A Walk Across Spain

SONDRA HARTT AND LIA CANNON HAVE EXPLORED THE WORLD TOGETHER. THIS EXPEDITION TOOK THEM TO THE PYRENEES MOUNTAINS TO THE CAPE FINISTERRE IN SPAIN.

ARTICLE BY MEREDITH MCKINNIE

Sondra Hartt and Lia Cannon explore the world together. Both seek adventure and embrace active lifestyles. They’ve found kindred spirits in each other, exploring the globe, meeting people from all walks of life, embracing new cultures and living out loud. Sondra has always combined her love of travel and activity, and even more so since retiring as an RN at St. Francis Hospital.  She has run marathons; biked from Mobile, Alabama, to Niagara Falls; hiked Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states; and then hiked half the Appalachian Trail (1,200 miles). Her honeymoon with her husband Mike was to the Tour de France. She craves exertion in new spaces. It was prepping for the Marine Corps marathon when she met Lia Cannon in a spin class. They did a triathlon together, Lia being forced to cover two parts when a third member dropped out. But Lia hung in there, and it impressed Sondra. And in 2011 on a bike ride, Lia asked, “What’s your next adventure?”

Sondra’s next adventure was simple really, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. Sondra sent her plan via text, and when Lia sent back a picture of hiking boots, Sondra knew she had a partner. And in 2012, they summited at 19,340 feet. In 2013, Lia climbed Machu Picchu. Sondra and Lia also traveled to Nepal and climbed to the Mount Everest base camp in 2014, then traveled to Banff and Glacier National Park in Montana in 2015. They hiked five days in the Lofoten Islands of Norway above the Arctic Circle, where Lia took a Polar Plunge in the North Sea in 2016. The more exotic the location, the more luring the trip. The women are fearless and curious, so it came as no surprise when they decided to walk across Spain last year.

The Camino de Santiago, or the Way of Saint James, is a Catholic pilgrimage dating back to the Middle Ages. The Apostle Saint James took the path from the Saint Jean Pied de Port in France at the border of the Pyrenees Mountains to Galicia in Northwestern Spain when he Christianized the country. His relics are buried in The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the final location on the journey. Catholics would walk the 570 miles across Spain, sometimes because a priest had sentenced them for penance; some would do it, just because they could. During the Middle Ages, the trek was dangerous. Pilgrims were often robbed, and as a result, the Knights of Templar would protect the pilgrims along the way. The popularity died down in the 20th century, but then Shirley MacLaine made the walk in the early 2000s and wrote a book called The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit. A movie came out, called The Way, with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, and the journey became even more popular.

Current walkers do so for many reasons. Some just want to walk across the country; others want to experience a pilgrimage; some do it for fitness. It takes an average of 30-35 days. It took Sondra, Lia and their friends, Carolyn Brown Fuller from West Monroe and Donna Guidry, from Lafayette 34 days, though they spent seven weeks in the country, road tripping after the trek. Along the way they picked blackberries and crossed the Pyrenees mountains from France into Spain, picked grapes in vineyards, and sampled wine from the famous La Rioja wine-growing region. They traveled through forests and fields of sunflowers as far as they could see. They saw windmills and wheat fields and eucalyptus forests and ended at the Atlantic Ocean. They watched bull runs, ate chocolate, fell in love with tapas and saw several beautiful, uninterrupted sunrises. Sondra was bothered by the graffiti all over the landscape but fell in love with all the flowers. They noticed a strong Celtic influence and caught festivals full of native dress. Storks’ nests were everywhere, and they crossed the longest bridge in the country, the same one the knights protected centuries ago. The ladies traversed long winding roads and then would happen upon a breathtaking view; they would pass castles and manor houses. Chickens littered the streets, cats roamed the small villages, and churches are the center of the country. They happened upon an Elvis Bar, with a sign that read, “We spak Englis.” Old men would play ball in the street in the evenings, and sometimes they would stumble upon weddings. They lived the culture of Spain as only one can over a long trip.
Prayer became a cornerstone of the journey. Lia and Sondra walked from August to October of 2017, the same time the hurricanes were ravaging the US, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Lia is Catholic, and Sondra is Baptist, but prayer is universal. Lia insists they attended Mass every chance they could, with at least seven churches having Mass just for the pilgrims. Every town had a church, some big and some small. Sondra notes churches are the, “seat of their communities.” What began as a bucket list trip for Sondra, became her own personal pilgrimage, as it did for Lia. The walks allowed time to reflect and the opportunity to meet people with a common goal, though from different backgrounds. The ladies gravitated toward Americans to avoid the language barrier, but fell in love with hikers from Germany, Ireland and Brazil. Sondra says, “Some we met like ships passing in the night, and some we still talk to.” When they’re total strangers, there are no preconceptions and they can talk about anything. The walls fall down. They met a couple, both gynecologists from Vancouver, British Columbia, who had just returned from a mission trip in Uganda spreading knowledge of fetal medicine and women’s health. Due to lack of education, if a woman experiences difficulty during childbirth, she’s often left to die in Uganda. The doctors were trying to change that. One Mormon girl from Utah was running her way across Spain. All the hikers have a common goal, and it bonds them, regardless of their cultural differences.
Lia’s priest at Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church blessed the ladies before their journey. On a Wednesday night in an obscure town on the journey, they were blessed again. This time, the priest called all the the pilgrims down to the front, divided them by their native tongues, placed his hands on them and individually blessed each one. It was a moving experience. They ended the journey with another blessing in The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrims must arrive on a Friday by noon. Eight monks pull the ropes swinging the botafumeiro, a giant incense burner down the aisles of the cathedral. The incense in the Catholic faith represents prayers going into heaven. The final blessing is the highlight of the pilgrimage. And many pilgrims stop there, though Sondra and Lia continued for another 70 miles to Cape Finisterre on the Atlantic Ocean. The pilgrims of the Middle Ages called it the “end of the Earth” or “the end of the world” before Columbus.

