VIA THE VIA’S WEBSITE:
In the year 990, archbishop Sigeric travelled between Rome and Canterbury. Sigeric used this itinerary travelling back from Rome, where he received the Pallium from the Pope. The archbishop described the 79 stages of his itinerary towards Canterbury in a journal.
I, HAVING PILMGRIM’ED THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO IN FEB OF ’23, AND NOW PREPARING FOR THE VIA FRANCIGENA, HAVE DISCOVERED A FEW POINTS TO COMPARE AND CONTRAST.
FIRST, SIMILARLY, THEY ARE, IN CATHOLIC LORE, UNOFFICIALLY, THE FIRST TWO OF THE “Peregrinationes Maiores.” THE THIRD BEING BETHLEHEM TO JERUSALEM.
I FIRST HEARD OF THE VIA WHEN AN ITALIAN FRIEND TOLD ME ABOUT IT ON THE CAMINO. AND, I’M NOT SURE IF I’M MAKING THIS UP, BUT IT WAS ALSO MENTIONED SOMEWHERE ALSO IN PAOLO COELHO’S “THE PILGRIMAGE.” TO MY MEMORY, HE LISTED SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, ROME, JERUSALEM, AND THE FOURTH ONE BEING SOMEWHERE YOU CREATE ON YOUR OWN.
EN ESPIRITU:
SO, BETWEEN THE CAMINO AND THE VIA, THERE ARE LOGISTICAL SIMILARITIES: INFRASTRUCTURE, CULTURE, THEIR BY-FOOT NATURE.
BUT MAYBE, MORE ROMANTICALLY, THERE IS A DISTINCT SPIRITUAL DIFFERENCE.
FOR ONE, THE CAMINO ENDED IN “FINESTERRE.” WHICH, IF YOU KNOW YOUR LATIN ROOTS, YOU WOULD SEE “FIN” (END) AND “TERRE” (EARTH). THE END OF THE EARTH. THIS PENINSULA IN SPAIN WAS, AT ONE POINT, THOUGHT TO BE THE MOST WESTERN PART OF THE KNOWN WORLD, WHERE THE SOUL LEAVES THE BODY, AND VENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN.
THIS IDEA OF “EXPANDING BEYOND.” BEING ON THE EDGE. BEING PUSHED TO THE FRINGES. YOU EVENTUALLY ARE PERCHED OVER THE ROCKY COAST OF GALICIA, STARING INTO THE VASTNESS OF THE OCEAN.
THE VIA, HOWEVER, ENDS IN ROME. “THE ETERNAL CITY.” WHERE ALL ROADS LEAD TO. THE CENTER OF THE CATHOLIC WORLD. SOMETHING SO ROOTED, SO WELL BUILT, SO ROCK SOLID.
SECONDLY, THE CAMINO DURING THE MIDDLE AGES WAS USED FOR “PENANCE.” IT WAS HARD TO SHAKE THAT FEELING THROUGHOUT. MANY OF THE PILGRIMS I SPOKE TO WERE “GOING THROUGH SOMETHING,” AND A LOT OF MY CONTEMPLATIVE WALKS INCLUDED “SORTING OUT” THOSE FEELINGS OF “HAVING DONE SOMETHING WRONG.”
Upon further research, THE VIA WAS ALSO USED AS PUNISHMENT. HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO GOOGLE, “The Camino de Santiago is historically known far more for penance, specifically for its highly formalized use in judicial and criminal punishment. [1]”
SO, WHILE THE CAMINO FELT LIKE A SENTENCE, THE VIA APPEARS MORE IN MY MIND AS A VOLUNTARY UNDERTAKING FOR AN INTENTIONAL GOAL.
THIRDLY, THERE WAS A (POSSIBLY SELF-INFLICTED) FEELING OF “JUST WALK WEST” DURING THE CAMINO. I WALKED APPROXIMATELY 600 MILES IN 35 DAYS. ONLY ONE REST DAY IN SANTIAGO DE COMPESTELA. THE PATH IS WELL-ESTABLISHED. YOU ARE NEVER FAR FROM AMENITIES. IT ALWAYS GIVES YOU WHAT YOU NEED. YOU JUST NEED TO PUT YOUR LEFT FOOT IN FRONT OF YOUR RIGHT, AND VICE VERSA. THE SPIRIT OF THE CAMINO IS THAT IT WILL MEET YOU ON YOUR WAY.
