The Camino Documentary

A year ago, almost to the day, I took my first steps into the mystical world of the Camino and I must be honest and share with you that not a day goes by without thinking of that amazing experience.

Although it’s been almost a year since my return, each day spent on the Camino is still fresh in my mind. When I read Lydia’s open invitation for writers to contribute to The Camino Documentary blog, I jumped on this great opportunity to share some of my experiences with others.

The Camino has always been a notion in my mind and I can’t tell you exactly when I heard or read of it. The “call” of the Camino started as a whisper earlier last year. By the time the winter was over, the whisper had become a soft calling and somehow I knew, I just knew that I was going to experience the Camino. Being a Type A personality, I started reading everything related to the Camino and the more I discovered, the more I knew this was to be.

Early March presented me with an opportunity to take early retirement from my very busy career and I immediately focused on setting myself up for a May departure to Burgos. I had opted to walk 500 km and avoid the Pyrenees based on the fact that I was carrying what I refer to as extra “consulting weight,” and I was lacking experience and training in hiking such challenging terrain.

I geared up with all the latest equipment, including high-tech clothes, poles, and backpack. Most April nights I could be spotted hiking around my neighborhood with my backpack full of bottled water. On May 11th I left Canada to start my Camino journey.

Little did I know of the pure joy, happiness, serenity, introspection, new friends, new attitudes and amazing moments I would experience on a daily basis. I hope to share with you some of those moments through my words and my pictures in a much smaller scale than what you see in the wonderful documentary that Lydia and her team has created. The film allows us to get to know the pilgrims and get some insights into their own stories. I never cease to crave pilgrims’ stories and although each pilgrim has her own personal reasons for embarking on her Camino, we as a group share many aspects of our journeys.

Next year I will once again set foot on the trails, poles in hand and a smile both on my face and in my heart! For now, I will relive my 2011 Camino with you through words and pictures. Thanks Lydia and team for providing a venue for sharing our experience with others!

¡Buen Camino! – Pilgrim Sylvie

After an extended leave of absence, we at The Camino Documentary are excited to announce our new blog approach! Just because we’ve been quiet on the blog front doesn’t mean we’re slowing down. Quite the opposite; we’ve been very busy editing the film and have come a long way on it. We’ll tell you all about the editing process in coming posts.

We thought that the best way to represent the Camino in the blog format would be to echo the experience of walking it. That is, even if you begin the Camino on your own you do not walk the Camino alone. The Camino is made up of the various voices of other pilgrims who may walk with you sometimes for days, or maybe only a couple of hours. No matter how little or how much time you spend with other pilgrims, they are a part of your Camino. In keeping with that spirit, our blog will feature a variety of voices and viewpoints. Some bloggers will be on our staff, some will be seasoned pilgrims, and others will be volunteering on the project.

In the coming months, we will add new blog posts one or two times per week. The blog will have all kinds of tidbits for you to sink your teeth into, including progress on the film, personal anecdotes from our staff and volunteers regarding their experiences working on this project, and lots of first-person accounts from pilgrims who have walked the Camino. Whether you’ve walked the Camino barefoot ten times or are looking forward to your very first pilgrimage, we’ll have some tips, insights, and personal stories that will surely whet your appetite for all things Camino, so bookmark this page or subscribe to our RSS feed at the link in the left column to stay on top of our new blog. Speaking of new things, we just recut our short trailer. Please tell us what you think!

As always, we appreciate your support on this project and we welcome any comments or suggestions you may have. And if The Camino Documentary reminds you of an experience on your Camino, let us know if you’d like to share it and become one of our bloggers too. Thanks for checking in and ¡Buen Camino!

The Way is now out in theaters around the country.

On my way to The Camino Documentary’s floating office this evening, I listened to an interview on NPR with Martin Sheen & Emilio Estevez talking about The Way. It’s so exciting to hear them talk about their film for so many reasons…

A: The Way sounds so wonderful, and I just can’t wait to go see it. I’m hooked to the Camino now! Simple as that.

B: I really just love Martin Sheen. So much. I started watching The West Wing at the beginning of the summer (right when I started volunteering here!), and thanks to Netflix, I’ve become completely addicted to the show. Ironically enough, Season 3, disc 3 should have landed in my mailbox earlier today!

…and C: It makes me imagine what it will be like one day to hear Lydia talking about The Camino Documentary on the radio! And that is the best reason of all.

All of her hard work has been taking shape a lot lately since Beth the Editor has begun editing. She has mainly been reviewing footage and making plans for editing. Planning for the edit is just about as big of a job as editing itself. It’s all about the planning. My older brother is known to say, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” I always make fun of him for sounding nerdy when he says that, but he’s usually right. Plan away, Beth!

