I am now three weeks back at home – how do I look back to my pilgrimage?
Last week, I attended the burial service for André Lybaert. André, who also lived in Oostakker, walked from Flanders to Compostela in the 1980’s, at a time there were no signposted pilgrim routes, no guides, no mobile telephones and very little pilgrim infrastructure. After the death of his wife, André walked between 2000 and 2010 every year on the pilgrim routes – in total he has walked more than 12,000 kilometers. I met André two years ago at a meeting of the Flemish Santiago Society. Last year, a few weeks before I started my pilgrimage, I spent a pleasant afternoon with him. He told endlessly about his trips and remembered masses of practical details. But if his family after a trip asked: “How is it, walking the camino?”, he used to reply “I cannot describe it, you have to experience it for yourself.” Continue reading