Jules Torti - Trail Mix: 920 Km on the Camino de Santiago

Copyright 2021 by Jules Torti

Foreword copyright 2021 by Jane Christmas

First Edition

For information on purchasing bulk quantities of this book, or to obtain media excerpts or invite the author to speak at an event, please visit rmbooks.com and select the Contact tab.

RMB | Rocky Mountain Books Ltd.

rmbooks.com

facebook.com/rmbooks

Cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada

ISBN 9781771604802 (softcover)

ISBN 9781771604819 (electronic)

Design by Lara Minja, Lime Design

Printed and bound in Canada

We would like to also take this opportunity to acknowledge the traditional territories upon which we live and work. In Calgary, Alberta, we acknowledge the Niitstapi (Blackfoot) and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, the Piikuni, the Kainai, the Tsuutina, and the Stoney Nakoda First Nations, including Chiniki, Bearpaw, and Wesley First Nations. The City of Calgary is also home to Mtis Nation of Alberta, Region III. In Victoria, British Columbia, we acknowledge the traditional territories of the Lkwungen (Esquimalt and Songhees), Malahat, Pacheedaht, Scianew, TSou-ke, and W SNE (Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum) peoples.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, audio recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher or a photocopying licence from Access Copyright. Permissions and licensing contribute to a secure and vibrant book industry by helping to support writers and publishers through the purchase of authorized editions and excerpts. To obtain an official licence, please visit accesscopyright.ca or call 1-800-893-5777.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and of the province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

For Kim,

because without her there would be no story worth telling.

And for my parents,

who never doubted what I said I would do (except when it came to making the bed and doing dishes).

While a picture may say a thousand words, Jocey Asnongs illustration says nearly a thousand kilometres. The vitals are all here: the official Pilgrim Passport, the iconic scallop shells we tightly knotted to our packs, the guiding arrow and unforgettable map that continues to unfold over and over in our heads three years later.

Illustrator Jocey Asnongs whimsical rendition of the Camino Frances route, beginning with the daunting Pyrenees, westward to Finisterre.

CONTENTS

After one last hike on our home turf, Kim and I try to calm rattled nerves with Prosecco before our flight to France the next day.

FOREWORD

The one phrase unlikely to be uttered by anyone returning from Spains legendary Camino de Santiago de Compostela is: What happens on the Camino stays on the Camino. Nope. Youre just not going to hear that. Because heres the thing about the Camino: Once youve walked it you have to talk about it; there is simply no other option. Talk about it, write about it, paint a picture of it, compose music about it. You want the world to know about your Camino.

No easy task, that. How to sugar coat an 800-kilometre trek that involves tortuous climbs, exhausting daily slogs, and sleeping in bunk beds. With strangers. Who snore. Who have dubious hygiene. And not always the same strangers. Different ones every night. Try spinning that into the best experience of your life. People will think you are mad. So begins your transition from pilgrim to missionary.

For well over 1,000 years, pilgrims have travelled with little more than their faith and a wish to reach Santiago de Compostela alive so they can off-load their burdensemotional, psychological, physical or relationaland reap a miracle in the citys elaborate cathedral. Often the miracle is discovering relief from your burdens in the company of those lugging burdens of their own. As it was in the 9th century so it is today: The Camino provides. That such a nave ethos exists in our social-media-swamped, evidence-based world is miracle alone.

In 2003, during a fleeting conversation, I heard about the Camino. An instant eruption of goosebumps was all the push I needed to do it. It felt right. Didnt matter that I had never hiked or hefted a backpack. You can do a lot worse than follow your instincts. A year later, off I went. It was hard, relentless, lonely, exhilarating. And life changing. As I write this, I am sitting with a man I met on that Camino. Weve been together ever since. And though I vowed never to set foot on the Camino again, I was back in 2018 to hike the Camino del Norte, one of the longest and toughest routes to Santiago.

As a couples-bonding exerciseeven as a friend-bonding exercisethe Camino cant be beat. It intensifies shortcomings and strengths, both your partners and yours. Another miracle of the Camino is not always that you completed it, but that despite your sometimes bratty, bitchy behaviour you still had a partner by the end of it.

If you have considered walking the Camino, Jules Tortis book is a great start. It will give you an idea of what to expect, what to pack and what to leave behind. (Bonus points to her for leaving distracting phones and tablets at home.) Those who have trekked the Camino Francs will recognise places Torti mentions along the way. Much has changed, some hasnt: Los Arcoss grumpy vibe has apparently not improved with time, and those chickens are still clucking in the cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. You will empathise with the should-I-stay-or-should-I-keep-going dilemma that confronts the exhausted pilgrim mulling the dregs of available accommodation options. As for the caf con leches: Is there better coffee anywhere than on Spains Camino?

For women, the Camino is particularly empowering. There are few places in this world where you can walk solo for 800 kilometres without the worry of being molested. Torti didnt walk alone, but with her partner Kim.