Assistant editors Evan and Andrew have been busy transcoding footage for Beth and helping her acquaint herself with all of the footage and the pilgrims in it. I must commend the two of them for rearranging the office space for Beth. They made it nice and cozy for her!

Pulpo Gallego - Yum!

Lydia has been putting finishing touches on the upcoming Camino tour with Spanish Steps. 17 people signed up & they are in for quite a treat! I got to take a peek at their itinerary and it sounds amazing. I think my favorite line from the itinerary is on October 23rd (which happens to be my birthday!). It says: “Before our group picnic in Casteneda, we suggest you stop in the town of Melide at the famous Pulporia to sample one of Galicias specialties–Pulpo Gallego–steamed octopus prepared by the locals and enjoyed by pilgrims!” and then later that same day they all arrive at their restored farmhouse near Arzua that has the largest eucalyptus tree in Spain! I just love that. A picnic, steamed octopus, a restored farmhouse AND the largest eucalyptus tree in Spain in one day?! OH, and they’re walking the Camino simultaneously? So amazing!

If you’re reading this from along the Camino, make sure you go to one of the screenings happening there in the next few weeks while Lydia is on the tour…

Lydia screening the extended trailer!

Oct. 18th in Astorga, Spain
Oct. 20th in Sarria, Spain
Oct. 24th Arzúa, Spain
…and last but definitely not least:
Oct. 26th @ Santiago de Compostela, Spain. This event is taking place at an amazing hotel in Santiago, the Palacio del Carmen. The Santiago tourist board has been in contact with us and the mayor of Santiago might even come!

Visit the website for more screening info.

It’s so neat that proceeds from this trip were donated to the film, and not only that but that so many of the hotels where they will be staying are owned by generous supporters of the film. I can’t wait to hear all about the tour, and don’t worry, I’ll post info on it here when they return!

Also, check back soon for info on Lydia’s upcoming trip to the International Pilgrim’s Conference in the Netherlands and about a PBS broadcast that is using some of our footage! Their show, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, will be discussing the Camino. We’re anticipating it to be posted online in the next couple of weeks and are quite excited to see it and share it with all of you. Until then, Buen Camino!

Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown

Last month two fundraisers were held in southern California & they were incredibly successful! Lydia’s high school classmate Polly Firestone Walker kindly hosted a screening near Santa Barbara and even increased her own previous donation to become a Funding Producer – we’re so grateful to have her on board. On a similar note, the awesomeness that is Lydia’s high school class gets even better every time I look up. I was excited enough to find out that Lydia went to high school with the author of The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, but the excitement was upped when I found out that he and his wife recently donated $5,000! Let’s just pause for a second here and think about how cool Dan Brown must be. [.....] Really cool, right?!

Thanks to all of the generous donations received over the past two years, editor Beth Segel has officially set up shop and will begin editing in the next few weeks. It’s safe to say that Beth truly knows her way around an edit suite! She has been editing documentaries for TV for the past ten years, and edited The Camino Documentary trailer two years ago with Lydia. She recently moved to Portland with her husband, Patrick Symmes (an amazing super cool travel writer for Outside, Conde Nast Traveler and more) and four year old son Max to devote herself to editing this film for the next year. Lydia and Beth met through Sally Bentley (another one of our producers) and cemented their friendship by traveling through Ecuador together back in December 2001. I recently had the chance to sit down with Max (that’s right, the four year old) and hear all about their move. They rode on an airplane with their cat Lulu and their new house has stairs! Exciting times for young Max, I must say.

Evan & Kyoko cooking up a storm @ the Volunteer Appreciation Party

Along with Beth arriving, there’s also another addition to the film crew. Associate Producer and full-time Camino Documentary devotee KC recently took on a full-time job at local animation company Laika. We’re excited for her, but this definitely leaves a KC-sized hole around the houseboat! She’ll still be working on the project when she can volunteer, though, which we are so thankful for! She is most definitely the fastest transcriber alive on the planet. To make up for said KC-sized hole, Meet Evan! Evan has been volunteering for us for quite some time, and we’re excited to have him on more of a full-time basis. He’s a technical whiz and is known to be a zen like presence amongst all of the film’s volunteers. He also knows his way around a kitchen. He and Assistant Editor Andrew prepared a feast this past week for the Volunteer Appreciation Party. I thought I was a Mexican food aficionado, but was blown away by the amazing spread. They made Carne Asada tacos, Pozole, Chiles Rellenos, and Tostones… among other things! Quite amazing.

