Photo: el Correo-Gallego
September 2010: Uraba Carlos is a Colombian writer and researcher, author, among other qualifications, Colombia Colombia en burro o El cristo de los paganos. He arrived in Santiago from St. Jean Pied de Port with his wife Estelle Bousquet, a French teacher, to highlight Colombia 's indigenous Santiaguesa and make visible the suffering of these people who have been subjected to the will of the armed guerrillas and interest economics of drug traffickers for decades.
They arrived at the Obradoiro Square with their three children: the little Wayra, a mere year and a half old who traveled the 800 kilometers of the Camino Francés in his little stroller and his brothers Yuma and Chaska, 3 and 5 years, who walked beside their parents and two adults .
Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not:
for of such is the kingdom of God"(Mark 10:13-14).
Pilgrims of Emmaus
"We can confidently recommend the camino to more families with youngsters. With improvements in the infrastructure, principally road safety black-spots throughout the camino and albergue accommodation in Galicia, and increasing the awareness of hospitaleros, the conditions for families on the camino will improve even further."
Robert Sellick - father of a two-year old pilgrim.
"It is easier than people think with a 15 month old and everyone gave us a warm welcome. We did stay mainly in hotels with some albergues where they tended to put us up in the rooms reserved for sick pilgrims. It can't have been too bad as we are planning on going again next year this time with our children who will be 7 and 5 years old. I think it will be more of a challenge as they will have to get there under their own steam. My advice is always the same to people thinking about taking kids on the camino is just do it and see what happens you can always stop and come back another time." Ben - Pili Pala Press
"I am probably one of the youngest people to have walked 893 km on the Camino, I was 8 yrs old at the time and walked it with my mum Krista, my older sister Nelli and my younger brother Noah. We walked the Camino in the year 2000. We walked the Camino to celebrate the year 2000, after my mum read a book called "The Field Of The Star" by Nicholas Luard. She was touched by his regret that he had not spent much time with his late daughter. We wanted to use the time on the Camino to talk and know each other; these days people like us are lucky to have a bedroom of our own, plenty of space, plenty of food and so on, but my mum wanted us to understand that we didn't need any of those things to be truly happy! I'm still only 12 yrs old but the people i met will always be very special, in particular, Wolf. This summer we shall walk the Portugese route. God bless all those who read this."
Pippi Kim -- Sunday, May 23 2004: ( http://www.santiago-compostela.net/ )
August 2010: lavozdegalicia.es
Canadians Chantal and Jean- Berchmans pilgrimage from St. Jean with the best company, ilittle Mickaël .
He served six months doing the Camino de Santiago. Yesterday afternoon the baby slept peacefully in Mickaël hostel O Cebreiro, accompanied by his parents, Chantal Lacombe and Jean- Berchmans Poulin, spellbound watching him . They are from Canada. " He is six months , but looks bigger , " they say. Indeed, it seems. Well fed (Chantal gives the chest) and well maintained . Smile barely awake. And those who know about it , they will realize that such a thing is not the very common. Travelling in a chair ( which weighs about 21 kilos, more or less) on the back of the father. Loaded with diapers, diaper rash creams and everything that little may need to have .
They left St. Jean Pied de Port (France ) on 9 July. They average between 15 and 22 km a day , always in the morning and avoiding the intense heat.
"It would be good for the baby, " explains Jean- Berchmans in a good Spanish. Therefore, the high temperatures of the plateau , from Burgos to Leon decided to travel by bus. For Dad , this is the third way; he did in 2008 , alone, also from Saint Jean , in 2009 , with Chantal pregnant, and now 2010, with the baby in tow , "so that knows Spain » . Van watching it grow day by day , awaken your senses , "From his chair, watches everything , landscapes, people. " She smiles constantly.
Pilgrimage because " we love this Way "because it is a therapy , dismissing concerns and meeting people "interesting . " The best school . Reflect that perhaps the small can not remember the experience later , but the feelings of what is now living in a way, yes you will be arriving within. While walking, they sing . Are messages sent between the lines: if the feel, the capture and , if the answer, there will be happiness . And they are happy. A lot.
