Belvedere Times

How To Climb A Mountain

Michael-David McKernan, Co-Curricular Editor

Putting a left foot down on the concrete seashell in the Square outside the Cathedral, completing the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage and feeling indescribably fufilled  -  that was the end of the Camino and our 360km journey through Spain to the fabulous destination that is Santiago de Compostela.  But as someone once said, it's not the destination but the journey that gets you there.

And the Camino is certainly a journey, one that demands, both physically and mentally. The physical aspect is unforgettable. Lying down on a new hotel bed every night with legs feeling like bricks after 60km of cycling up 15% inclines and knowing you have to do it all over again tomorrow is tiring in incredible ways. And when you are cycling up a mountain that doesn't stop ascending, the physical pain literally numbs your thoughts so that the pain is all that you can think of.

Mentally however, is, I feel, a much more demanding aspect of the Camino. It not only takes huge thighs to cycle up mountains but also a massive will power. Will power to keep you cycling and not stop is something not everyone has in abundance but, having done the Camino, one takes will power home they never thought they had.

This for me is what I will take most out of the Camino. The strength in character the journey gave me to accomplish anything I attempt  -  and I think I speak for most of the group of twenty-seven who took part this year (as well as for anyone who's done it in the past) when I say that. We all felt a connection with each other on a whole new level during the Camino and were inspired by many different aspects on the pilgrimage to give it our best.

One of the things that inspired me most came early on our journey on Day 1. We had been climbing for about two hours when, in the middle of nowhere, we came across a derelict house with a man standing outside. After many years in Belvedere, and after hearing the phrase 'men for others' preached to us, I hadn't truly met one, until then. Alex was giving pilgrims on the Camino food and drinks free of charge. Things like fruit, biscuits, tortilla, juice, water and other much-appreciated beverages. It seemed like a mirage initially because it was a very hot day and we hadn't had much of a breakfast that morning. It wasn't until I sank my teeth into an orange that I actually believed that this incredibly generous man was giving us his food. It was a profound moment for me on the Camino and gave me inspiration on the first day that would stay with me throughout the journey.

Not only does the Camino give one profound moments of inspiration, but also phenomenal points of laughter, many of which I will realways remember  -   Mark O'Meara falling off his bike in the Square in Santiago, Andrew Griffen touching an electric fence on the bank of the sub-zero temperature river which he had just been swimming in, and Ciaran Boylan leaving his high-visibility jacket outside to dry, only to find it frozen solid the next morning . I walked into my room to find Ciaran attempting to thaw his high-visibility jacket with a hair dryer!  These hilarious incidents unified the group I think and made it an enjoyable experience.

The Camino is something that I think everyone should do at some point.  It is an opportunity to discover many things about yourself, and is just such a fantastic experience. Whether you do it with or without the school, you meet great people who help you along the way with as simple a gesture as saying, “Bon Camino!”