Victor’s Camino walk the ‘experience of a lifetime’

Victor Carswell described it as the experience of a lifetime, as he trekked the pilgrims’ ways from St. Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Along the route, he encountered people from all walks of life and made memories that will stay with him for a long time to come.

“It’s the best experience I have ever had in my life by far - everything about it,” he told the Chronicle.

“It was the freedom of it all; all you had to do was get up in the morning and think ‘where am I going to walk to today?’

“It’s the greatest head cleanser that anybody could ask for.

“I had never been to Spain before in my life, and 90% of people that go there would never see what I saw on the route I walked - all the little villages and towns, even some of the bigger cities that wouldn’t be popular as tourist destinations.

“I also couldn't have asked for better weather. I was away for 32 days in total and I only saw rain one day. It was shorts and t-shirt weather every day.

“It’s nice to carry just what you need on your back and to walk. Yes, there were lots of hills and it was hard walking over rough treks, but there was also a lot of walking on gravel paths.

“Then, there’s the people you meet along the way.

“Everyone is there for the same reason - to do the walk. Everybody will help everybody. As you walk past they say ‘Bien Camino’, which means ‘good way’ in Spanish.

“I walked with three different guys over a week-and-a-half - one guy from Spain, one from Belgium and the other was from America.

“They had all been doing it individually and just bumped into each other in different places and stuck with each other. It was nice having that camaraderie.”

Walking an average of 20 miles every day did take its toll, however, as Victor explained: “The last week-and-a-half, I was eating ibuprofen like they were sweeties as my right ankle was swollen.

“But, I knew I was doing it for the men’s shed, people had donated money and I was going to do it whatever way I could - even if I had to crawl!

“I finished in Santiago on July 2. I wanted to be there early in the morning, to have the square to myself and take it all in.

“I went and lifted my certificate from the pilgrim’s office and then I waited for the Spanish guy, who was about 20 km behind me at this stage, and we said our cheerios.”

To date, a fantastic £1,730 has been donated through Victor’s GoFundMe page - and he wishes to thank everyone who has kindly contributed.

“In my head before I left I would have been happy with £1,500, so I've reached that and exceeded it,” he said.

“I’m hoping now the men’s shed can get the premises they are after. There’s around 160 followers on their Facebook page, so everybody is ready for it.

“I did a blog every evening which was posted on the men’s shed Facebook and on Banbridge Saints & Sinners.”

He continued: “I was so sad after finishing the walk. As I was writing my last blog, I was sitting trying to type and the tears were tripping me.

“I would say to people, if you ever get a chance to do the Camino walk, go and do it.

“It definitely is a real eye-opener for a simpler life.

“It’s no different than life. The paths I walked some days were easy, then there were days it was tough. But the good days always outweigh the bad days 10/1.

“In life you’ll go through hard times, and then there’ll be times when it’s all easy and there’s no problems.”

Having conquered the Camino, the dad-of-two isn’t ready to hang up his walking boots just yet.

“I’m going to do another one in a few years’ time,” Victor revealed.

“My sister is coming home from Australia in four years’ time and she wants to do one that starts in Porto in Portugal - it’s about 250 km.

“My walking and reading my blog has inspired her, so it’s nice to have made a positive impact.”

There’s still time to make a donation towards Victor’s fundraising venture, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/camino-500-mile-walk-for-banbridge-mens-community-shed