Alfred and Cindy Gong complete their 500-mile Camino in front of the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain.
Gloria Bible
Question: Why would you walk 500 miles over the Pyrenees from France to Spain? Why, to celebrate your 70th birthday, of course!
Having commemorated his 50th birthday by running a marathon and his 60th by completing an obstacle race trifecta, Alfred Gong was looking for an appropriately physical way to celebrate his 70th birthday.
Alfred first heard of the Camino de Santiago from golfing buddy Rich Morgan. Rich had completed the Camino twice before, and Alfred was intrigued by his friend’s experience. Rich suggested Alfred watch the Martin Sheen movie The Way to get a much better idea of what this “walk” entailed. Although various routes can be taken, the movie features the most popular one. All the different Caminos share the same destination: the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (notable for the tomb of St. James the Apostle) in the northwestern part of Spain known as Galicia. “Peregrinos” (as the pilgrims/walkers are called) typically attach a large scallop shell to their backpacks and gather decorative stamps on their “Camino Passports” to document their journey and progress toward the Cathedral destination.
Alfred’s wife Cindy initially had not planned to join her husband and Rich on the Camino. After watching The Way and a PowerPoint compiled by Rich and his wife Bonnie, however, Cindy immediately decided this would satisfy her longing for a really long-distance hike.
Her training began with 3- to 5-pound backpacks, progressing to 10-, 15-, and eventually 18-pound packs with increasingly longer distances. In the end, Cindy and Alfred carried their 23-pound backpacks every step of their trek, even choosing to forego elevators when available.
Essentially, the Gongs carried everything they needed to live on for seven weeks in their backpacks and pre-booked their lodging at “albergues” (hostels) or inns. While satisfactory for the most part, there was one albergue that was completely unacceptable, necessitating walking several miles farther than planned and marking the longest day of their camino: 22 miles in 10 hours. A more typical day was six hours of walking followed by a shower, dinner, and a quick wash of clothing in preparation for the next day’s walk.
One of the biggest challenges the Gongs faced was adequate nutrition. Typical breakfasts during the first two weeks were basically just bread, butter, and coffee, sometimes augmented by protein bars purchased at “supermerchados” along the route. Since their caloric expenditure was high and protein intake limited, they realized their muscles were not repairing quickly enough. Once they discovered “torta patatas” (a type of Spanish omelet), they started to feel much better. Typical weight loss on the Camino is 10 pounds; Cindy lost nine pounds while Alfred somehow managed to gain five.
For Alfred, the Camino reaffirmed the resilience of his 70-years-young body. For Cindy, her Camino brought a heartfelt appreciation of God’s majesty splayed across the Spanish landscape.
While the many steep and rocky grades challenged the Gongs considerably more than expected, they would tell you the rewards far outweigh the travails. In fact, they are considering another Camino. Perhaps you might find them on a trail in Portugal soon.