Jet lag and Health Concerns: Graham and Elaine
All three of us, baby included, had to deal with half a world’s worth of jet lag (well, maybe a third), having boarded an Air Canada jet in California less than 48 hours before arriving at the trailhead in Roncesvalles to begin our sojourn. Babies’ biological clocks, so I’m told, have more difficulty adjusting to such radical shifts in time zone than do our adult circadian rhythms, and so a rather confused Elliott spent the first few days trying to figure out why the sun was out when he felt it should be night time, and why everyone expected him to sleep when it felt like day.
In retrospect, we ideally should have planned for an adjustment period, perhaps shacked up in a hotel somewhere in the Western or Central European Summer Time zones for a few days, before hitting the trail. However, neither our timetable nor our budget at the time would have allowed for such luxuries anyway, so the point is, for all practical purposes, pretty much moot. This problem, it goes without saying, should be particular to babies coming to the Camino from the Americas, Asia, Australia and the Pacific, and other far-away places and should not affect young ones who live in longitudes closer to Spain. Given our experience, I would say even the littlest peregrinos needn’t have any especial fear for their health (or at least for adequate healthcare) on the Camino de Santiago, above and beyond what one would normally expect in any long trip away from home.
2006 - 930
2007 - 1070
2008- 1093
2009-1272
In the 1999 Holy Year 1470 children were registered at Santiago and in the 2004 Holy Year 7% of the pilgrims registered at Santiago were from 0 - 10 years of age (925 children) and 11 - 15 years (15 967 children)
Mention walking the camino with a baby or child and you’ll be amazed at how strongly people feel about it. Some are virulently against it whilst others completely support the idea. Others are not sure how they feel.
Photo with permission
Cautionary:
“I would caution you about walking with an infant. I met a couple travelling with a baby. He was upset many afternoons and cried. The parents apologised and said it was because he was off of his schedule. Well yes, we all were off our schedules on the Camino, but the poor baby didn't really understand why he should be off of his.”
“The main concern about small children on the Camino is illness. The night after I spent in the room next to the upset infant, I was bitten atrociously by bedbugs in an albergue. I needed to walk 16 kilometres to the next town and spent the next three days under the doctor’s care (thank you Spanish medical system.) This is not a complaint about albergues. They are clean and well run. I was grateful for the wonderful accommodations, but illness happens out there. The Camino is not a walk in the park.”
“I believe that babies are constitutionally far more robust than we decadent westerners appreciate. They can actually survive (and thrive) without many of the manufactured items we are seduced into buying for them. That aside, I think the camino will still be there in two or three years (and maybe even longer than that) when the baby is a little older and more robust.”
Against:
“Unless there is an overwhelmingly powerful reason to take a baby on a walking pilgrimage I would advise against it. By car and staying in decent hotels... maybe. On foot and staying in albergues... not recommended.”
Virulent!
“No to a babe in arms on the Camino! I did my first Camino in '97. As I type this, I'm in my second 2 weeks in León as a volunteer. I've worked with children as young as one (though most older) for 40 years. In the vast majority of guesthouses, there are no facilities for a nursing baby. What about the other pilgrims’ wishes who need a good night's rest. They have enough to worry about with bed bugs, flushing toilets and snorers.
I would have to repeat; the Way, the guesthouses, the communal baths are no place for a mother and a small baby!!” (This from a hospitalero trained to accept all pilgrims as though they are Christ himself!)
Constructive:
“A couple from Canada, authors of two or three books on the camino, walked the Via de la Plata a couple of years ago with a ten month old baby. Certainly the Spanish people were very welcoming of the baby and in restaurants the baby was usually carried off for play by one of the older women while they ate.”
I know it looks a bit improbable, but the little fellow will take up all the weight on your back plus you need to carry more in the way of supplies for him and you even if your main pack has gone on ahead. Even if he is plugged into a natural food supply you still need water + nappies etc.
