WHEN Bert Nieuwendijk from Kangaroo Valley was asked to walk the Camino, an 800 kilometre Spanish trail, his wife Catherine was incredulous.
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“Walk the Camino – you’ve got to be joking,” she said to the couple’s English friend Bloo Anderson who had made the suggestion.
Bert had suffered a stroke in 2009 – leaving him speech impaired, with balance problems and a paralysed right arm.
Bloo, however was quite serious. He too had suffered a stroke, but not a year later walked the Spanish trail and wanted to do it all again – this time with Bert.
“He looked at my husband and said, ‘I think you should do it Bert, you will get so much out of it’,” Catherine said.
“He said it did him a world of good.”
So after thinking it over, Bert decided he would make a go of it.
“Bert didn’t hesitate,” Catherine said.
“He wanted to do it, but I was concerned. A 74-year-old with no training. Could he complete the course, carrying a heavy backpack all the way?”
While formerly quite an active cyclist and runner, Bert’s exercise since his stroke now amounted to walks around Kangaroo Valley.
He had given up so much, but this was something he could do.
- Catherine Nieuwendijk
Balance issues and a paralysed arm also meant if he had a fall it was usually severe.
It took the couple six months to source all the gear they needed and Bert trained for three months to improve his fitness.
He set off on May 10 with Catherine anxiously awaiting daily text messages to keep her informed on their progress.
El Camino de Santiago, The Way to Santiago, is a pilgrimage walk following the footsteps of pilgrims through the ages and the way of St James.
The walk ends at the cathedral at Santiago where the saint is said to be buried.
The pair started from the French border of St Jean Pied de Port, walked over the Pyrenees and continued via Pamplona, Logrono, Burgos, Leon and Samos to reach Santiago by June 9.
Bloo and Bert averaged 30 kilometres a day.
Bert did end up having a few bad falls, as well as a healthy smattering of blisters, but the two of them made it to the finishing point where they attended a celebration mass at the Santiago cathedral.
They also decided to walk another 90 kilometres to the coastal town of Finisterre, making the journey 890km in 27 days.
Bert said the challenge gave him purpose and a sense of achievement.
“Bert certainly returned with a sparkle in his eye and a big smile which said ‘I did it’,” Catherine said.
“He had given up so much, but this was something he could do.”