The Cult Of The Cheese Grater

Yes. There is a real cheese grater.

There is so much that needed to happen for this article to be written. There were planes, trains, cars, and buses. There were jobs quit, put on hold or dragged along. There were families, partners and friends left behind. There were fall outs and most importantly, chances taken.

The Cult Of The Cheese Grater is the name of a 22 person group chat that I am apart of. It is the single thing that I am most grateful for on the Camino.

My Path To The Grater

I started alone on the Camino. I had intentions to meet people but as a solo traveler I never set expectations.

I met many people in the first few days and even found a small (in comparison) family that I traveled with. There was love and bonding and a family playlist but not everything is meant to last. Long story short, I found myself as a free agent again on day 10 of the Camino.

~Free agent with my good friend Amelia but there were a lot of moving parts at the time that might have split us as well. Not that they did :)~

I had met a few members of a large, loud, young and overwhelming group before this point and was surprised to be quickly welcomed to the group chat.

Day 9 there was a lot to consider and a lot of emotions as well. Things felt as though they were falling apart but just when I started to really think about the rest of my trip, I received 2 separate text messages. Both of which from members of the cheese grater cult. (the cheese grater thing is very strange and still not completely understood but thats who we are)

I decided the Camino was providing. I had people reaching out to me when I needed people the most.

The Cult Of The Cheese Grater

Another name that is appropriate for the rare collection of people I have found myself among would be an island of misfits. Every single person in the group had come alone.

Among us there are 3 Americans, 2 Dutch, 1 Englishman, 1 Mexican, 2 Spanish, 7 Italians, 1 German, 2 French, 2 Irishman and 1 South African.

Every conversation is a whirlwind. You go to the bathroom, return and have no idea what the conversation is about. You sit down and listen for just a few minutes and suddenly the conversation is in a completely new place. There is so much to learn from this group. We are from different countries, generations, and cultures. We have our own expertises and passions. We all love to talk and to listen. Most importantly, we all love each other.

My favorite story to best represent our group was one night when a large portion of us were all circled in the kitchen of an albergue. We had been discussing plans and got wildly off topic. We were talking about the magic of the group. How despite our differences and reasons for the Camino we have remained together for so long. Our sweet Simone (Italian) cut in saying that it was because we loved each other. It was true and the right thing to say at the right time. The best part of this story was that I laughed at how he hadn’t spoken for over an hour but he spoke then. He didn’t need to say much when he spoke with this much intention and weight. His response was that it was because it was the first time he had understood what we were saying in over an hour. (He’s great with English but we do find ourselves talking very fast and over each other often.) We fell over in laughter and the story was retold to those absent but the meaning remained. We may have no idea what is going on but we do know that we love each other.

The Camino Provides

We often quote that “the Camino provides”, to the degree where it does actually sound quite cultish. But we say it because it’s true. You’re cold at night? A sleeping bag will be gifted to you from an Australian pilgrim. You lose your socks? A random cafe is selling special Camino themed socks the next day. You think you need the Camino for one reason? The Camino will show you why you’re really here.

That has been the biggest topic of conversation lately. What was the purpose of your Camino before and what is it now?

We all had our different reasons for pausing our lives for this pilgrimage but we all have the same reason now. On multiple occasions people have sped up or slowed down their hike for this group.

Garrett (American) is a great example of this. He had hopes of reaching Santiago before the 1st of May so he could have time for Fisterra and Portugal before heading home. On 2 occasions he has had plans to hike ahead to reach his goal. Both times he was unable to leave. Finding ways to fudge his plans. He has since given up. Portugal will always be there but this group is something that will never exist again.

We have had members sick or injured. Needing rest days. They came to Camino to hike every Kilometer but bus after bus has been caught to remain with this group.

Every single person here is a “free agent”. Every day we each make our own decision on what we would like to do, how many kilometers we want to hike. What makes this group what it is, is the fact that every single person decides to stay with this enigma of a family.

Priorities have shifted for all of us.

“The Camino Is Great But The Cheese Is Grater” – Elia

(Italian)

Elia said this to me once as a joke. A funny phrase that matched the name of the group. The word play is what makes you smile.

When I told Elia I wanted to quote him he was thinking I was going to pick something profound. He laughed when I told him that this was my choice.

In the most appropriate sense for this group, it is profound.

We are the cheese.

The Camino is great. That is true. It brought us all together. It is what we have entrusted our lives with.

But the cheese is so much grater. We all came for the Camino but we have all stayed for each other.

Because we love each other.

The Camino is great but the cheese is grater.

My name is Alex Tucker and I am fully invested in this endeavor. I plan to be consistent on this platform but if you would like to know more about me and my time on the trail you can follow me on Instagram @nobo.nomad!

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