Lydia has been hard at work preparing for the Camino tour with Spanish Steps in October. They’ll be staying at lovely hotels and converted country inns along the way. A few spots are still available if you’re interested in going! I can tell it’s going to be an amazing trip – definitely a once in a lifetime kind of experience. Read more or send an email to info@caminodocumentary.org

Sarah will walk the Camino in October!

Back in January, we launched our Power of One campaign to raise funds to finish The Camino Documentary. As part of the campaign, we held an online contest: The Give Back, where we promised to donate 5% of the funds raised during the first part of the campaign to a person and to an organization. We were looking for someone who truly wanted to walk the Camino but didn’t have the means to do so, and for an organization that demonstrates the Camino’s spirit of love, kindness and generosity while serving its pilgrims.

We’re thrilled to introduce Sarah from Orlando, FL who will be making her way to the Camino in October! She will be walking the Camino with Deborah from iPilgrim Podcast. The Camino is all about giving back, and we’re ecstatic to give back to Sarah. She sent in a sincere, genuine letter & we knew she had the most earnest of intentions in her wish to walk the Camino.

Below, read Sarah’s essay, and wish her the best on her upcoming adventure on the Camino! Check back soon to learn about the organization that won a donation from us as well in The Give Back.

I wish to go to the Camino for the spiritual awakening that I am in such need of at this point in my life. I have a friend that has been to the Camino once before and she speaks so highly of it and the experience she had on it I believe it would help me in my trying times.

I have a daughter who is six. Her name is Sophia. She is my life; she is amazingly smart and well behaved for the most part. My fear is that I am not a woman she would want to look up to as a role model. I want to be the best mom that I can spiritually, emotionally, and physically be for her.

My job has laid off 22 people since January. Every day the moral gets worse and worse. People think: “is today my day?” It definitely does not make it easy or enjoyable to go to work every day. I would be alright if they laid me off, but I would be lost because I don’t know what my next step would or should be.

I have a boyfriend of 2.5 years which is unhealthy because he cannot commit and I stick around and don’t know why. We go through these waves in our relationship. When it is good its really good and we are on a high. Then all of a sudden it seems we are on a rip current and everything is falling apart.

Eventually we make up from that feud and we are good again. We continue on this cycle over and over again usually revisiting the same subjects. It is as if we put a patch over the hole in the tire but with normal wear and tear on the tire the patch gives way and we need a new patch. My point is I realize we are only temporarily fixing the problem but neither one of us can find the solution.

I believe backpacking on the Camino without most, if not all, worldly distractions would shed some light to who I am and what I need to do to take the next step. I mean that in every way. Who I am as a mother, what I allow my child to get away with (if it is healthy spiritually, emotionally, and physically for her) and what I am too strict on. How and what do I need to change to be the mother I really, truly want to be for my incredible daughter? My career too, what makes me truly happy and how can I make money to pay my bills doing it? And finally my relationship, I believe being out there will give me answers to my questions about my relationship. What are my expectations of my significant other? What are my expectations for being the ideal wife? How do I expect to be treated on a daily basis and how much should I tolerate? I am at a pivotal point in my life and I truly believe going onto the Camino for a few weeks could really do me some good to cleanse my mind and spirit.

A sight to see along the Camino!

If you’ve been following The Camino Documentary’s progress, you’re most likely aware of all of the fundraising efforts that have been going on! What you might not know, though, is that there is a particularly special group that has been keeping much of the fundraising hopes alive: Lydia’s high school classmates. That’s right, I said high school classmates. It might be hard to believe, but it’s true!

Lydia went to a rather interesting high school in New Hampshire, Phillips Exeter Academy. Not only is it a boarding school, but it also features the Harkness learning style, which means that in each class 12 students sit around a table with a teacher. Can you imagine how different your high school experience would have been if you lived there and every class felt like a meeting? Seems quite neat to me.

Lydia and her Exeter classmates at a reunion in 2007.

In the past year Lydia has found herself reaching out to any and everyone she has ever known, looking for support to finish this film. Almost thirty years after graduating, it’s her Exeter classmates that have helped the most so far. Almost 25 alums from Exeter have donated, and hopefully more are considering. The ultimate fundraising goal is $225,000 and so far we’re just over $70,000 – more than half of which has come from amazing, generous Exeter alumni! They have been donating money, volunteering their time, and even hosting fundraisers.