“I've met a number of people with babies on the Camino routes. It has its own challenges and I think age and availability of suitable accommodation are the determinant factors.”
Photo from Ergo Baby
“Mums have been doing things with babies since they lived in caves and the species has survived!!!”
“Come to think of it, how many babies do you suppose were born on the Camino over the centuries? I think our squeamishness about sharing the Camino with babies is a modern phenomenon.”
STORIES ABOUT LITTLE PILGRIMS
Nicola and Rio: (All photos with permission)
The youngest pilgrim at 5 months?
We walked for 4 weeks from St. Jean to Leon and then went back when he was just a year old to carry on to Santiago. On the second part I had to send a separate bag on in a taxi every day as I'd carried 23/24 kilos for the first leg and knew I couldn’t carry this again. 99% of people were very welcoming & friendly. Be prepared to stop regularly en route as everyone wants to take your photo. Its most definitely something I would recommend - but probably to have someone else with you. I had such an amazing experience I'm writing a book of it and am now planning the Via de la Plata! It'll be hard & challenging but so's life.
Do be fit & strong: nappies weigh a lot!
Do have a guidebook to see where you can next buy nappies.
Do have some spare cash to stay in a hotel for the odd night.
Do be prepared to bath your baby in sinks!
Do be prepared not to stop for coffee at the cafes with everyone else - your baby will be asleep on yur back. You need to stop when it suits them.
Do take a few dangly toys.
Do be prepaed to sing lots of repetative songs - these become second nature to the rythm of your steps.
Don't set out to complete the whole thing - it can be completed at a later time if need be.
Don't expect anything from anyone. Any help anyone offers is a beautiful bonus.
Photo with permission: Graham, Elaine and Elliott - 1 year-old:
The second and third major factors had to do with how my fiancée had been raising the baby. For the baby's first year, he practically lived on my fiancée's back in an Ergo (http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/), accompanying her when she walked to and from work, school, and everywhere else. He was thus extremely comfortable with being in a backpack for long periods of time (though only when it was actually on somebody's back). You might want to consider using a lighter baby carrier like the Ergo to get a child used to being carried around that way before you take him or her on the Camino.
Finally, we had in our favour the fact that human adults are naturally predisposed to find babies cute, and smiling, happy babies doubly so. The baby, far from being "not appreciated" by our fellow peregrinos, became kind of a mascot to the others in our cohort along the Camino. He would spend his afternoons and evenings exploring the albergues, playing with us and the other peregrinos (who were not above competing with each other for the baby's attention), and generally having a grand old time being everybody's friend. In fact, more people knew his name than ours: in one town, we accidentally followed an old, faded arrow onto a side street that the Camino had apparently been rerouted away from. Two Korean peregrinas behind us noticed that we had strayed from the correct path and, in order to call our attention to the matter, they shouted the baby's name; they couldn't recall either of ours.
As for equipment, we necessarily had to carry heavier than average loads. After all, we were packed for three and carrying one. My fiancée carried the majority of our stuff in a full-sized women's hiking backpack, while I carried the baby and some of our heavier-but-less-bulky items in a specialized, baby-carrier backpack made by Sherpani (a discontinued predecessor to http://sherpani.us/product.aspx?bO3FscouH=1&GQd0EjaqX=6&pmdoXJC4W=149) that we picked up on clearance from REI -- though if I had it to do over again, I would have spent the extra money and bought a Deuter Kid Comfort II (http://www.deuterusa.com/products/productDetail.php?packID=kidcomfortII&sub=family&tert=family). To help my occasionally-problematic ankles support the rather excessive weight, I walked the Camino in my heavy-duty, military-issue Corcoran jump boots (http://www.uscav.com/Productinfo.aspx?productID=7615&TabID=1), which ended up performing stunningly well. Those parachute boots left my feet in much better condition at the end of the day than much lighter and springier shoes left the feet of many other peregrinos who were carrying lighter loads. I did have some painful but not catastrophic difficulties with my left knee for the last 120km or so, but I would blame sliding around on the crumbly, slate-strewn hillside trails of western León and Galicia for that long before I would look to load or footwear. My fiancée, who has the constitution of a Sherpa, alternated between a pair of low-top hiking shoes and a pair of Teva sandals and walked the Camino with nary a problem.
