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SamplesOn the Road to Santiago and Other Journeys
...continued NARRATOR : 500 miles. Most people would think twice before driving that distance. Most would think three or four times before bicycling that many miles. Most would never think of walking that distance at all. Yet here we have the strange case of a man who is walking across northern Spain in the heat of August. He is in the company of others, hiking that distance to follow an medieval pilgrimage route to the ancient city of Santiago de Compostela in the northwestern corner of the country. Some of his companions will have walked twice that distance by the time they reach Santiago, having walked equally far in France before ever setting foot across the Spanish border. 6. Medium shot of GEOFFREY, in the company of two brothers from Germany, WOLFRAM and HOLGER KISSLING, both carrying small backpacks. The group is walking on a path that parallels a busy highway. Another man with a backpack is walking on the shoulder of the highway. He reaches a small road that takes off to the left and starts down a path dropping toward a river below the road. The group reaches the small road a few minutes later and looks at the path marker on the other side. 7. Close-up of party HOLGER : What is that guy doing taking a path after walking on the road so far? He took the road the whole time we were on the path since before the last town. WOLFRAM : What do you think, Geoffrey? Should we try it, too? GEOFFREY : I would sure love to get off the highway. My feet hurt and the traffic is so bad. He looks at the sign closely. I don't know if this is going to work. Somebody wrote 'Bridge is out, go on highway.' At least I think that is what it says in Spanish. HOLGER : That other guy took the path, maybe we can, too. 8. Medium close-up of the three starting down the path. They walk a short distance. WOLFRAM spots the other man climbing back up the trail and points him out to the others. They all turn around and stop at the marker to wait for him. He appears after another minute. He is a man of average height. He is wearing ragged pants and a dirty blue shirt. He has no hat. WOLFRAM brightly : Hello! Where did you begin walking? RAGGED MAN : Amsterdam. HOLGER : Are you a peregrino, a pilgrim, too? RAGGED MAN : Peregrino, hah! Are you Catholic? GEOFFREY : No, none of us are. RAGGED MAN sneering. : You aren't
peregrinos! What century are you living in? The
fourteenth?! The fifteenth?! Peregrinos,
fah!! Copyright © Geoffrey Skinner. All rights reserved. Please contact me for corrections or comments.
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