In the past year Lydia has found herself reaching out to any and everyone she has ever known, looking for support to finish this film. Almost thirty years after graduating, it’s her Exeter classmates that have helped the most so far. Almost 25 alums from Exeter have donated, and hopefully more are considering. The ultimate fundraising goal is $225,000 and so far we’re just over $70,000 – more than half of which has come from amazing, generous Exeter alumni! They have been donating money, volunteering their time, and even hosting fundraisers.

Come see Lydia in the Santa Barbara area on August 19th!

In fact, we’re excited to announce an upcoming fundraiser, hosted by Exeter alum Polly Firestone Walker, and Melanie Eckford-Prossor. If you are in the Santa Barbara area, please join us on August 19th from 5:30-7pm at the Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church. We will screen our extended 23-minute trailer and follow-up with a Q&A session with Director/Producer Lydia Smith! It’s definitely worth checking out- the trailer really is quite captivating, as is Lydia herself. Her story about walking the Camino and making this film is fascinating and even inspiring! Trust me, it’s truly cool to learn about this project first-hand.

A special thanks goes out to all of the Exeter alums that have donated: Alex Stitt Gifford, Hanson Gifford ’78, John Burbank, John Moran, Ned Hoyt ’81, Polly Firestone Walker, Dana How, Kurt Mortenson ’84, Susan Hoyt, Rebecca Nevitt ’84, Henry Bonner, Bill Jackson, Amy Faulkner, Sue Stafford ’83, Deborah Lustig, Phil Stockton, Jocelyn Miller, Barry Whittle, Nancy Jo Sales, Eiichiro Kuwana, Lea Ward, Andre de Baubigny, Paige Thorner, Becky Riecks, and Walker Bardsley. Thank you also to Kyra Thompson and Phil Stockton who have been working for free as Supervising Producer and Technical Consultant.

Because of the astounding generosity of Exeter alumni (and many more!) and specifically thanks to Alex & Hanson Gifford and John Burbank, we will be able to start editing this fall. The three of them signed on to be Executive Producers, and will now be giving their feedback on rough-cuts throughout the edit process. We’ve raised just enough to start cutting, but nowhere near enough to finish the film. The more that get involved, the closer we get to our goal of $225,000. For those interested in an in-depth look at the post-production and airing expenses we are facing, we are happy to send a detailed budget. Just let us know!

Alright, off I go to reconnect with everyone I went to high school with!

It’s a bit of a misty and grey summer day here in Portland, but the floating houseboat that is the Camino Documentary home base is bright and buzzing with activity.

A new volunteer named Leonardo came in today for the second time. He’s bilingual AND a Mac expert, which are quite possibly the two best qualities to have around here. To top those off, he’s an all-around interesting and friendly fellow. Leonardo was born in Uruguay, grew up in Miami, and studied at Harvard. He has spent many years as a PC and Mac Support Specialist, most recently for Columbia Sportswear here in Portland.

Meet Leonardo!

He’s going to be helping out here with logging, transcribing, and technical support, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him! In fact, if you’re in need of a PC or Mac Support Specialist yourself, feel free to get in touch with him: macleanhr@gmail.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardomaclean

Lots of work has been accomplished lately in terms of getting ready for the big edit. When Lydia and the crew went on the Camino to shoot, they had two main camera crews capturing most of the footage: “Camera A” and “Camera B.” Each of these was generally assigned to 6 or 7 pilgrims and followed them along the trail. “Camera C” was there to catch behind the scenes footage, and “Camera D” consisted of one sole person capturing both video and audio making it easier to fit in with the pilgrims along the way.

They also had “Camera P” which was a group of small, handheld cameras that pilgrims carried around on their own. (I haven’t seen any Camera P footage yet, and am excited to see some of it soon. All of the main footage is gorgeous and you can tell it was shot by talented professionals, so it will be interesting to see the footage that was shot by pilgrims along the way!)

A huge project here to prepare for the edit is to sort through the 300+ hours of footage and log all of it. This means that we watch each and every clip and then describe it for the editor. We break down the various camera

A screen shot of our logging notes - click it to see the awesome organization bigger!

angles and movements as well as the subject matter, location, and any and everything else! Here’s a screen shot of how detailed and organized this all is. It will make the editor’s life much more organized and so far has worked wonders for us with the short videos and trailers we’ve made.

We’re finished logging footage from Camera A and are almost finished logging Camera B’s footage, which is a feat in itself! Camera A alone had 4115 clips to log!

Another jumbo-sized project going on is transcribing all of the footage. This is extra tricky because the documentary features pilgrims and people from all over the world! There are mainly English and Spanish speakers, but there are also people speaking German, Portugese, Italian, Korean, Danish, and French. So far about 150 interviews have been transcribed, 25 have been translated, and there are about, well, a lot, left to go!

