Helping others experience a religious journey

It’s known as the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James.

Established in the 9th century, the pilgrimage and its variety of paths to the Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica have attracted more than 200,000 visitors each year for a variety of reasons.

It also caught the attention of local Wimberley resident John Martinez.

Inspired by the 2010 film “The Way” and the 2016 documentary “I’ll Push You,” Martinez made the decision to make the nearly 11 hour trip across the globe to participate in this event.

But it wasn’t enough to just walk the Camino.

Martinez wanted to help someone make the journey across the Camino who wouldn’t be able to make it by themselves.

Known as the Accessible Camino, the organization helps people who are mobility challenged to complete the Camino de Santiago by having volunteers assist them in their journey that would be otherwise impossible.

“For the last 100 miles, people who are mobility challenged can sign up and have people push them,” Martinez said. “This will complete their certification that they have completed the journey. I joined to be a part of this… It was by far one of the best things I ever did in my life.”

Martinez and the other volunteers assisted six people — Ann Marie, Kim, Justin, Tom, Mike and Zuben — complete the Camino as they travel down the path known as the Portuguese Coastal Way.

Starting in Porto, Portugal, Martinez and the group made the 100 kilometer (62.1 miles) journey all the way to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

“There are about 100 different reasons people walk the Camino,” Martinez said. “For them (the group), even though they had their own individual reasons, they wanted to be able to say they finished the Camino even though it was physically impossible.”

It was the motivation of the six participants that kept Martinez going not only through his journey but also to help back home.

“They all have their challenges but they are so uplifting and inspirational,” Martinez said. “Every time I have a physical challenge that I have to overcome, I think of them and think ‘Those folks have their own challenges and they still had time to make me laugh, cry and be a better person while I was there.’

“I was helping them complete the Camino but they gave me more,” Martinez said. “They gave me the ability to understand that if you are not helping anybody that you are not living life. To me that was one of the most important things that I learned… They taught me so much more than just helping them.”

One of the people that they helped push was a 70-year-old woman named Anna Marie who gave them constant motivation throughout the journey.

“All the challenges we faced, we did as a team,” Martinez said. “We were pushing her, who is in her 70s, up this big hill. We can hear her say ‘C’mon guys we got this hill. We can do it.’...Some of these hills just keep going on and on, so one person can’t do it. Now we have one person with a strap pulling in front. If you are on a rocky road, you have someone on the side so the person doesn’t tip over. So we have a team of people pushing them up the hill.”

Hearing those words and the challenges the other five members had to finish the journey helped motivate Martinez when he walked down the French Way of the Camino.

“She kept on saying ‘We don’t have much further. I can see the top of the hill. Let’s keep going,’” Martinez said. “Hearing that was the motivation I used to do the 500 mile trek later on… They gave me the strength and the motivation to push forward. These people are the epitome of motivation, confidence and strength.”

When the group finished the Camino, it was an emotional moment for everyone.

“On the last day, we had to walk about seven miles,” Martinez said. “Everyone is wearing their shirts and we are pushing them until all of the sudden you are in the city. It soon becomes a reality that you are actually going to complete this Camino.”

“The clapping grows louder as you walk into this huge ground plaza,” Martinez continued. “It gets emotional, and you realize why you are doing this to complete this challenge for these people who couldn’t have done it themselves. There were tears of happiness and tears of joy.”

It didn’t hit Martinez until one of the people he helped push was overcome with emotion.

“The thing that completed it for me was Zuben, who was a 17 year old boy who has been in a wheelchair nearly all of his life,” Martinez said. “He was crying, but it was tears of joy. He wasn’t hurt or anything like that, rather tears of happiness. It made me realize that’s why I did that.”

But there was one more accomplishment Martinez wanted to do.

“The day after I finished this journey, I took a bus to France and I walked the 500 miles to do the French route,” Martinez said. “I told my wife that it didn’t make sense to come back to the United States then do the 500 mile trek. She knew I always wanted to do this, and she allowed me to follow my dreams.”

From there Martinez made the trek from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France all the way back to Santiago and experienced the joys of Spain including participating in the world famous running of the bulls.

Completing the French Way, Martinez then made the trek known as the Camino Finisterre to see what is called the “End of the World.”

In total, Martinez walked a total of 685.5 miles which is approximately 1,500,000 steps.

Though people question why he went to Spain in the first place, for Martinez, it was about experiencing something you wouldn’t be able to do here in Wimberley.

“Some people joke about ‘Why go to Spain when you can walk here in Wimberley,’” Martinez said. “Sometimes they are right, but in the end I’m not walking in the name of St. James, experiencing these medieval towns, experiencing the culture that is a part of my history, the food, and meeting people from all over the world.”

Martinez plans to return in 2024 to participate in the Accessible Camino once again.

If you are interested in participating in the Accessible Camino, visit their website at accessiblecamino.com.