In our Hearts is Anna’s successful entry in the 2021 competition, 100 Caminos 100 Stories.
In 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, the Chilean Friends of the Camino established a 100-word story competition to keep the spirit of the Camino alive and to lift the spirits of walkers around the globe. Anna’s entry Josef and the Silver Way was highly commended.
The competition was so successful that the Friends decided to run it again. Anna’s In our Hearts was selected for publication from the more than 600 entries received.
In our hearts tells the story of an enduring friendship made on the Camino Mozarabe.
Istanbul is a dazzling, beguiling city. Once the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, its epic history was shaped by a myriad of cultures including Arabic, Armenian, Greek, Bulgarian, Jewish and Kurdish. Its waterways are mythic; the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara. Shimmering domes, minarets and medieval towers rise from its seven hills.
It’s our first spring in 18 months and we can’t get enough of the Cinque Terre; its vividly coloured villages, sparkling beaches, warm Italian sun and hillsides splashed with red poppies, purple orchids and white narcissus.
Centuries ago, the steep hills of the Cinque Terre were terraced with dry-stone walls and planted with vines. The inhabitants of its five villages farmed the land, fished the seas and made wine. But poverty, war and the lure of the city led to the abandonment of many of the hillside plots. The stabilising stone walls fell into disrepair and devastating landslides became more common. In response, the Cinque Terre National Park was created to restore and protect the natural and cultural heritage of this achingly beautiful coastal area.
We plan to walk for four days; two days on the Cinque Terre’s high route (the Sentiero Rosso), one day on the coastal route, and one day further north, in the wilder Portofino Natural Park.
A walking festival draws us to Achill Island on Ireland’s wild and beautiful west coast.
On the first night of the festival, we meet walkers from all over Ireland. Among them are Maree & Seamus O’Brien, Brid & Paula (named after the last Pope), the O’Reilly brothers and their nephew Jean-Paul (also named after a Pope) and Michelle, a fellow Camino aficionado. There’s also Anne & Ivan, an American couple keen like us to walk the land of their ancestors and know more of its stories.
Our leader is Tomás, an Irish-speaking archaeologist and mountaineer. Before we start climbing, he advises us to move gracefully up the slope, stop and let the wind pass and be mindful of our fellow walkers.
Strong winds and heavy seas are forecast for our 90-kilometre ferry journey from mainland Sweden to the island of Gotland. In the middle of the Baltic Sea, bells ring out, the ferry slows and passengers gather on the foredeck. In fading light, the bishop of Gotland recites a poem in memory of the eighty Gotlanders lost when a Russian submarine torpedoed the civilian ferry, Hassa, 70 years ago. Ancestors of the dead cast a wreath into the grey and gravid sea.
Visby, Gotland’s capital, is an intact medieval walled city. Its streets are gracious with muted yellow and pink gabled merchant houses. Once-magnificent churches, ransacked during the Reformation, lie in ruins.
Josef and the Silver Way was Anna’s entry in a competition run by the Chilean Friends of the Camino: 100 Caminos 100 Stories
In the middle of a pandemic, when no one could travel, these short stories of 100 words reminded us of shared adventures as well as the range of emotions and feelings experienced walking the Camino.
Over 700 entries were received from 43 countries and from these Josef and the Silver Way was selected for publication and awarded an Honorable Mention by the judges.
Josef and the Silver Way
We walk by torchlight with Josef until dawn breaks and the earth’s shadow fades to blue. He’s 76 years old and the most inspirational of the pilgrims we meet on the Via de la Plata. Over dinner, he tells us that when his beloved wife died he sought solace in walking. He found his rhythm in the forests of Germany and one day set out from his home to walk the ancient pilgrimage path to Santiago. Serene, gracious, wise, he shows us the person we want to be at his age. Still walking, still open to beauty at every turn.
You can read all the entries, in Spanish and English, in the online version 100 Caminos 100 Relatos.
A huge thanks to the Chilean Circle of Friends of Way of Santiago de Compostela for this inspiring competition: 100 Caminos 100 Relatos: Historias breves a Santiago. Check their website for updates and news of new competitions.
The final in a three-part series on walking the Way of St James. Starting in Le Puy-en-Velay, this ancient Way travels 750 km to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port where it merges with other pilgrimage routes, crosses the Pyrenees and continues a further 780 km through Spain to the holy city of Santiago de Compostela.
The Way of St James begins in Le Puy-en-Velay in the Haute-Loire and continues for 750 kilometres, through southern and south-western rural France to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the foothills of the Pyrenees. From here it crosses the border into Spain and continues a further 780 km (or more depending on the route chosen) to the holy city of Santiago de Compostela.
This is the second in a three-part series on walking the Way of St James. Read More
Early each morning, as they have for centuries, pilgrims gather in the romanesque Cathédral Notre-Dame-du-Puy to be blessed before starting their journey on the Way of St James, the oldest Camino de Santiago route outside of Spain. Down a flight of 60 steps, pausing to take a last look back at the imposing white and black striped facade of the cathedral, reminiscent of the great mosque of Cordoba, and onto an ancient trail first walked by Bishop Godescacl in the winter of 951 AD. Read More
Iceland is known as the land of ice and fire, with some of the largest glaciers and most active volcanoes in the world. Fjord-cut coastlines, glacial rivers, cascading waterfalls, hot springs, moss-covered mountains, milky blue lakes. Its astonishingly beautiful landscapes are more mythological than real. And alongside the allure of its natural wonders, Iceland is rated as the most peaceful country in the world.
Our first visit is a slow journey, wanting to see less so that we might see more. A week in a campervan exploring the beauty of Snaefellsnes Peninsula and the remote Westfjords. Followed by a week of walking in the rugged and remarkable central highlands. Read More