THE VIA, HOWEVER, WILL BE 1,200 MILES IN ABOUT 80 DAYS. THIS IS SOMETHING WORTH PLANNING. I DON’T THINK IT’S BY MISTAKE THAT THE CAMINO STARTED WITH “LEGEND” AND PEOPLE IN EUROPE EN MASSE JUST WALKED WEST. WHILE THE VIA WAS AN INTENTIONAL UNDERTAKING, WELL-DOCUMENTED, AND GIVEN AN ITINERARY BY ARCHBISHOP SIGERIC.
MY ITINERARY:
SO, NATURALLY, NOT ONLY IN SPIRIT, BUT ALSO FUNCTIONALLY, I MADE AN ITINERARY.
I AM PRINTING IT OUT AND GIVING IT TO FAMILY SO THEY HAVE AN IDEA OF WHERE I’LL BE WHEN. ALSO, I HAVE IT SO I KNOW WHERE I’LL BE WHEN.
When putting it together, I HAD A FEW DIMENSIONS:
- LIMITS. I WALKED ABOUT 17 MI/DAY ON THE CAMINO, PROBABLY 12-20 MILES ON ANY GIVEN DAY. MAYBE 3 MILES PER HOUR-ISH. I FEEL LIKE I’M IN BETTER “SHAPE” RIGHT NOW. BUT I FELT COMFORTABLE GIVING MYSELF A 12-20 MI/DAY LIMIT.
- START SLOW. I LEARNED THIS DURING MARATHON RUNNING: START SLOWER THAN WHAT YOU THINK. BUILD INTO YOUR PACE. AND THE VIA, WILL ABSOLUTELY BE A MARATHON.
- SUNDAY REST DAY. I ARRIVE IN A COOL CITY ON SATURDAY, AND I STAY FOR TWO NIGHTS AND LEAVE MONDAY MORNING. ON SUNDAY: REST, EAT, GO TO CHURCH, RECOVER. JUST SPEND SOME TIME BEING PRESENT.
HAVING MY START AND END DATES (LEAVE JULY 6TH FROM CALAIS, ARRIVE SEPTEMBER 26TH IN ROME), ALL I HAD TO DO WAS PICK THE 12 “SUNDAY REST CITIES” BETWEEN THE TWO.
CALAIS. ARRAS. REIMS. LANGRES. PONTARLIER. GRAND ST. BERNARD, VERCELLI. FIDENZA. PONTREMOLLI. LUCCA, SIENA. VITERBO. ROME.
IT STARTS EASY. 11 MILES PER DAY TO ARRAS. 15 MILES PER DAY TO REIMS. THIS IS MY “GETTING MY SEA LEGS” PACE. AND OF COURSE, THE NOVELTY OF THE NEW SETTING WILL GIVE ME PLENTY TO BE EXCITED ABOUT.
THEN IT GETS REAL. TO LANGRES AND TO PONTARLIER WILL BE NEARLY 20 MI PER DAY, VERY FLAT AND LESS DENSELY POPULATED. THEN, AS I GET INTO SWITZERLAND, MY MILEAGE GOES DOWN, BUT THE WALKS WILL NEARLY ALL BE UPHILL. I AM HOPING THE BREATHTAKING VIEWS OF THE ALPS GIVE ME THE INSPIRATION TO POWER THROUGH.
Then into Italy, I HAVE SOME DOWNHILL DAYS, WHICH WILL BE LONG, BUT MAYBE NOT AS PHYSICALLY DEMANDING. THEY WILL BE HOTTER, AND FLATTER, BUT THIS IS “MILE 20” OF THE MARATHON – THE HARDEST PART TO PUSH THROUGH.
FINALLY, THE LAST FEW WEEKS DROP IN MILEAGE. MOSTLY BETWEEN 14-16 MILES PER DAY. I GET TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN TUSCANY. THE SECOND TO LAST WEEK IT JUMPS TO 18 MILES PER DAY, BUT MY APPROACH INTO ROME WILL BE SLOW AND EASY AT 12.
EVERYONE HAS A PLAN UNTIL THEY GET PUNCHED IN THE FACE.
I THINK THE SCIENCE IS IN THE PREP. BUT THE ART IS IN THE WALK. IF “THINGS GO WRONG,” I CAN TAKE A TRAIN. A BUS. HITCHHIKE. BUY A BIKE. I WAS VERY FIRM DURING SPAIN: ONLY WALK. PUSH THROUGH IT. GET UP AND GO.
THIS ONE, YOU KNOW, IS A BIT MORE “MY OWN.”
I EVEN MADE AN ITINERARY FOR IT.