Cafes are called bars in Spain, and they all have the same pilgrim’s menu. For 10 euros, travelers receive: a choice of chicken, fish or beef; veggie, soup or salad; a dessert like canned flan or an ice cream cone; a water bottle; and always a bottle of wine. Lia and Sondra would start hiking on empty stomachs and then stop at the first bar in the next town. Breakfast was often a tortilla, made like a frittata with onions and potatoes, and cafe con leche (coffee with milk). Towns are scattered about every 3-5 miles. Food for purchase was plentiful along the Camino, and they often stopped in villages or towns and ate their share of bocadillos, or sandwiches. Sondra and Lia lost about 6-8 pounds on the trip. Sondra noticed, “Something happens to your body; you’re not as hungry.” And whatever you eat, you have to carry. Their packs weighed 12-15 pounds, and they learned how little they actually needed. The longer they walked, the more weight became an issue. Sondra created a chart mapping their trip with each town’s elevation; “when we began it would stretch across this room,” Sondra insisted. But each day she would tear off what they no longer needed, as each bit of weight had to be discarded.
The pilgrimage location is parallel with Tennessee and the Carolinas, so the weather is comparable. Each year, 250,000 people walk across Spain. Lia insists, “It wasn’t a threatening environment. The whole economy in that part of Spain is based on that pilgrimage. They want you safe and happy.” The first night, Lia and Sondra stayed in the traditional hostel, a cubicle with four bunk beds. It was a converted 12th century monastery. Carolyn and Donna stayed in hostels for the duration of the trip. Sondra notes, “There was a charm to walking the same halls as the pilgrims of the Middle Ages.” The ladies stayed in hotels the rest of the trip, all old Spanish buildings turned into hotels, some with exquisite courtyards and fountains. They did treat themselves in Santiago by staying in a parador, a luxury hotel. Spain converts many of their ancient castles, monasteries, etc. into 4-5-star hotels, called paradors. One was a converted butter factory with old rock walls and low ceilings. They collected the history of each building along the way. Many villagers open their homes to pilgrims.

Lia and Sondra’s takeaway was the bond with the people. “Buen Camino” is the universal phrase on this ancient footpath, and they used it dozens of times, “to greet each other, to wish each other well, and to share in passing this unique path that had brought us together,” says Sondra. The walkers all have the same determined mindset, only possible on a long-distance hike. Sondra claims, “We laughed our way from one town to the next.” Lia says, “It was the first time in my life that all I had to do each day was gather my belongings and walk to the next town.” She didn’t have to worry about anyone else but herself. They learned stuff is not important, and less of it makes life simpler. Sondra has been purging her home ever since the trip; she feels lighter. Food, shelter, people are what’s important, “not a lot else you have to have.” Not having to answer a phone or watch TV or listen to a radio, they could soak up the silence and reflect. They now understand the beauty of “no noise.” They respect nature and space and culture. They crave more adventures and new spaces. They “collect people as they travel.” The ladies are not afraid to escape their comfort zones, in fact, reveling in the challenges. Seeing remote corners of the world has enriched them spiritually, emotionally, and made them more aware and appreciative of others.