049: The Day I Met Superman on the Camino
How a quiet afternoon walk turned into a Basque TV interview
The Day I Met Superman on the Camino
I didn’t think I’d meet a single person on this, my first day walking the Camino de Santiago, because most pilgrims who start in St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, France depart at sunrise. They climb 4000 feet over the course of 13 miles then descend for 1700 feet for the last 3 miles.
But not me. That sounds like a terrible way to start a 500 mile walk across Spain.
Especially for someone like me—who hates gyms and any form of physical exercise in general.
So I go just 5 miles and ascend just 2000 feet on my first day. It takes me about 3 hours and—more importantly—means I have plenty of time to enjoy my last French croissant before I head out.
I began at 1:30 pm thinking I’d have a nice solo walk. But up ahead, there he was. A single man, walking stick in hand, pack on his back.
I wondered what his reason was for starting his journey so late in the day.
Just below him on the trail was another guy, manning a camera on a tripod. And not just any camera: a big this-is-serious-filmmaking type of camera.
Hearing my hiking sticks stabbing the road, the camera turned to film me walking up. Cameraman called to Walking Man in some language I didn’t understand, and Walking Man turned around and waited for me to catch up.
Walking Man greeted me enthusiastically-–he looked barely thirty. “What are you doing?” I asked, arcing my head toward Cameraman.
“We’re filming a program about the Camino,” he said. He introduced himself, asked me the usual Camino questions (Where are you from, Is this your first Camino, etc.), asked if he could interview me, and I agreed.
“Is this a program you’re doing on your own, or do you work for someone?” I asked.
“This program is for Basque public television,” he said.
Cameraman caught up with us and handed me a portable mic, motioning with his hands that I should tuck it up under my shirt and attach it to my collar, while he attached the battery box to my backpack. Walking Man told me I could look at him and at the camera, which Cameraman had now removed from the tripod and propped up on his shoulder.
“Ready?” Walking Man said. It was then that I realized we were going to be holding this interview while we were walking. Which would have been fine were we on a lovely, flat trail. But I was in the foothills of the Pyrenees, gasping for breath every few steps. This is why I preferred walking this route alone–no one could see how many times I stopped to catch my breath. But now, here it would be recorded for all to see.
And so we began, with Walking Man incorrectly assuming I was from New York City. (A common mistake I’m used to by now. I corrected him and silently reminded myself that when people ask where I’m from I need to remember to say, “New York STATE.”) He asked if this was my first Camino, and when I told him it was my third, he asked why I kept returning. “The people, and the sense of community that develops,” I said.
“Are you walking alone?” he asked. I explained that I was here with my friend Lois, but she was injured, and had to take a taxi to Orrisson, our stop for the night.
He spoke to me in English, and then would face the camera and translate into Basque. At which point I thought, “It could be worse–I could be Cameraman, having to do this walk backwards while holding that huge camera steady on my shoulder!”
Just when I wondered how much more of this walking-and-talking-while-hiking-up-the-Pyrenees I could handle, I was saved. Cameraman indicated there was something behind us. We turned to see a woman in a station wagon trying to get her car off the side of the road below us, but without luck. “That’s our producer,” Walking Man explained. He excused himself, walked down to her, revved the car up the mountain past us, then ran back to me to continue our interview.
I shall now call him Superman.
After we finished, I asked Superman the name of the program. He said something incomprehensible to me. I gave my “I have no idea what you just said” look and he looked surprised.
“It’s the most popular program . . . !” I asked him to write it down. He said they do six days of filming to get a one-hour program, and that I could find it on Youtube.
I’ve looked up the program “Henri People” a couple times since then, with no luck. But one day, the gods shined upon me. Here is the link for beginning of the “Herri People” episode. I’m there, just for the first thirty seconds or so. Enjoy, my dear friends.
And if you are ever huffing up any hill anywhere, take solace in the fact that at least you’re not doing it while trying to hold a conversation for a local television program!
With love,
Rebecca
P.S. Crossing the Pyrenees is not a Camino requirement. I help people plan their Camino on a route that meets their needs. Click here to learn more. Or, better yet, join me on one of my small-group trips. Click here to be the first to hear about my next one.
📸Scenes from the Camino— The Pyrenees
Have you walked this section? Are you planning to?
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I’ve done lots of interviews with amazing people 45+ who’ve embarked on one or more Caminos (you can find those here).
So I decided to change it up and go solo! But then I got sick and so had to cancel. . . but now I’m back!
Wednesday, February 18 at 11 AM ET: Rebecca’s Camino Journeys — 15 and counting! I’ll answer the questions I ask my guests — how I first heard about the Camino, how I went from dreaming it to doing it and why I keep going back. Plus, I’ll answer whatever questions you have!
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Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
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About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, my husband and I live in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte.
I love that photo of you in pink, I don’t think I’ve seen that one before. Looking at these photos, I’m tempted to try this part of the Camino myself!
Can I see the film clip ?