34 Blog Post, Monday, October 7, 2024 “Pilgrimage—Where the Sky Touches the Earth”
[First thoughts—a year ago today the horrific attack on Israel, the kidnapping of over 200 hostages and the heartbreak experienced by the families of hostages who are not yet released continues. My heart and my prayers are with all who are affected by the tragedy, including those who continue to suffer the aftereffects of war in both Israel and Gaza.
I am also aware of the impending hurricane threatening the Gulf Coast of Florida. My sister and her family live in that little curve, as do many of your loved ones, I am sure. Alistair and I will keep all of you in our prayers this week. May it weaken, change course and do little damage on its pathway.)
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We climbed today, but not as much as I thought we were going to climb. Apparently I added in an extra part of the hike when I looked at the trail online, so it was just over 1000 actual stairs in addition to some walking areas. That sounds really easy to me—just 1000 stairs, right? But it was straight up the side of the Lattari Mountains that are the backdrop for the town of Minori and we were exhausted by the time we reached Ravello at the top. Sweaty, exhausted and exhilarated. Ok, and hungry. Amazing how a couple hours of climbing can pique your appetite.
The joy for me was that we met a goal that I set as soon as we got here. I wanted to get up that mountain and find out who lived there, and what it was like. You’ll see by some of my pics that it looks so far away. Ravello, which is the village I have been staring up at for three days, is a quieter town than Minori. Ravello, however, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it has a world-class Performing Arts Center that looks like a…burrito? A quesadilla? Honestly, it’s not that I am always thinking about food, but the stark white Oscar Niemeyer Auditorium, perched on the side of the mountain, has kind of a folded over shape that is distinctive even from shoreline of the sea, miles below. That was one of the places I most wanted to see. What was that big thing on the hill? Now I know! Each summer, the Center hosts a world-class classical music season from June – August, and it reminds me of our own Caroga Arts Collective, but way up on the top of a mountain.
On our way up the path, we met Toby, a young man who is climbing on his own and hiking through the Amalfi Coast after finishing two weeks of the Camino, a pilgrim’s path in France and Spain that is well-known, and that ends at Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Toby was wearing the scallop shell symbol around his neck that identified him as a pilgrim. (To find out more about the Camino, just go online. There’s a ton of info about it. You can also watch a movie starring Martin Sheen called “The Way”.)
Toby is at a crossroads in his life and is leaving one life in London to return to Australia where he was born and where his family still lives. His heart is mourning the loss of his London life, a life he chose after growing up in Australia, but he said he could no longer live without family close by. He doesn’t have a job yet, but hopes to do some computer programming work, possibly in the field of AI when he gets home. He will leave behind a woman he has grown to love in order to dedicate himself to his homeland and his family.
Why did I call him a pilgrim? A pilgrim is a person who is seeking a spiritual something, usually by going on a journey to find it. In the US, we talk about pilgrims at Thanksgiving, forgetting that they chose to leave England on the Mayflower in order to gain spiritual freedom from persecution. We call them pilgrims, but we often forget their pilgrimage. 102 people sailed from England over to Plymouth, MA, and less than half of them made it through the first winter. They died in search of a spiritual home. Pilgrims certainly don’t have to risk death, but their commitment can lead them to great challenges physically, practically and spiritually.
Toby was so interesting, and I am mad at myself that I did not spend more time learning about him. What did he learn on the Camino? Does he identify as a Christian? We assume that he does because he also told us about hiking up to an impossibly remote church, the Sanctuary of the Avvocata of Maiori, that can be seen from Minori, shining in the sunlight, but in the middle of nothing but tress and rocks. Toby managed to get up to the church, walking from Salerno to the top of that mountain. He told us that they hold church services on the third Sunday of the month, but he can’t figure out how anyone gets there. But he did. In other words, for the pilgrim, the journey is the goal. Certainly the idea is to get where you believe God is calling you as well, but the journey is essential and important because it forms you, strengthens you and challenges you. Toby told me that his personal tracker device told him “In order to regain your strength, you will need to rest for three days.” He laughed about that and proceeded to continue his pilgrimage, getting his thoughts and his spirit in order as he prepared to make major changes in his life.
In many ways, a sabbatical is, or can be, a pilgrimage as well, but it seems to be a journey of discovery rather than accomplishment, at least for me. But all these climbs we’ve been doing have been challenging, and today’s climb in particular represented not just curiosity, but a drive to be at the top of the mountain as if I had been called to do so by God. I have been called to see more of the world, to meet more of God’s people, to immerse myself into places I have never seen before. Alistair knows that he would never have taken on a journey like this himself, but he is completely committed to being part of this adventure-pilgrimage.
At the top of Ravello, I couldn’t stop looking at the breathtaking scenery below us. I couldn’t believe we had made it to the top of this mountain community, and the funny thing was, it wasn’t much different than the one we had left behind in Minori. Somehow I thought it would be so different, but there were houses and cars and churches—always churches!—and restaurants. Fewer people, but much of the same environment. You will see in the pictures that we had lunch at a place that was perched on the edge of the mountain, where the sea was spread out beneath us and the sky felt closer than it ever had before. The mountain tops were wreathed in clouds, and the air was clear and much cooler than it had been by the sea below. Boats looked like specks in the sea, and our own town of Minori was like a Lego village from far away.
Tonight, our last night, Alistair humored me and agreed to walk partway up the mountain again after dinner, but only on a well-lit paved roadway. We looked up at the town or Ravello, once again above our heads, and the lights of the city were no longer unfamiliar and foreign, but it still made my heart speed up a bit to look up there where the sky and the stars seemed so much closer.
We leave for Salerno in the morning, pick up our rental car and are currently planning to visit my ‘hometown’ of Laurenzana on our way to Matera, where we will stay for two nights. Laurenzana is a pilgrimage for me because it is where my family is from and it was my original plan 3+ years ago to visit this town. Of course, then Covid happened. So now I am on the verge of seeing the very small town (pop: 1,772) where my grandfather, Rocco Carmello Garramone, was born in 1883, and where his mother, Vita, and his father, Pietro, were also both born. They all moved to New York so perhaps no one is left who remembers our family names from either side—Garramone or Pellesieri, but I am excited to see what God has planned for this part of the trip. Who am I? Where did I come from? These are pilgrimage questions that nourish our hearts, our souls and our lives, and they make us seek something more. Perhaps tomorrow provide some answers to my questions.
May you recognize where God is calling you to something deeper, something more. May you walk the way of the pilgrim in your heart.
ML+
