Drumaness man’s Portuguese Camino walk

Drumaness man’s Portuguese Camino walk

19 September 2018

FOR some people, doing the Camino pilgrimage is a long awaited once in a lifetime experience.

But for Drumaness man Edmund McCullough, the Camino is something that never ends.

Having just returned from completing his sixth Camino De Santiago walk, Edmund knows that this pilgrimage has not ended for him.

“I’m sure I will do another Camino walk as even though I have done it four different ways now, there’s several more to be done,” Edmund told the Recorder.

He walked 639kms from Lisbon to Santiago in Spain on the Portuguese Camino way in four weeks, starting on August 12 and returning last Thursday.

The Camino veteran says that this walk is one of his most enjoyable for the scenery, which took him through swathes of forestry as well as along the stunning Portuguese coast.

“If anyone is thinking of doing the Camino, and it seems to me that there’s more interest than ever before, I couldn’t recommend the Camino Portuguese Costa highly enough. 

“If you start from the city of Porto and want coastal walking, there’s at least four days of walking along a beach board walk, so you couldn’t ask for more.

“Starting from Lisbon was a much more enjoyable experience as there are few people walking the route. From the city of Porto onwards, you will see considerably more people but you’re walking along the coast which makes it really attractive.”

The French Way, or Camino Francés, is the most popular route but the Camino del Norte along the north coast of Spain is a somewhat rougher trail of around 710kms. Edmund has done the French Way three time as well as the English Way.

As a social worker who manages hostels for homeless people in Belfast and beyond, Edmund sees his Camino walks as a way of taking time of his demanding work life.

“I get a chance to step out of the whole maelstrom of life and the pressure of work and everything else,” said Edmund.

“Essentially it’s a pilgrimage but it’s also whatever you want to make of it. The whole thing is physical, mental and spiritual as well.”

He says that doing a Camino way every other year since 2009 is his way of enjoying his summer holidays in “a constructive way.”

“I’m not one for sitting on a beach,” explains Edmund. “I like walking and I being outdoors so it’s perfect for me. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to see a country by walking through it. You also get to meet people from across the world. Even if you start out walking by yourself, you are never alone along the Camino.”

The Camino Portugues, or the Portuguese Way, spans from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostela, the final destination being St James’ Church, where the body of St James is said to lay.

It travels through the province of Galicia in northern Spain, going through the cities of Porto and Pontevedra and along the coastline of Sanxenxo, the Cies Islands, and Baiona.

While this Camino way was shorter that the more arduous Camino Del Norte throughout the northern Basque area of Spain, Edmund said that there were other challenges. 

“The biggest challenge was walking in extreme heat,” said Edmund. “It was 38 degrees on one day but for the rest of the days it was around 28 degrees. Staying hydrated was also a challenge.”

Edmund also enjoys the feeling of having to travel from one hostel to another with just the bare basics, as he says it gives him an understanding of what life is like for those with transitory lifestyles.

However, he adds: “There’s a great togetherness and camaraderie as everyone is doing it together.”