Last year Andrea Guzzoletti walked 1000 kms across Spain following the path known as the CAMINO DE SANTIAGO, also known by the English names, WAY OF ST. JAMES, ST. JAMES’S WAY, ST. JAMES’S PATH, ST. JAMES’S TRAIL, ROUTE OF SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, and ROAD TO SANTIAGO, the name of any of the pilgrimage routes (most commonly the Camino Francés or French route) to the shrine of the apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwesternSpain, where tradition has it that the remains of the saint are buried.
A year has passed, Andrea has left Barga and is on the road once again with his destination, just like last year – Santiago de Compostela and then on to the coast at Finisterre but this time he is taking a different route – The VÍA DE LA PLATA (Silver Way) or RUTA DE LA PLATA (Silver Route) which is an ancient commercial and pilgrimage path that crosses the west of Spain from Sevile in the South.
I discovered a humanity I thought no longer existed and this made me feel good.
The more time passes, the less there is a need to talk about certain things because it all becomes obvious, just a quick glance and we understand immediately, it all comes down to the essential things that really have value, you get used to having a lot of close and affectionate relationships with everyone.
When you get to a city you realize just how different people can be, they have grey faces, dull skin, few smiles apart for some small child, individuals separate from one another, distant, no one even touches you, no one salutes, everyone in a hurry, angry, aggressive, some with a desperate look, wary. At that point you cannot wait to leave and stop in some small town where there is more beauty and humanity, because you are in dire need of beauty and humanity , because you cannot understand the reason why man should build ugly things, you cannot accept that something cannot be functional and beautiful at the same time, and you do not understand why no one greets you as you pass, each lost in who knows what kind of trouble.
What’s surprising is that all of your travelling companions see things the same way, people who come from all over the world , they see and perceive things in the same way. And we all wonder how we could create such an absurd society. Weeks go by and you are touched emotionally by almost everything, people attain illumination in the street, you can see it in their eyes, and when they share it with you, you feel good . – Andrea Guzzoletti summing up last years 1000 km walk across Spain – full article here
This time his route will be 1200 kms long and once again we have been following his progress daily.
That is until last night, after regularly sending images and text each and every day since the 3rd September when he left Seville, there is now a gap in his correspondence – no images and no word for the man.
Has the pilgrims life finally got too much for him and he has left the trail on search of some human company?
We wait for further news.