A Camino for Enrique
This pilgrimage was for Enrique Iglesias, President of the Inter-American Development Bank - IDB (1988-2005), before that, President of Uruguay’s Central Bank and its Foreign Minister, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and later, Executive Secretary of the Ibero-American Group.
“What the Camino really brought to me can be summarized in one word, ‘sharing.’ Sharing the camino with other pilgrims, and people living, working, welcoming along the way. Sharing the experience while being back home.”
What attracted me to the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo was the beauty of the route on the coast of the Basque country and Cantabria, down through the mountains of Asturias, along the quiet paths of the pine and eucalyptus forests on the last few stages of the French route in eastern Galicia. But my main motivation for doing this walk was to pay homage to Enrique Iglesias, the Enrique Iglesias who can command an audience as well as any pop star and leave its members as moved by his analysis of world issues and his vision for the future as concert goers might be by a stirring rendition of some of the most popular Latin hits.
I am talking about the Enrique Iglesias who was brave enough to entrust me with responsibilities at the IDB that not only allowed me to live the work of the Bank in-country in Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Mexico, but gave my family the opportunity to share that life. In a way, Enrique sent me out on a pilgrimage, and I wanted to show my appreciation with another, through the land of his birth.
October 3, 2018. The first day, leaving Irún
View of San Sebastián
The road ahead
Zarautz
Leaving Getaria
A pilgrim in San Sebastián, 1895
Ondarroa, on the sea route to Markina
Bolibar, home of the ancestors of Simón Bolivar
Forest trail along the North route
The rain in Spain does not fall mainly on the plain
The result
"Guernika"
Albergue in Larrabetzu
Street scene, Bilbao
Early morning, Bilbao
Castro Urdiales
With Toni Cano and family
Albergue La Cabaña del Abuelo Peuto, with Padre Ernesto Bustio and barefoot Christian Pinon
Playa de Langre, for a quick swim
Playa de Langre
Playa de Somo
Rio Deva, frontier between Cantabria and Asturias
The albergue in Santillana del Mar
Jesus Gonzalez, "Don Quijote"
Antonio "Chucho" Bielba, in Oreña
Llanes, for another quick swim
The North Coast route
Picos de Europa
A pilgrim at rest
Comillas, signs of Fall
Folk art on the Camino
The classy Albergue Juvenil Roberto Frassinelli in Ribadesella
A classic pose on the Camino del Norte
A lunch break at the last beach before turning south to the Camino Primitivo
Colunga and the mountains of Asturias
The church in Priesca ...
... untouched in over 1000 years
Casquiita: Jesús and I part ways, he on the Camino del Norte, I on the Primitivo
Mist in the valley south of Oviedo
Jamón Serrano y ajo
Salas, where our partnership with Sergio and Monika begins
My new companions, Sergio and Monika
Model volunteer hospitaleros in Grado
Enrique Iglesias at three years old in Arancedo
Enrique Iglesias's home in Arancedo
Part of my mission accomplished
Leaving Tineo by taxi under a snow storm
What would have been our Hospitales route out of Tineo
Monika happily at rest in A Pociña de Muñiz
Monica and Jacques at A Pociña de Muñiz
Private bunks at A Pociña de Muñiz
Under cover
The rain continues
Leaving Lugo under a morning mist
A long day from Lugo to Ferreira
On the last leg of the Camino Primitivo
"We have an agreement. The first person to let go has to keep quiet for two hours." Impossible
Ribadiso de Baixo. We draw close.
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
I embrace the statue of Santiago
We celebrate at the Tapas Bar Petiscos do Cardeal
The Last Stamp, our albergue home in the historical center
“The camino for me, was about facing some deep emotional needs - with each step, I walked through my past, to reach my present and fulfill my future. I was literally going to a physical place, to face the music.”
— Jenny Moase, fellow pilgrim, musician