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On June 17, 2008, the San Luis Obispo Tribune published the following story about us written by Lea Etling. This story and the photo is copyrighted by the SLO Tribune. German couple who recently moved to Paso Robles want to walk original El Camino Real routeMike Metras and Petra Wolf, who moved to the county this year, say long walks can change one’s outlook on life and want to walk the original El Camino Real routeBy Leah Etling
Walking, for new Paso Robles residents Mike Metras and Petra Wolf, is not just a way to get somewhere but also a journey unto itself. The couple, who moved to San Luis Obispo County from Germany this year, are sharing their story of pilgrimage walking with the public. The couple was attracted to Paso Robles during a trip along the California coast. They hope to spread their message to the Central Coast about how long walks can change one’s outlook on life. They married after meeting on a walk on the Camino de Santiago— a legendary pilgrimage from the Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe to the Atlantic Ocean. The couple have also walked from Seville to Santiago de Compostela, and from Germany to Rome. Locally, they thought they might try a local camino—walking the route of El Camino Real, the original path of Highway 101, from San Francisco to San Diego. They managed to go from San Miguel to San Luis Obispo, mostly along the railroad tracks. “We are now here on the Camino Real — it’s a royal camino—but also, the real life,” Wolf said. Walking the whole Camino Real, though, turns out to be a tough challenge. “It’s next to impossible now, with city-city-city in the southern part,” Metras said. Heading north, there are no places to stay on a long stretch between San Miguel, Mission San Antonio and Soledad, and crossing private properties would be an issue. In Europe, the situation is very different. Five years ago, Wolf decided to leave her home in Berlin and walk to Santiago. She left her job as an environmental engineer and began walking in snow just a few days later. The historic roots of the Camino de Santiago date back to the Middle Ages, when Christian pilgrims began journeying there from across Europe to be close to the remains of St. James. Today, about 100,000 people each year continue to walk there. The route is accessible to walkers traveling lightly — trails are available for about 75 percent of the route, and refugios, hostel-like places to sleep overnight, are available each 5 miles or so. Wolf, 44, and Metras, 61, met at one of the refugios when she asked him whether he had a match to light the stove. Metras, an Illinois native, had retired as a technical writer and decided to walk to Santiago after realizing that the place seemed to have an unexplainable hold on him. “I would get goose bumps, shivers in my back, and I had no idea why. Ultimately, I went to answer those shivers, to see what it was,” he said. Metras has written a book about the experience that pairs photographs from the journey with thoughts and inspirations he had along the way. He had long dreamed of doing travel writing, “a la Paul Theroux,” he said, and has now written several books and narrated audio CDs. Though the couple met on a pilgrimage, they walked separately, which is part of the introspective part of the experience. “When you walk, you walk alone. In the evening, you’re together with all these people. As you walk, the community you’re with changes,”Metras said. Both said the experience changed their lives, and they want to share that with others. “Walking is not only for recreation; it’s more than this. It’s to help people see that it’s not only to get moving, but to see and to feel. To experience things is different than to look at them,” Wolf said. Wolf is teaching a course in walking with awareness, and the two offer seminars on their experiences and how to pursue a pilgrimage. Copyright © 2008-2012 Petra Wolf and Mike Metras, www.PilgrimageCreations.com | |
Mike Metras and Petra Wolf, who moved to San Luis Obispo County this year, take a stroll in Paso Robles last week. (SLO Tribune photo by Jason Mellom)