Walking is massively egalitarian. Regardless of your age, sex, ethnicity, or economic prowess, if you’re of average health, you’ll be able to walk far farther than you credit yourself capable of – even when carrying weight. Covering 12-15 miles a day seems a range that is programmed into our bodies – perhaps harking back to 600,000 years ago when our ancestors began their trek out of Africa to spread around the world.
The Camino de Santiago is arguably the world’s most famous pilgrimage. In 2022, 414,340 pilgrims crossed the Camino either on foot, bike, wheelchair, or horseback, while carrying their simplified, reduced world in a rucksack on their back. When most people talk about “the Camino,” they are referring to the 500-mile route from the French village of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port at the base of the Pyrenees. But there are other Caminos too.
In August 2022, Katerina Batzaki walked the Camino Portugues, 265km from Porto in Portugal to Santiago de Compostella in Spain, where all caminos arrive. Walking is massively egalitarian. Regardless of your age, sex, ethnicity, or economic prowess, if you’re of average health, you’ll be able to walk far farther than you credit yourself capable of – even when carrying weight. Covering 12-15 miles a day seems a range that is programmed into our bodies – perhaps harking back to 600,000 years ago when our ancestors began their trek out of Africa to spread around the world.
She has learned the hard way that, like many others, too often she tries to go it alone and remain entirely self-sufficient – but the journey always improves and works out thanks to engagement with and the company of others. So she started alone but never felt alone. But being with her at all times in silence was no easy task. She caught herself being angry at times, sad, tired, at her limits, happy and troubled, critical about her past choices, grateful or regretful of her relationships, and more loving towards her family and friends. It was not just a walk. This walk was a walk of life.
On Sunday 31 May 2024, at 11:00 Athens time, tune in to “Infinitely Curious“, the English-language program of Voice of Greece with Katerina Batzaki, and learn why a walk like the Camino can build patience, understanding of ‘less is more’, and the practice of mindfulness. Listen to the experiences of Katerina Batzaki’s own journey, the mistakes and hardships, endurance, and the wealth of friendships and landscapes and learn from other fellow pilgrims the lessons one can draw and the things one should be careful of when going on such a long walk.
Produced and presented by Katerina Batzaki
Broadcast date: Sunday 31 May 2024, 11:00-12:00 Athens time
