More and more people are walking one of the routes of the Camino, or at least one section of it. Everyone undertakes the great test for a different reason, many return again and again. Sometimes with someone close to them, with whom they want to share the unique experience.
Judit Kovácsné Kóger from Ajka has walked the Camino several times, and last year she thought that her beloved granddaughter should also see the beauties of the pilgrimage route. A few weeks ago, they returned home enriched with many experiences.
Judit loved to go on trips with her family before, but after her husband's death, her three children, her job as a nurse, and her second job left her no time to travel for a long time. When he retired and the children flew out, he started hiking seriously.
"I knew that here in Ajkán, the Donát Bánki hiking team led by Géza Káldi is outstanding. I started hiking with them and liked it more and more. I covered longer and longer distances, even multi-day ones. However, my big dream was the Camino. I was still working when my aunt asked me to accompany her on a bus pilgrimage to Lourdes and Fatima for her 80th birthday. On the way, from the window of the bus, I saw the pilgrims with backpacks marching on the Camino.
I thought that the real pilgrim is the one who walks along such a great road. For eight years I dreamed of doing it one day.
When I got out for the first time, it was nice to see the places I had observed from the bus before. That first trip was like nothing else. When we finally got home, I felt a great emptiness and the need to return. I used to be timid and indecisive. This trip made me braver and more independent, even though I didn't go alone, I had a hiking partner who had walked the road several times before. Many people walk the Camino alone, I wouldn't start alone today either. I like to have a partner I can count on if there is any problem, as I am 70 years old. Everyone goes at their own pace, we can immerse ourselves in our thoughts, we can enjoy the silence around us, but we can also share our thoughts with others, and enjoy the miracles we see together.
There was a road where we didn't meet anyone all day. Fortunately, I haven't needed help anywhere, I haven't had an accident, I haven't even had a water bladder"
said Judith.
On the Camino, it becomes clear what a person's ability to perform is, how persistent they are, how they can adapt, how they can overcome their own weaknesses, how well they can tolerate the company of strangers. There was a pilgrim accommodation where a hundred people slept in one airspace.
"The first trip gave me a lot of positive experiences, more than I expected. I was not disappointed in anything, they helped us everywhere. If we continued in the wrong direction, they told us. Even children in gym class from the school yard in Pamplona. On one occasion we were driving a long distance on the English road, it was the weekend, the grocery stores were not open. We ran out of bread, there was no restaurant anywhere, and we found the pilgrim accommodation closed. We were hungry. Suddenly a lady asks us if we are pilgrims. He ran to us and gave us two loaves of bread: one white and one brown. My partner prefers the latter, I prefer the white one. It was an incredible experience.
Three of us went on the French road, a young lady from Kaposvár joined us. We kept seeing each other on the road when we wanted to talk, we waited for each other, we ate and drank together, we stayed in the same place. Going down the mountain towards Roncesvalles, the road was difficult, the lady from Kaposvár did not have a walking stick, even though she would have needed one there. We found two sticks leaning against a bush, as if they were intended for him, their owner was nowhere to be found. These are interesting coincidences"
Judit recalled.
He says he is a believer, but a "bad" Catholic, he does not go to church regularly. He visited the Budapest-Csíksomlyó pedestrian pilgrimage twice, which is very beautiful, but different from the Camino. On the way to Csíksomlyó, he got to know the Hungarian people, but on the Camino, he felt more like himself.
To Judit's surprise, she did not have to deal with language difficulties.
He knows some German, but few people speak it in Spain, they prefer English. Still, as he says, everything can be understood on the Camino, the pilgrims solve the language differences. His first journey in 2016 was the Camino Frances, a 770 kilometer journey from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, through the Pyrenees to Santiago. From there they walked out to Finisterre and then to his favorite town, Muxía. This was another 114 kilometers, and then they finished their pilgrimage with the 115 kilometer Camino Ingles, which lasted 45 days. It included five days of sightseeing in Santiago and Madrid on the way home. On average, he covered at least 25 kilometers per day on various roads. Last year, he and his two companions made a pilgrimage for the first time on the 400-kilometer-long Via Mariana from Braga to Muxía, which has been known since 2019, visiting the Portuguese and Spanish Marian shrines. Then he traveled along the Portuguese coastal road from Porto to Santiago for 260 kilometers. They were 20-22 on Via Mariana. Hungarian pilgrims.
"This June, our friends living in Spain organized a seven-day star tour in Galicia. They showed our small group places that are not well known by tourists. We also got to know their literary, folk art, geographical, historical background and environment. After that, a fellow hiker from Zirci and I walked the 117-kilometer Muros-Noia-Santiago Camino, and then we walked 85 kilometers from Santiago through Dumbria to my favorite city, Muxía."
- said Judit.
"In August, I wanted to show some of these places to my 17-year-old grandson, whom I didn't see much during the epidemic.
He lives in Szeged, and I have five grandchildren younger than six years old, so I felt that it would be good for us to be together a little longer. In addition, his certificate was very nice, he deserved the trip, which fortunately he was in the mood for. He prepared for it, went to the gym, and actually managed the 110 kilometers very well. We started from Porto, I have stayed there several times, they got to know each other, just as they did in Padron. That's always nice. By the way, everyone we meet along the way is always very nice, this is characteristic of all distances. I never had a negative experience, neither at the accommodation nor with the people we met on the way.
My grandson and I spent two weeks together, warming up by sightseeing in Porto and Braga. We visited the island of Cies, which is a nature reserve, and then from the city of Vigo we walked along the so-called Espiritual Camino, which passes monasteries, waterfalls, and old water mills.
It was a spectacular, beautiful road through a wild forest, next to a wildly roaring stream. In Padron, we got on the classic Camino route, followed it to Santiago, and of course I showed him my favorite city, Muxía. We talked a lot on the way, being together strengthened our relationship. There will probably be a sequel, but next year it will be in Hungary, as my grandson will graduate. A few weekend castle visits and sightseeing can fit into the time. I am now walking part of the plain section of the blue tour, and when I finish it, I can say that I have completed the domestic Blue tour, I have traveled around the country. In October, I will do the Paul tour in the Danube Bend, from Csobánka through Esztergom, Párkány, and Slovakia to Marianostra.
I would also like to get to know the St. Benedek road from Tihany to Lébény - shared her plans, Judit, who hopes that the youngest of her six grandchildren will also go on trips with her in the future. Until then, he travels the roads with his friends from Aika and the countryside. He also does performance hiking, last year he walked for 119 days, often overtaking young people. Even when he is at home, he walks a lot. From his place of residence, the Csikólegélő, he goes to the other end of the city, to his mother, who lives in the Tósokberénd district. He is constantly training. He can go for weeks if it rains or if it blows.
He believes that there is no bad weather for hiking, only ill-dressed tourists. The weather should not be an obstacle. He never gets cold at that time, even though his clothes and shoes are completely soaked. He doesn't count the kilometers, he has no idea how many thousands he has traveled so far. He feels that his physical performance and stamina increase from a lot of movement. "I'm healthy, I can get through any illness better." I had thyroid surgery in the spring, and a week later I was walking in the Great Plains for a week. I couldn't imagine my life any other way"
he says naturally.
Featured image: Judit Kovácsné Kóger from Ajka has walked several Caminos, last year she shared the experiences of one of the paths with her beloved grandson / Source: József Györkös
