The road goes to . . .

Climbing O'Cebreiro Route of Santiago 2007

To Laura who is going to embark upon the road. To my Angel where ever she is. To Chuco who always believed in me, even more than I did, and to all those who have had this experience.

The bet

“I am scared, now is the moment and I wonder what is waiting for me. I have a simple direction to follow and enough courage to do it, so let’s go” That´s what I wrote in the book of peregrine in Roncesvalles a few years ago. I was there alone with my bicycle without any experience, not in fit conditions, and with a lot of bad predictions by people who thought that I would fail. More than 800 kilometres (more than 500 miles) were waiting for me and for me alone, so the bet was against me. The hardest self-evaluations are those that are evaluated exclusively by ourselves.

The reason why

It is difficult to explain, and impossible to define a single reason to do it. I suppose that there are a lot of reasons as to why people walk the road, more than a hundred and fifty thousand per year. I met fathers and son walking together, a German daughter pushing her mum on a wheelchair, a group of cyclists fitter than I was, religious and atheist walkers, Asians, Europeans, and Africans. The only thing that everyone shares in common is to follow the yellow arrow to Santiago. There is a strong connection with the road and it is full of symbols, it is a physical journey as well as an inner journey. The Spanish are familiar with the map of this road since childhood as it is represented in The Game of the Goose. The Game of the Goose is a board game with unknown origins. Some people relate the game with the Templars. According to these theories, the Templars developed a game and a secret or encrypted guide to the route of St. James by representing each numbered space in the game as a different stage in this journey. Furthermore, the hidden messages would not just appear in the game but in the monuments, cathedrals and churches along the route to Santiago de Compostela. In any case the presence of the goose is very constant throughout the journey in places such as Montes de Oca  and Río Oca, etc (“Oca” is Spanish for Goose ).

The accident

Due to my lack of experience and preparation I suffered a strong fall during my trip. My right foot turned completely black because of a deep bruise and my shoulder and back were very damaged. I continued with great difficulty and was accompanied by some friends, but after a few days the situation began to get worse and worse. When I was in Villafreanca del Bierzo in front of the door of the pardon, my good friend Diego and I were discussing my possibilities and we both decided that the best thing to do was to leave that experience behind. I could barely keep myself on the bicycle as I had a lot of difficulties and the inflammation was not going down in spite of the medicine. By chance I was able to make this decision right in front of the door of the pardon, which is the place where injured people who can´t continue can receive the same honour as those who arrive to Santiago.

The angel

Someone approached us in this particular moment. She was a tall, slim girl with a square face and a broad chin. She had black hair and she spoke to us in English. She said to me that she could see that I had had a serious accident and she thought that I would have problems to continue my trip. Then she asked me if I really wanted to finish the journey. I replied to her: “Yes, of course I want to”. She told us that she was a sports physical therapist and she offered me her help. She gave me a few massages, re-placed the shoulder in its place and taught me a few exercises to help me recover. She recommended to me to take a couple of days rest before continuing and to stick to the medication. The recovery was almost instantaneous in the moment in which she began to put my bones in the correct place. In this moment I knew that what began would be finished.

Because of our gratitude we invited her to have breakfast and she told us that she was from Melbourne and she had been walking for a few days. I was so grateful that I opened myself up to her and wanted to visit her, however I realized that Australia and Spain are not close together. Then I looked deep into her eyes and I said to her, you are not a real person, you are my guardian angel who has appeared in the exact moment in which I was going to give up. If you were real you would come from Valencia or some French town where it would be possible for me to visit you but how am I going to be able to go to Melbourne to thank you?

The game

I was pedalling through the streets of Santiago in search of the cathedral then something suddenly disorientated me when a group of tourists approached me wondering where my route had begun. In this moment I realised that thirteen days before I had been a little scared with the notion of having to face 800 kilometres that were awaiting me. I answered them: “from Roncesvalles”, and I could feel tears down my face. It was done, I had achieved it. Nevertheless, for people who have discovered the rules of the game as I did, we know that Santiago is stage 58 on the board and if you are looking for the real end, the geese’s paradise is hereinafter. In this place you will be able to sit down opposite the ocean contemplating one of the most spectacular sunsets in which your past will slowly burn out; and during the night enjoy an intensely captivating view of the Milky Way whilst you feel the stars penetrating your soul writing your future. There you will be able to follow the tradition by sitting close to a bonfire and burning your boots in order to get up as someone renewed. So if you want to know where the end of the game is, follow the road and the road will lead you to Finisterre. I won the bet but I lost the game as I finished in Santiago, I must start the road again.