An Australian family walks the Camino with their mother's ashes to fulfill their last dream
There are Caminos that begin long before putting on a backpack.
That of Daniel, Olga and Noemí Núñez Ortiz began fourteen years ago, when their mother, María Felisa, died in 2012.
She had always dreamed of doing the Camino de Santiago.
He could not fulfill it in life.
Now her children, grandchildren, family and friends are doing it for her, carrying her ashes along the French Way to Santiago de Compostela.
A dream pending for 14 years
Since María Felisa passed away, her children knew that one day they would walk the Camino de Santiago together.
It wouldn't be just any trip.
It would be a way to fulfill that wish that she had left pending.
The family has been walking for more than thirty days, accompanying their mother's ashes through the French Way.
During the journey, family and friends have joined, turning the pilgrimage into a true family story.
From Australia to Galicia
The story also has a strong connection with Galician emigration.
The three brothers grew up in Australia, a country to which their parents had emigrated. María Felisa was born in Ferrol and later moved to Seville with her family before emigrating to Australia in 1971, when she was 21 years old.
Despite the distance, Galicia never disappeared from his life.
According to her son Daniel, María Felisa always maintained a strong connection with the Galician community in Australia and wanted her children to preserve the language and contact with Spain.
Two weeks walking alone with his mother
One of the most emotional moments of the trip was starred by Daniel.
Before reuniting with the rest of the family, he walked for two weeks alone with his mother's ashes.
Later his sisters, a niece and, little by little, other family and friends joined him.
Daniel has now been walking for more than thirty days since he joined the route in Burgos.
They all plan to arrive in Santiago together.
Santiago will not be the end
After reaching Compostela, the family will travel to Ferrol, María Felisa's hometown.
There they will meet family members again and visit some of the places linked to their personal history.
It will be a different last stage.
Not marked by yellow arrows or cairns.
But for memory.
The Path that someone couldn't do
Every year thousands of pilgrims come to Santiago for very different reasons.
Some walk by faith.
Others for sport.
Others to overcome a grief, close a stage or remember someone.
In this case, the Camino has become a family promise kept for fourteen years.
María Felisa could not travel it in life.
But her children have found a way to take her to Santiago.
And perhaps that is why this story summarizes something that many pilgrims end up understanding:
There are people who stop walking with us, but who continue to be part of the Camino.
