The Camino and Its People

5/20-5/25: Galicia

The mountainous passage into Galicia, lined with purple heather and yellow brush.

The province of Galicia quickly became a favorite region for many a pilgrim and crew member. With an abundance of water in the form of wide rivers and perpetual rainfall, the province has some of the greenest landscapes along the Camino. Amongst this perfect terrain for farming, we could always smell the next herd of cattle or sheep, even if we couldn’t spot them from inside the many labyrinthian tunnels of dense foliage. However, as gorgeous as the precipitation paints the countryside, it also made for some interesting shooting and walking conditions - especially when a mix-up happens with the crews’ rain-covers in the middle of a thunderstorm! Ironically, after shipping off nine kilos of rain gear, clothing, her sleeping bag, and other items which she and William deemed extraneous, our pilgrim Misa encountered little more than a drizzle while walking through Galicia. However difficult, the unpredictability of wet ground and thunderous skies certainly did add an element of electricity to the crew’s days.

Josh and Nacho filming in a cloudy Portomarin.

Lydia and Pedro enjoy a fortunate day of sun in Galicia.

In Castilla y León, we witnessed many of our pilgrims and crewmembers go through sickness and physical pain. Theresa caught a bad cold, Guglielmo had a sporadic fever, Wayne got food poisoning, Sam met us just after a four-day stay in a hospital for a stomach virus, and Annie developed tendonitis in her legs. However, whether gradually or miraculously quickly, we witnessed their bodies mending themselves in this last stage of the Camino - perhaps physical signs of release or outward manifestations of inner processes of transformation that the Camino is fabled to spur.

Sam at a global crossroads in Manjarin.

With the approaching finish-line of Santiago de Compostela, we were all buzzing with anticipation to see the order in which our pilgrims would cross the Puerta del Camino and culminate their respective journeys. While the Camino is primarily a personal excursion, there was definitely an air of playful competition among the pilgrims. Our seasoned pilgrim, Alfredo, seemed to be our trusty leader-of-the-pack, while Tomás, Chris and Jonas were all beaming with pride just to have passed Misa - who had set the pace-bar challengingly high back in Roncesvalles. Trailing just behind them were Ushi, Hans & Roar, Tonio and Sam. In the middle of our caravan were our steady walkers - Jack & Wayne, Martha and Jill. And finally, our caboose - Guglielmo, Annie and Tatiana - had each adopted their own relaxed pace, letting their bodies and surroundings dictate their rhythm rather than adhering to a strict or arbitrary schedule.

The B Crew catches Jack and Wayne duing their last few kilometers.

Misa, Tomás and the friends they gathered along the way reunite for their entrance into Santiago.

We began our farewells well before Santiago, with the B Crew bidding “adieu” to Alain and Bernadette after León. Having spent their customary two weeks on the Camino, with the intent to return later in the year, they loaded up their two ponies into a trailer and hitched their buggy to return to their home in France. As we welcomed Sally back for the remaining days of the shoot, we said goodbye to Roque, who was incredibly excited to start walking the Camino from Villafranca del Bierzo. These send-offs were just the start of the many to come, for we may take with us the memories - the true gifts - of each person and place we encounter along the way, but all that we experience along the Camino ultimately belongs to it.

Time enough for one more epic time-lapse.

.

.

.

Original copy by KC Englander.