The finish is behind that curve

by Flávio Mendes (Brazil)

A leap into the unknown Brazil

What is the greatest physical challenge of a human being? Hungry or thirsty days? Were they sleepless nights? Or being disconnected from social networks or the internet? It was at Easter 2014 that a 342 km pilgrimage on foot (yes, on foot!) marked the lives of 282 (crazy) pilgrims to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida, in the city of Aparecida do Norte / Brazil. Some for thanking God for some achievement, others for the gift of life and others simply as a great test of endurance. Each pilgrim with your purpose. There were nine intense days of walking, average of 38 km/day, every day, with rain or sun, from 3:30 a.m. until dark. A support and rescue team, of course, followed the pilgrimage, bringing water and food for each day. The rest each carried their own in the backpack: sleeping bag (on the hard floor), clothes, hygiene products and a small salami, to relieve tension in difficult times, always remembering the recommendation of not having more than 10% of the person's weight, after all, on the first day it was 6 kg (in fact) but, with each step, they seemed to weigh more and more. And faith! A lot of faith to arrive, so much so that they say that it takes foot and faith. That was the scenario of “A leap into the unknown”. On the first day of the pilgrimage, everything is beautiful, great, charming. In the second, everything is quiet. In the third, the tiredness was coming. From the fourth onwards it looked like a furious ox herd, but of the goal of arriving. Some with blisters on the feet, others with roasting in the groin, others with pain in the knee joints, tendonitis and others with everything. One of the pilgrims needed three adhesive bandages to tape one of his blisters on the bottom of his foot. But with faith he went on his way. The steep terrain required more than refined preparation of pilgrims, ranging from 500 m to over 1000 m in altitude, in the middle of the Mantiqueira Mountains, and then returning to 500 m in the Sanctuary. Brazilian geography is unique with its natural hills and valleys. And this is how this pilgrimage marked our lives, all in simplicity: there were nine baths with cold water that only dripped down a pipe in the wall, nine nights in public gymnasiums and farms for sleep on the floor (inside the sleeping bag), nine awakenings at dawn and nine days followed without internet connection. Rain, sun, ascent, descent, mosquito, fatigue and physical exhaustion. Or you can thank God for the opportunity to take a shower, sleep under a roof and wake up the next day. It was just you, your backpack and 281 other crazy people. On the other hand, for the best prepared, beautiful rural landscapes to admire and meditate. Yes, there are many bad people in the world, but there are also many good-hearted people: the spirit of solidarity was clear in the air. If a little brother was having difficulties, others (also with their difficulties) approached and started talking and joking, rescuing the peace and the tranquility. And living one day at a time, one curve at a time, the pilgrims were arriving... Until the last day, Good Friday, just a few kilometers away, the expedition organizers stopped the group on a bridge (known as the Friendship Bridge) and the group embraced fraternaly, due it was with the joint help that everyone was there. It was very clear that we need few things to live and to be happy. Unfortunately, we do not have this perception daily, but this pilgrimage made every drop of water was valued. According to the film The Way (2010), "Soldiers march for war, pilgrims march for a new type of peace".