Fortunately, we didn't need to carry heavy jars of baby food or anything like that; the baby was more than happy to eat what we were eating -- in fact, he insisted upon it. His beginner's set of teeth was able to handle tortillas, which he loved, and other soft foods with ease, and we would just chew or mash anything he couldn't handle on his own for him. His mother was also still nursing him; and so any nutritional deficiencies of the local diet; which in some areas seemed to consist solely of white bread, coffee, sugar, and ham; could be made up with breast milk.
Photo with permission:
Even when we were thrown in with the main group, though, the ten or twenty seconds of the baby's crying before my fiancée or I could get up and rush him to the bathroom to take care of his problem was less disturbing to fellow peregrinos' sleep than the near-constant presence of multiple people whose snores could demolish entire city blocks if suitably concentrated, packaged, and deployed.
In the end, when we made it to Santiago, the Pilgrim's Office was nice enough to put the baby's name into an annotation on our Compostelas, so there's a record of him having done the Camino along with us (does riding on my back for 800km count as travelling to Santiago a caballo?).
We're not sure what sort, if any, of a lasting impression the trip has made on the baby, but he seemed to enjoy himself immensely while we were on the road in Spain. There's only one thing that's odd about him now that we can attribute directly to our walk on the Camino. He was starting language acquisition in earnest at the time we hopped on a plane to wing our way to Spain. Even though we're back in the California now, he still gets very insistent, for example, about wanting a drink of "ag'ga" and likes to call our attention to any four-legged "peh'oh" or "gah'oh" that happens to walk by. It seems that, while my fiancée and I brought home Compostelas and seashells for souvenirs of Spain, the baby brought home Spanish words.
2 Year-Old pilgrim
The Family as Pilgrim on the Camino Francés By Robert Sellick
(First published in the CSJ of UK Bulletin)
A Promise
When our son was born relatively late in our lives, we made a promise to attempt a pilgrimage on the Camino de Francés to offer thanks, celebrate new life and explore the experience as a family together sharing pilgrim customs. We made this camino together. We completed the camino nine weeks later with our two year old son, Martín after many adventures, much help, little criticism, intense sun, summer storms, surprising places, strange situations, and a dream of what the final outcome might be.
Preparation
We decided to make the journey when he was two years old. He could already express his own feelings and walk, yet he was still sufficiently loyal to his parent’s wishes and preferences. Moreover he didn’t weigh more than the normal backpack. We researched about families making the camino but found little specific information available. For several years I had been a member of the Confraternity of Saint James which offered us plenty of information and encouragement.
Departure
We chose to set out in May when the days are longer, with moderate temperatures, and the natural beauty more colourful. We decided to take a light compact push-chair (actually the wheels were too small for the stony paths) and a backpack to carry the child. Also there were numerous clothes, nappies, food, first aid, remedies, books and toys for Martín on top of the normal pilgrim load. We also carried his birthday present, a small pedal-less bicycle, which we hung on the backpack or pram, so that he could develop his own mobility. We left St Jean-Pied-de-Port to cross the Pyrenees and entered Spain on foot. By now we were clear that our progress would be much slower than any other pilgrim. More importantly, patience and sensitivity to the emotional needs of the child are the keys to a successful camino. In this way his pace became our optimum camino.
Spirit
When we visited the church in Roncesvalles to seek a blessing, Martín became nervous in the dark silent atmosphere. He cried and shouted as a priest blessed him. Gradually during our pilgrimage Martín´s behaviour changed. During the long days with villages far from one another, Martín shouted enthusiastically tulung, tulung (tolling bell) or torre, torre as he spotted churches still distant on the horizon. For him they became important destinations. Little by little when we entered churches, hermitages, monasteries and cathedrals he became calmer and conscious of the peaceful atmosphere. During the final weeks when we entered a church he would sit for a minute or two on a pew to contemplate the atmosphere.