I’ve found that I truly need to brush up on my Spanish skills. I took Spanish classes for THIRTEEN years and can read Spanish rather well, but am mildly hopeless when speaking or listening (especially to fast talkers!). When listening, I can only really pick out vocab words. (Red! Apple! They’re talking about a red apple!) It’s as if I was a Spanish speaking first grader. Maybe a second grader, but definitely not at the head of the class. Cabeza de al Escuela? Yep, see what I mean… hopeless!

Also, if you haven’t checked it out yet, make sure you watch the new Director’s Message video!

Lydia and everyone at The Camino Documentary are excited to announce their biggest fundraiser yet, their Camino Tour!

Not long ago Lydia happened across a wonderful woman named Judy Colaneri on, of all places, Facebook. Judy runs Spanish Steps, a Camino tour group, so it’s no surprise that The Camino Documentary caught her attention. Judy has led over 100 groups along the Camino for the past sixteen years and has become well known for her life changing tours.

Judy Colaneri of Spanish Steps making a friend!

After much chatting about the documentary and the current fundraising woes, Judy graciously offered to host a special tour of the Camino with Lydia, with the proceeds going straight to the completion of the film. From October 17-26th, Judy and Lydia will be leading a group across Spain from Leon to Santiago de Compostela. This is a wonderful opportunity to travel along the Camino with two excellent guides offering truly unique perspectives.

The trip will be van supported, allowing you to walk as much or as little as you would like. One aspect that intimidates me about going on such an extended hike is lugging around a bulky backpack, but with the van being along for the ride you’ll be able to store your bag there!

Lydia even reports that many friends of the film who live along the Camino are getting involved, so there are bound to be some one-of-a-kind experiences along the way involving them. Also, Judy is a trained and experienced chef so there are bound to be delicious meals along the way!

For more info on the tour, read more here or send an email to info@caminodocumentary.org.

Things are all afloat at the Camino Documentary office today! Literally. Thank goodness, though, because did you know that we work from a floating houseboat? It’s true, and it’s amazing. I’m writing now from the houseboat’s beautiful courtyard area, and this might be a good time for a bit of a confession. I have been known to suffer from motion sickness here and there. Roller coasters are completely out of the question, as are car rides when driven by certain types of drivers, i.e., my boyfriend’s dad who is very, verybrake-friendly (Sorry, Tim!).

So far so good, though, on the Camino Doc floating office/houseboat. It’s rather stable, only swaying a bit now and then. If you haven’t seen the Director’s Message video yet, you should definitely check it out & be on the lookout for some swaying shots. Lydia’s interview was shot on the “swim float” of the houseboat, on the Willamette River and next to the Sellwood Bridge. If you start feeling woozy, just remember to focus on the horizon, not on the waves. Just kidding, though, you probably won’t even notice it! Click here to watch the video.

Roxy keeping me company!

As always, though, it’s a busy day here! Evan is training a new volunteer and Uruguay native, Leonardo, and Roxy the dog is excelling at keeping everyone company. Jacqui, one of the new volunteers, has been transcribing footage from an interview with one of the pilgrims, Jill, about her struggles with identifying who she is. Jill has lived in a ton of cities and has had even more different kinds of jobs, and it sounds like her pilgrimage is all about clearing her mind and figuring out where and what is going to be best for her. Having lived in a few places myself (Louisiana! South Carolina! NYC! Boston!), and having had all sorts of odd jobs along the way (nanny! dogwalker! @ a coffee shop! camera operator! florist!), I can truly identify with Jill. I’m excited to be in Portland, now, though, and work towards identifying what career path will work best for me. I know it’s something in the media arts, I’m just figuring out where exactly. Producing? Screenwriting? Reminding myself to focus on the horizon, not on the waves for the time being…

Hello there!

I’m Lilah, a new volunteer for The Camino Documentary. Lovely to make your acquaintance. I recently moved to Portland from Boston where, among other things, I studied video production and made snowmen. I’m quite excited to make my home in the Pacific Northwest – rain and all!

I stumbled upon The Camino Doc online & got in touch with Lydia and the Camino crew. They kindly invited me in and caught me up to speed with everything they have accomplished so far. I must say, it’s quite amazing. They’ve created an awesome website, campaigned to raise funds, and taken on the daunting task of organizing over 300 hours of footage.

I’m going to keep readers posted on what’s happening @ the Camino office & let you all in on the making of a feature length documentary.

That’s all for now, but check back soon for lots of information on Lydia’s plan to go on a tour of the Camino in October & how you can get involved, too!

That's me with a snowman.