, historical study, and memoir.

My Camino … and some heretical lessons!

Alex Tewes at the water and red wine fountain.

I walked the Camino Frances during October and November 2013. It was not a spur of the moment decision so I had lots of time to research and plan. The online Pilgrims forum (caminodesantiago.me) was an invaluable resource. Nevertheless, actually walking the Camino taught me a number of somewhat heretical lessons that I think are worth sharing. Heretical Lesson No. 1: Think about what day

of the week you want to start

Getting to St Jean Pied de Port to start the pilgrimage is not straightforward and generally will require a complex mixture of “planes, trains and automobiles”. For those of us leaving overseas and price conscious, this generally means finding the most efficient and cheapest combination. There are particular ‘optimum’ combinations that means that people from particular countries tend to get to St Jean on specific days. For example, the day I left (Saturday) is “Canada and Germany Day”. By the way, for those solitary types Sunday is the least popular starting day. Heretical Lesson No. 2: Stop at Orisson!

I wasn’t expecting to stop overnight at Orisson, but am glad I did. I got there at about lunchtime and over the afternoon more and more “over-50s” made the same decision as I, so that the albergue was full


by 3pm. I found the friendships I developed that evening were some of the most lasting of my whole Camino experience. The added bonus was that starting the following day from Orisson meant that we got to the Cross of Thiebault early enough to enjoy a hot coffee and other refreshments from the mobile shop that sets up there during the pilgrim season. Heretical Lesson No. 3: Get a better Map!

I used the Brierley slim-volume guide during my Camino. Essentially it is the same as the standard, but with less waffle. Alas, the maps are just as bad as in the standard one. Among those walking with me, it became clear that the maps are “for illustrative purposes only”. There were many occasions when I would look at the map trying to figure out where exactly I was or how steep the track ahead was likely to be. Uniformly, the guide let me down. I would recommend using a guidebook that has proper topographical maps. There are a few of these listed in Amazon.com, such as “A Village to Village Guide to Hiking the Camino de Santiago, Camino Francés: St. Jean - Santiago – Finisterre” by Anna Dintaman and David Landis.

Heretical Lesson No. 4: Think about where

you are going (and why)

It is quite simple to follow the yellow arrows all the way to Compostela, but sometimes they take you places that make no sense. One notorious one is a steep hill just past Castrojeriz. The way up is steep (12% grade) and the way down is even steeper (18% grade), the top is just 200meters long and there is nothing up there worth the trip. Once you walk down the hill, you are faced with four kilometres of thick cloying mud. There are good quality roads that bypass the hill and that join up with the Camino track a few kilometres further on. In those immortal words “Do yourself a favour!” It really is a question of whether you are in the driver seat during your pilgrimage, or merely a passenger. Heretical Lesson No. 5: There is no magic

answer-laden bolt of lightning

One of most poignant elements of the Camino is

finding out just how many of your fellow pilgrims are undertaking the walk as the means to deal with sometimes very serious personal issues. As the days pass and Santiago looms closer, many of them get increasingly stressed because the hoped-for revelation has not arrived. And it won’t. As the French philosopher and author Marcel Proust put it “We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us”. Heretical Lesson No. 6: Post-Camino is just as

important as pre-Camino and on-Camino

The military has long understood the need to provide soldiers coming back from war a place to decompress and reflect about their experiences before returning to their families and ordinary lives. While walking the Camino is not in the same order of experience as going to war, there is much to be said for spending a few days reflecting on the experiences that the Camino has brought us. The place I chose to do this was the Little Fox House in Carrantoña, near Muxia. The Little Fox House is run by an English author and former pilgrim, Tracy Saunders. It is a “donativo” place and can host only about five pilgrims at a time, so bookings are essential. I ended up spending four days there which really helped me put the whole experience of my pilgrimage into context. I would highly recommend doing something similar at the end of your Camino.

I found the Camino experience to be one of those life high-points that come to us rarely. It is also addictive, so much so that I am already planning my next Camino, possibly in early Spring of 2015. In the meantime, the photographs of my walk are available at Wyvernsridge.smugmug.com Buen Camino! Alex Tewes Over the next few pages a selection of Alex’s photography from his Camino.





The Winter Pilgrim on the Camino Wal Wolzak Everyone asked why I would want to walk a pilgrimage in winter when the weather was terrible, wet and cold and accommodation closed. It all started during a conversation with Doug Fitzgerald when we discussed how special it would be to arrive at Santiago on Christmas Eve and then attend the Christmas Mass on Christmas Day. You don’t have to be a Catholic to recognize this as a special time of year when families and friends join to praise the birth of a savior, something our world is in dire need of today. My decision was easy, I don’t have any immediate family who depend on me, whereas Doug does and his travel was not approved. So I set off on 19 November with plans firmly in place but could not foresee Qantas cancelling the flight from Sydney due to mechanical failures, with the end result that I never made it to the Pyrenees and taking three days to arrive in Pamplona having travelled through Dubai, London and Madrid with two overnight stops.

What did I miss in the Pyrenees on 22 November? Three pilgrims walked the Route Napoleon and the remaining handful went via Valcarlos. The high route on the day had cyclonic wind conditions, knee deep snow and temperatures down to between minus 10 and 15 degrees centigrade, on upright signposts ice flags formed half a meter square and walking poles were used to clear the ice of signage to make it readable. The crossing from St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles took 17 hours.

The route through Valcarlos was also heavy going and a few pilgrims overnighted in Valcarlos before going on to Roncesvalles.

I joined the Camino from Hotel Eslava in Pamplona, walking the first ten days with German Martin and the remainder of the way with Kristi and Lilli from Slovenia and Jennifer from Germany. I can be justifyably proud to say that we were the only four pilgrims to officially arrive in Santaigo on Christmas Eve, having our arrival announced during both the Pilgrims Mass that day and again during the Christmas Mass the next day, which was a surprise as were compared to the pilgrims arriving at Jesus’ cradle.