Adaptation
The continuous movement and change day by day is a big challenge as much for a child as for adults. For the parents it is the tiredness caused by the additional weight of the child and his luggage. For the child it is the constant movement of people and places. Also the parents are concerned with the energy, health and enthusiasm of the child. The rest stops were as important as the progress so that he could play, rest, explore, and eat. The daily progress varied between six and twenty kilometers. Some days were spent mainly resting. Very important elements of the stops were the albergues and refugios on the camino. We spent more than fifty nights on the camino.
Our timetable was not the usual pilgrim one. A child sleeps longer than an adult and we were always the last to leave the albergue in the mornings. Occasionally an understanding hospitalero would offer us an extra hour in bed in the morning. Frequently we put Martín, still asleep in his sleeping-bag directly into his push-chair. We dressed him when we stopped for breakfast an hour or so later.
Rhythm
After a late start we always walked in the mornings with a long stop at mid-day for lunch and rest. We preferred a stop in the shade of trees with sandwiches more than the pilgrim menu because it gave Martín more space to play and rest. Playgrounds were very important destinations; we stopped for five hours in the park in Hospital de Orbigo. At about six in the evening we began to walk again if we wanted to reach a more distant albergue. We enjoyed the tranquillity of the camino at sunset so much. The evenings offered us a far more peaceful space for contemplation.
Albergue Nights
Arriving at dusk at an albergue it was always a little uncertain if there would still be room. Frequently the hospitaleros were a little surprised to receive a family with such a young child. However they nearly always gave us a warm welcome. Only in a very few cases did the hospitaleros doubt if they could accommodate children. We had to convince them that Martín would not cry or shout in the night, certainly not as loudly as the infamous snorers, or noisy pre-drawn risers who rouse everyone. Martín invariably shared one of our beds. From time to time other pilgrims seemed a little uneasy having a child in their dormitory or dining room as if their dreams and relaxation might be disrupted.
On very few occasions was Martín intolerable. Normally he would be in bed by lights out, and frequently the pilgrims were charmed by him. Occasionally hospitaleros offered some special treat; such as a room for three of us alone, or playing with Martín for an hour so that we could get away for a short break. There were very generous hospitaleros who were sensitive to our needs, like those at Eunate, Cirauqui, Nájera, Hospital de San Nicolas, Bercianos, Astorga and Gaucelmo at Rabanal. The parish church albergues had the strongest spirit of hospitality offered by volunteers. The private albergues also offered a distinctive, and frequently warm, welcome. Some of the municipal and Galician albergues were more formal and less sensitive to the needs of a family. In Galicia there were fewer private albergues and the rush of pilgrims in July frequently meant no spaces were left in the state ones by the time we arrived. We were increasingly dependent on the hostales.
Completing the pilgrimage
At last after nine weeks on the camino we reached Santiago. For each one of us it was a very personal experience. Moreover together as a family we came to understand our spiritual capacity to support one another in moments of uncertainty and exhaustion. Not only did we share motivation but also the patience with the daily rhythm which varied day by day and from dawn to dusk.
No Compostela for Youngsters
We were very disillusioned by the decision of the church authorities to reject Martín’s application for his compostela. We felt that Martín made his pilgrimage with so much effort and spirit, and that not once did he express a wish to give up the adventure. Moreover that Martín, at his early age, achieved and learnt much more than us, his elders. The pilgrim office gave us several reasons for declining his application:
* His age – so young that he did not have the ability to choose for himself to do the camino.
* His lack of capacity to express verbally the significance of the pilgrimage on his religious and spiritual development.
* That he had not taken his first communion.
Our opinion is that there are other pilgrims of all ages who have not taken first communion, but as adults were not asked if they had taken first communion, their applications for compostelas were obviously not declined for that reason. He was given a certificate acknowledging his completion of the pilgrimage.
