- Time of past OR future Camino
- CF 2023 sept/Oct
Primitivo July 2024
Ok, not literally, but kind of they did.
The recent thread on the wolf at Cruz de Ferro reminded me of my tenuous link to the Camino involving wolves, and it would be great to hear of other people's less than common routes toward finding the Camino.
So my story towards the Camino started back in Easter 2013. My mom had been living in Southern Spain (near Alicante) for several years and I'd recently taken to driving down from Jersey as opposed to flying to visit her. I'd generally stop off in the Pyrenees to break up the journey (actually in Accous which is on the way to Somport). But back in 2013 I headed to a little mountain village called Boca de Huergano, just outside the Picos de Europa (and on the Vadiniense now it transpires) where I'd heard it was possible to go and see wolves with a guide, and being a nature lover and especially being captivated with the wildness of wolves I just had to go. The morning after my arrival I was bumping around in the back of a 4x4 heading up this ridiculously steep snow-filled track through the falling snow having no idea what to expect, driving was the guide Bernardo, and with us was Andoni Canela the famous Spanish wildlife photographer trying to get photos for his next book. Anyway, we reached the top of this mountain and crested the ridge and as we did so, two wolves ran across the ridge maybe 100 meters away across a snow-field. It was almost over in the blink of an eye, far too fast to even consider getting the camera out - but I was hooked. What was meant to be a 1 night stop turned into 4 much to the delight of my long-suffering fiance at the time who was left (albeit quite happily) with Cass our dog while I was out looking for wolves in this magically wild place we'd happened across. I never did see another wolf on that trip, but that didn't matter.
This place that immediately felt like home became a twice-yearly holiday destination and remains so until this day. Each time we'd explore more of North West Spain on our way down to the Picos and gradually fell in love with the whole area from coast to mountains. Of course, it was impossible not to start noticing all of these Camino signs and weird people walking with backpacks from the Norte to lesser-known Caminos we crossed on our travels. Curiosity would get the better of me and I'd start looking into what these strange people were doing traipsing across this beautiful part of Spain which was still at the time very undiscovered by the tourist hordes. Eventually, this would lead to including Santiago de Compostela on our travels, and then the film The Way and books and YouTube and eventually the Camino became fully entrenched in my mind as something one day I'd love to do.
And last year, after the death of Flora my dog whom I'd spent the last 8 years exploring this beautiful country, that "one" day arrived - I had to go. I walked the Camino with mine and Flora's mountains constantly to my right holding me tight like a dear friend as I walked that most beautiful path to Santiago de Compostela.
So there is my tenuous path towards the Camino thanks to those two wolves I saw over 11 years ago in those beautiful mountains.
Next week I'll be back in Boca de Huergano, the first time without Flora which will be strange, but like the Camino, I'm sure she'll be with me because they will always be our mountains (well, ours and the wolves and occasional bear).
There are some photos from that fateful trip here if anyone is interested.
www.west.je
The recent thread on the wolf at Cruz de Ferro reminded me of my tenuous link to the Camino involving wolves, and it would be great to hear of other people's less than common routes toward finding the Camino.
So my story towards the Camino started back in Easter 2013. My mom had been living in Southern Spain (near Alicante) for several years and I'd recently taken to driving down from Jersey as opposed to flying to visit her. I'd generally stop off in the Pyrenees to break up the journey (actually in Accous which is on the way to Somport). But back in 2013 I headed to a little mountain village called Boca de Huergano, just outside the Picos de Europa (and on the Vadiniense now it transpires) where I'd heard it was possible to go and see wolves with a guide, and being a nature lover and especially being captivated with the wildness of wolves I just had to go. The morning after my arrival I was bumping around in the back of a 4x4 heading up this ridiculously steep snow-filled track through the falling snow having no idea what to expect, driving was the guide Bernardo, and with us was Andoni Canela the famous Spanish wildlife photographer trying to get photos for his next book. Anyway, we reached the top of this mountain and crested the ridge and as we did so, two wolves ran across the ridge maybe 100 meters away across a snow-field. It was almost over in the blink of an eye, far too fast to even consider getting the camera out - but I was hooked. What was meant to be a 1 night stop turned into 4 much to the delight of my long-suffering fiance at the time who was left (albeit quite happily) with Cass our dog while I was out looking for wolves in this magically wild place we'd happened across. I never did see another wolf on that trip, but that didn't matter.
This place that immediately felt like home became a twice-yearly holiday destination and remains so until this day. Each time we'd explore more of North West Spain on our way down to the Picos and gradually fell in love with the whole area from coast to mountains. Of course, it was impossible not to start noticing all of these Camino signs and weird people walking with backpacks from the Norte to lesser-known Caminos we crossed on our travels. Curiosity would get the better of me and I'd start looking into what these strange people were doing traipsing across this beautiful part of Spain which was still at the time very undiscovered by the tourist hordes. Eventually, this would lead to including Santiago de Compostela on our travels, and then the film The Way and books and YouTube and eventually the Camino became fully entrenched in my mind as something one day I'd love to do.
And last year, after the death of Flora my dog whom I'd spent the last 8 years exploring this beautiful country, that "one" day arrived - I had to go. I walked the Camino with mine and Flora's mountains constantly to my right holding me tight like a dear friend as I walked that most beautiful path to Santiago de Compostela.
So there is my tenuous path towards the Camino thanks to those two wolves I saw over 11 years ago in those beautiful mountains.
Next week I'll be back in Boca de Huergano, the first time without Flora which will be strange, but like the Camino, I'm sure she'll be with me because they will always be our mountains (well, ours and the wolves and occasional bear).
There are some photos from that fateful trip here if anyone is interested.
Spain 2013 — W e s t
www.west.je
