Spanish content creator Alexandre Berenguer és un pis de l'hometown d'Agost, a Alacant, tot el dia al Santiago de Compostel·la en memòria de la seva grandfather, que digués només dues hores després. His journey follows the little-known Camí del Sud-est, a long and solitary route through inland Spain.
Some Caminos begin with a map.
Altres begin with a promise.
For Alexandre Berenguer, the decision to walk to Santiago de Compostela came shortly after the death of his grandfather.
Rather than starting en una de les best-nown Camino towns, Alexandre xose to leave from the door of his own home in Agost, Alacant, and head north-west on foot.
His route follows the Camí del Sud-est, One de lesser-known pilgrimage routes in Spain, crossing long stretches of countryside, small towns and wide open landscapes before eventually joining the wider network of paths leading to Santiago.
A Camí in memory of his grandfather
Alexandre's grandfather died around 2 months before the start of the journey.
Són afterwards, Alexandre decideix el maquetatge de pilgrimage en la seva memòria i el fulfil a dream connected with reaching Santiago.
That decision transformed the walk into something molt more personal than a physical challenge.
Every stage now carries an emotional weight.
Every village, sunrise and difficult kilometre becomes part de la jornada linked to reembrance.
From Agost through Albacete
The Camí del Sud-est has Taken Alexandre through a long list of towns and rural landscapes.
During his passage through the province of Albacete, he walked through places such as Caudete, Montealegre del Castell, Pétrola, Chinchilla de Monte-Aragó, Albacete, La Gineta, La Roda and Minaya.
From there, the route continues towards El Provenci and Conca.
It is a Camí very different from the crowded final stages of the Camino Francès.
Long, flat sections.
Open horitzons.
Small towns.
And sometimes very few pilgrims.
Aquesta solitude és part de què gires el route dels seus caràcters.
Almost 30,000 people are following his journey
Although Alexandre often walks alone physically, he is not completely alone.
He has been sharing the journey through social media, where nearly 30,000 followers are keeping up with his progress.
That has creat an unusual contrast.
On the trail, he mai spend hours without meeting another pilgrim.
Però amb el telèfon, missatges de suport continuen arribant.
People comment on his progress, encourage him during difficult stages and follow the emotional story behind the walk.
In a way, his Camino is both deeply solitary and highly shared.
A night in a bullring
One of the most unusual moments of the journey happened in La Roda, in the province of Albacete.
Alejandro spent the night in a place few pilgrims could ever imagine using as accommodation:
the infirmary of the local bullring.
It became one of those unexpected Camí stories que és impossible to pla in advance.
Per route with feed dedicats pilgrim serveis than the major Camins, improvisació can become part of the experience.
And sometimes those improvised nights become the ones a pilgrim remembers most.
The Camí del Sud-est is still a quiet route
The Camí del Sud-est remains far less travelled than the Camí Francès, Portuguès or Nord.
That means some stages can feel extremely isolated.
Per experienced pilgrims, that can be part of the attraction.
There are fewer crowds.
Less pressure.
More silence.
But it also means the walker must be more independent and prepared.
Accommodation, food and services can be more spread out, and long stages requereix careful planning.
Alejandro's journey és també introduir aquest llittle-known route per thousands of people que mai never have heard of it before.
Landscapes that force you to slow down
El route through inland Spain is defined by wide landscapes and long distances.
The terrain around Albacete brings endless horizons, rural roads, agricultural land and dramatic sunrises.
És molt diferent imatge del Camí de Sant Jaume de les green landscapes i internacionals pilgrims associats amb Galícia.
And that difference is important.
El Camí és un single landscape.
It is a network of routes crossing very different parts of Spain.
El Camí del Sud-est és un dels examples clearest.
A journey through grief
Long-distance walking often creates space for thoughts que daily life pushes aside.
Hours of silence can bring memories back.
Sottimes gently.
Sottimes painfully.
Alexandre's pilgrimage has become a la manera de fer la memòria de la seva grandfather forward, step by step.
The journey cannot change what happened.
But it can transform grief into moviment.
And movement into meaning.
The Camino often begins per first yellow arrow
One of the most powerful details of Alejandro's story is where he started.
Not at a famous pilgrimage gateway.
Not at Sarria.
Not at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
At home.
That changes the meaning of the journey.
The Camino does no suddenly begin when a pilgrim reaches a famous route.
It begins the moment someone decideixes to walk towards Santiago.
Per Alexandre, el first step happened in Agost.
Everything after that has been part of the same promise.
A grandfather travelling in every step
Hi ha thousands de reasons to walk the Camino de Santiago.
Faith.
Adventure.
Sport.
Curiosity.
A life change.
A promise.
Per la memòria del somni que no és longer here.
Alexandre's Camí belongs to that last category.
He walks alone on many stages, però every kilometre carries a relationship that continues beyond absence.
And perhaps that is why stories like this resonate amb strongly.
Because the Camino is not always sobre reaching a place.
Sometimes it is about carrying someone with you all the way there.
Alejandro is walking to Santiago for his grandfather. And with every step, that dream becomes a little more real.