Conclusion
We felt that some of these norms need reviewing because the youngsters put more effort into the camino. They develop a unique spiritual sensitivity from the experience distinct from but shared with that of their parents. The Camino Francés was a great success for each of us in the family, and something that will always be shared between the three of us. We can confidently recommend the camino to more families with youngsters. With improvements in the infrastructure, principally road safety black-spots throughout the camino and albergue accommodation in Galicia and increasing the awareness of hospitaleros, the conditions for families on the camino will improve even further. Martín, we hope, will return to follow his own footsteps on the camino once again.
Robert Sellick contributed this paper to the Foro Europeo Conference held in October 2007 in Jaca, which he and William Griffiths attended on behalf of CSJ.
http://www.chariotcarriers.com/
Useful Websites:
The Family Adventure Project. One of the blogs is about a family who did the camino on tandem bikes with trailers. http://pedallingpilgrims.blogspot.com/2008/08/set-in-stone.html Contact: mail@familyonabike.org
The Littlest Pilgrim" blog about an Aussie couple who travelled with their 1 year-old daughter. Read their very useful blog for mental, physical and spiritual practical preparation.
After a weeks training and a fitness test during the Easter holiday in April 2005, 8 year old Camille started her pilgrimage to Compostela by walking the 65km from Puy en Velay to Saint Roch. It took 5 days. http://terragalice.blog4ever.com/blog/lirarticle-45469-167723.html
Pint Sized pilgrims on the camino http://www.soultravelers3.com/
DVD - VIDEO
"El Camino de Santiago. La Ruta Xacobea Paso a Paso". (The Way of Sanitago, the Xacobean Route, Step by Step) is a lovely French documentary that focuses on the pilgrims' experiences, reasons for undertaking the pilgrimage, and spiritual changes felt. It shows some ingenious means created by pilgrims with children, such as carts fashioned with mountain bicycle wheels. The documentary is available only in French and Spanish. It is distributed by DVD Spain: http://www.dvdspain.net/
Little Pilgrim's Journey to Santiago de Compostela
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnqpoELmDbM&feature=player_embedded#at=30
Little Pilgrim's Journey to Santiago de Compostela
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnqpoELmDbM&feature=player_embedded#at=30
BOOKS:
"El Camino de Santiago: Rites of Passage" Chimenti, Wayne (2006) Trafford Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-1412056380. is about the Chimenti family's travels on a 500-mile walking pilgrimage. It started as Nahja, their 12-year old daughter's "rite of passage". It turned out to be a test for everyone.ISBN/EAN - 9788424105839 (English) 9788424105594(Spanish)
Author - Alonso, Juan Ramón
Age- 2-5 years
"Pepe Mouse and his friends in Santiago de Compostela."
ISBN/EAN - 9788424105952 (English)
9788424105716(Spanish)
Author - Alonso, Juan Ramón
Description: Activitiy Book with Stickers
Go to http://www.casadellibro.com/ISBN/EAN - 9788424105952 (English)
9788424105716(Spanish)
Author - Alonso, Juan Ramón
Description: Activitiy Book with Stickers
Enter this in the search box: PEPERRATON Y SUS AMIGOS EN SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
If you want to see the entire series, just enter PEPERRATON Y SUS AMIGOS
Peperraton in every town in Spain, as well as both English and Spanish will appear.
If you want to see the entire series, just enter PEPERRATON Y SUS AMIGOS
Peperraton in every town in Spain, as well as both English and Spanish will appear.
Useful gear:
http://www.deuterusa.com/products/family.php
http://www.chariotcarriers.com/
Backacking Websites:
http://backpackingwithbaby.com/
http://www.thetrailmaster.com/content/hiking-with-children-trailmaster-ten-tips
http://www.backpacking.net/featured4.html
http://www.elklakeresortmontana.com/hiking_with_young_children.htm
ttp://www.eioba.com/a26882/hiking_with_children
http://www.adventureparent.com/hiking-with-small-children.html
Backpacking Books: (From Amazon.com)
Backpacking With Babies and Small Children: A Guide to Taking the Kids Along on Day Hikes, Overnighters and Long Trail Trips (Paperback)- Camping and Backpacking With Children (Paperback)
