Kiwi on the Camino
Page 30
In New Zealand, Cape Reinga, the northern most tip of New Zealand is revered by Māori as being the place where the spirits of the dead leave the land of the living to travel to the world of Hine-nui-te-pō, the goddess of both night and death. At Cape Reinga, the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet, collide and then merge in an exciting foam of movement. I am hoping that when I see the ocean at Cape Finisterre, I will experience something transformational, something greater than the drama of contemporary life with its complex demands on time and health.
Bruce and I walk past the lighthouse and climb down onto the promontory with the Atlantic Ocean on three sides. I look at the sea swirling below: with a thrust of power waves slam against rock. Waves of emotion inundate me. I experience an intense gratitude for our safe Camino. I also experience a surge of profound appreciation and gratitude for life, including my own. There have been times when I have dared to silently express bitter regret that I was ever born. There have been times when I have found it hard to live with myself and to be in my own skin. At Costa da Morte, I comprehend that my life is precious. I know that should I find myself sometime in the future tempted again to the despondency of self-pity, even to the point of despairing of life, I will remember this Costa da Morte experience. I will draw strength from remembering and resolve to hold onto faith and hope in the journey. I am, in this moment of truth, utterly and completely thankful for my life and all that it means.
We sit close together and acknowledge our accomplishment in completing our Camino. We began our walk in the east and each day moved westward, just as the pre-Christians and Christians have done for millenia. We have walked on ancient roads anticipating seeing the sun drop into the sea at what was believed to have been the Ends of the Earth. On arriving at Cape Finisterre my Camino feels complete. What I missed at Santiago is with me powerfully at the rocks on the Costa da Morte. Like many many others before me, I had made it to the ends of the earth and in facing death, found life.
From the rising of the sun
To the place where it sets,
The Name of the Lord is to be praised.
Psalm 113:2-3 (NIV)
Bruce and I move further down past the Peace Pole; it is identical to one on the banks of the river Jordan in Israel where Jesus was baptised. The pole is a symbol of prayer for worldwide peace. A little further on we pass the smouldering fire pit where pilgrims are burning tramping boots, or articles of clothing, as a symbol of their letting go and moving forward. We pass the memorial pole where pilgrims hang boots, clothing and their scallop shells. “I’m not burning my boots. They cost me $170.” I too don’t want to burn my boots despite the decision to replace them. Once again, we sit quietly looking at the ocean. I breathe deeply, my heartbeats in sync with the surging music of the waves not far below.
My feet are very sore. I do not want to walk anywhere for at least a couple of days. “Bruce, shall we walk back to Santiago or take the bus?” “Mm, it’s a nice fine day, let’s catch the bus.” Bruce has a new blister. He too is done with walking for now.
Postscript
The true pilgrim is always at a new threshold
John O’Donohgue (1956 – 2006)
THE EXPERIENCE OF WRITING KIWI on the Camino: A Walk that Changed My Life has been a re-journeying of the Camino, enabling a renewed appreciation for what I accomplished. While writing, I remembered again with gratitude the people we met along The Way of St James. For it is people that make the Camino a rich experience.
He Tangata, He tangata, He tangata
(It is the people, the people, the people)
Māori Whakatauki
Has the Camino changed my life? I believe it has. I continue to draw on the meditations of my Camino, taking the principles of pilgrimage into my everyday life.
Prior to walking the Camino, I knew I was at the threshold of making some major life changes. The pilgrimage has helped me to realise the changes that I need. My new life will need to allow me to have more time outside, living with my own body rythmns and requirements for food, exercise and rest. I need to slow my life down, to make it far less complicated. I need the space and time to be more creative and spontaneous.
Within months of completing the Camino, Bruce and I began to move away from an animal based diet to a plant based diet. This decision is, for Bruce, a personal health choice. For me it is an eco-ethical choice. Spending seven weeks outdoors in the natural environment has increased my respect for planet Earth. As a guest on this earth, I am now convinced it is better for animals, humans and the planet if I remove animal products from my diet. If humans decide to reduce, or even exclude flesh (including sea life) from their diet, might we then not halt any further extinction of animal species? Furthermore, with the change of diet I am no longer inadvertently supporting industrialised farming practices which are contributing to poor health of both animals and humans. Of importance to me also, is the understanding that by eating a plant based diet I am using fewer natural resources in comparison to my former diet, which required animals to convert plants into protein.
I began to move away from using products that are chemically based and now prefer to use products which are plant based - to better care for the health of the planet and ultimately human life.
I walked and lived for seven weeks with all that I needed on my back, followed by a further three months with a very minimal wardrobe. On returning home, I did a major de-cluttering of my life and home. I went through my wardrobe, kitchen and linen cupboards and reduced their contents drastically. I do not need or require such abundance anymore. There are other people who can benefit from my de-cluttering process as the goods still have lots of wear and usefulness left. I do admit though, that I am struggling to reduce the number of books on my bookshelves.