Our days were cold and wet, often with heavy rain and threatening skies, or strong biting and unrelenting wind. The albergue were mostly closed so our choices were limited and any bed was better than none. In Estella municipal albergue the room temperature was 3C so the hospitalera provided four small blower heaters to share between 5 pilgrims. No showers that day.

Then came the mud as were crisscrossed the many farming roads and agricultural plots. The mud, deep, clinging and tenacious hung on and we pushed on, what else to do. At times there were vineyards and when the sun broke through the clouds the vines displayed wonderful colours of deep red and purple. And then there were always the stones to content with. Due to prolonged heavy periods of rain many steep tracks were endless broken stones and boulders and played havoc with the feet. Had it not been for the walking poles there were at least a dozen occasions when I could have incurred serious ankle or leg injury. Often the steep tracks of rough stone were covered with mud and running water on top of which there was a thick layer of oak leaves to hide the dangers below.

And then out of nowhere there would be a bright clear, extraordinary day with the bluest of blue skies. Mind you when the skies were blue the temperatures were generally close to freezing.


On the way into San Juan de Ortega, purported to be the coldest place on the Camino, we ran into light snow again but after that we were always two days ahead of the snow.

On leaving Carrion we walked into a magic winter wonderland with minus 8 degree temperatures which didn’t rise much during the day. Until well after midday the country side was clothed in white heavy frost with occasional glimpses of ice blue clear sky. Icicles covered every blade of grass, twig, plant, tree and rock. This was the most astoundingly beautiful day on the entire Camino.

The next challenge we faced was the ascend to O’Cebreiro, a day of non-stop rain which was later replaced by rain, mist and mud and lashings of sloppy wet manure. This was also a long almost 40km day which took it out of even the fittest amongst us. The albergue Xunta provided plenty of warm space and an opportunity to dry out and wash clothing. Our evening meal of thick Galician soup and pan was consumed with gusto.

At Monte Gozo the cathedral of Santiago was insight. The day had been another long wet slog and we four were the only residents in the village able to accommodate 400 pilgrims. It was now the day before Christmas Eve and as all shops were closed the hospitalero drove Kristi, Lili and me into Santiago to buy some food for dinner and breakfast. In the meantime Jennifer stripped down naked, put on her poncho and then walked with all her clothes to the laundry so everything was clean for her arrival the next day. That evening as we stood outside in deep contemplation what tomorrow would bring we were engulfed in a cyclone which lasted for another four days and was the precursor to the lightning which struck the ancient church at Muxia a few days later.

Tuesday 24 December we four arrived in cyclonic conditions at the Pilgrims office in Santiago and made our final walk as the Camino family to the cathedral.

On 5 December we all bought a small St Nicholas gift for each other and on Christmas day we gathered in my hotel room where Christmas gifts were exchanged.

Two days later Krisit alone walked on in the cyclone to Finistere and Muxia, taking 7 days for the 4 day journey. She walked on paths covered in running water, had to climb over fallen trees, content with live power lines which were down across her path, to arrive at albergue’ which had their doors closed. Her final disappointment was to find the little church at Muxia gutted by fire from a lightning strike. And now we are all home again but want to be back on the Camino!! Why because it was so special and we were a family. Next year we are all meeting in San Sebastian to walk the Del Norte together.

Wal


Thank you to the Spanish Australian Club of Canberra ACT Inc. who continues to support this Friends group through the provision of free use of Club rooms and electronic equipment for our monthly meetings. Jose Vega for the Canberra Friends of the Camino De Santiago.

FACEBOOK:

The Canberra Friends of the Camino De Santiago is on Facebook. To join us on Facebook: 1 Go to ‘Like Pages’ in your Facebook account. 2 Search for ‘Canberra Friends of the Camino’ 3 Once on the ‘Canberra Friends of the Camino’ page

click on Like Page. You will then receive our regular post in your Face-book account.

Contributions on topics related to the Camino are al-ways welcomed any time to this newsletter. We will place your article or letter in the next available newslet-ter. Please send text in Word, RTF or plain text along with photos to: [email protected].

The embarrassing blank spot that I have nothing to fill with...


The route through Valcarlos was also heavy going and a few pilgrims overnighted in

Valcarlos before going on to Roncesvalles.


I joined the Camino from Hotel Eslava in Pamplona

Then came the mud as were

crisscrossed the many farming

roads and agricultural plots.

The mud, deep, clinging and te-

nacious hung on and we pushed

on, what else to do.


And then out

of nowhere

there would

be a bright

clear,

extraordinary

day with the

bluest of blue

skies. Mind

you when the

skies were

blue the tem-

peratures

were

generally

close to

freezing

On the way into

San Juan de Or-

tega, purported

to be the coldest

place on the

Camino, we ran

into light snow

again but after

that we were

always two days

ahead of the

snow


On leaving Carrion we walked into a magic winter wonderland with minus 8 degree

temperatures which didn’t rise much during the day.

The next chal-

lenge we faced

was the ascend

to O’Cebreiro, a

day of non-stop

rain which was

later replaced

by rain, mist

and mud and

lashings of

sloppy wet

manure.


Tuesday 24 December we four (next page) arrived in cyclonic conditions at the Pilgrims office in Santiago and made our final walk as the Camino family to the cathedral


On 5 December we all bought a small St Nicholas gift for each other and on Christ-mas day we gathered in my hotel room where Christmas gifts were exchanged

Documents

El Primero Café Con Leche Del Dia NEXT CAMINO ......Sing the Camino is a 12 day walk, running for the first time from May 1-12, 2014 (bookings closed), and is now taking bookings