Eleven months after returning to my place of employment I resigned. I am no longer prepared to live my life powered by high levels of adrenalin and cortisol with the ensuing inflamation and infections. Bruce and I rented out our home in the city and moved to our small getaway place on the remote Coromandel Peninsula. Subsequent to these changes, I no longer have the recurring infections that have plagued my life for years. I have had no antibiotics since leaving my former place of employment and the city. It may be also, that my change of diet has contributed to my improved health and well-being. Six months after leaving the city, in the solitude and beauty of the Coromandel Peninsula, I began crafting this book.
When funds allow, I hope to change my fossil fuelled car for an electric one, to help reduce carbon monixide and carbon dioxide levels. I understand the urgent calls to reduce pollution of the planet to ensure the continued existence of human life. On a personal level, I have learnt that these poisons have played a part in my previously recurring infections.
The petition I prayed out loud (on behalf of a person very dear to me) in the small chapel in the Cathedral of Santiago has come to pass.
With the changes that are now present in my life, I more frequently experience a greater appreciation of life and a profound joy.
I remain in Bilbo Baggins debt. Ultreia.
Glossary
Adieu – Fr. goodbye
Abalar – Sp. shake
Albergue – Sp. hostel
Alto - Sp. high
Aseos – Sp. toilet
Bocadillo – Sp. sandwich made from Spanish bread cut lengthwise
Buen Camino - Sp. literally means ‘good path,’ but is used to express ‘good luck or happy travelling.’ It also has a deeper acknowledgement that as a pilgrim one is seeking a higher goal
Bush – An Australian and New Zealand term to describe an uncultivated area covered with trees – a term more frequently used than ‘forest’
Caballeros – Sp. gentlemen, gents
Cabo - Sp. cape
Calle mayor - Sp. main street
Calle real - Sp. real street
Camino - Sp. path<
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Capilla - Sp. chapel
Castillo - Sp. castle
Catedral – Sp. cathedral
Crêpe suzette – Fr. Very thin pancake
Compostela – Sp. certificate of completion of the pilgrimage to Santiago
Costa - Sp. coast, shore
Credencial – Sp. pilgrim passport which must be stamped where a pilgrim stops to be presented at Santiago to receive a Compostela
De - Sp. from
Del – Sp. of the
Dos – Sp. two
Farmanc – Sp. pharmacy or chemist
Finca – Sp. small Spanish farm usually with a cottage on the land
Fisterana – Sp. certificate of completion for walking the pilgrimage from Santiago to Finisterre
Fuente - Sp. fountain
Gracias Señor – Sp. Thanks Sir
Hablas espanol? – Sp. Do you speak Spanish?
Hola – Sp. Hello
Hórreo - Sp. a raised granary typical of Galicia
Iglesia - Sp. church
Jandals - New Zealand trade mark term. In other countries, the rubber sandal with a rubber piece between the toes, may be called a flip flop or thong
Kiwi – a nocturnal flightless New Zealand bird. Also used to denote a New Zealander when travelling overseas
Los Caídos - Sp. the fallen
Marae – courtyard of a Māori meeting house
Marae noho – a stay in a Māori meeting house often overnight
Māori – Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand
Mare – Sp. sea
Menu del Peregrino - Sp. the pilgrims’ menu
Menu del Dia - Sp. today’s menu
Monte - Sp. mountain
Muy bien – Sp. very good (good)
Napolitana - Sp. a cuboid-shaped pastry roll filled with a slab of thick chocolate
No. 8 wire – New Zealand farmers are known for using No. 8 wire for fixing many things
Nostra – Sp. our
Pantano – Sp. reservoir, swamp, dam
Piedras – Sp. stone
Peewee – female urinal which enables a woman to urinate while standing
Peregrino - Sp. pilgrim
Piedras santos – Sp. stones erected as personal pilgrim altars
Plaza - Sp. Square
Puente - Sp. bridge
Puig - Sp. hill or mountain
Punto – Sp. point
Río - Sp. river
San/Santa - Sp. masculine and feminine titles for saint
Santa Maria - Sp. Saint Mary
Santiago – Sp. St James – a compression of Santo Diego
Santuari – Sp. sanctuary
Scroggin – mixture of dried fruit, nuts and sometimes chocolate used as snacks when tramping in New Zealand
Si – Sp. yes
S’il vous plait – Fr. please
Supermercado - Sp. supermarket
Telebanco - Sp. cash dispenser
Tienda – Sp. shop
Tramping – In New Zealand this word refers to recreational walking in the New Zealand bush
Truckies – New Zealand term for the men and women who drive large trucks
Ultreia – Sp. keep going, go further – an old shout between pilgrims originating in the middle ages
Un poco – Sp. ‘a bit’ (little)
Vista – Sp. view
Whakatauki – Māori proverb
Waiata – Māori song
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ENDNOTES
1Raza 2007,10-11.
2Weaver Libby. 2015. Beauty from the Inside Out, 154.
3Hanbury-Tenison 1990, 19.
4Mustoe 2005, 193.
5Hanbury-Tenison 1990, 23
6Kevin 2007, 58
/> 7Raza 2007, 46.
8Hanbury-Tenison 1990, 19.
9Mustoe 2005, 168.
10Hanbury-Tenison 1990, 20.
11Kevin 2008, 8.
12Mustoe 2005, 209.