Dee Anne Dubin walks 487 miles from France into Spain

By Ania Felder
Independent Special Writer
De Anne Dubin, Belleville High School class of 1995, recently finished a 487-mile walk in 37 days along the Camino from France to Spain.
Dubin, who is an international teacher, sat down with an Independent writer to tell the story of her walk while on leave from her teaching job in Asia.
Dubin once taught performing arts to a diverse group of students in New York. This, along with having family ancestry in Asia, inspired the educator to move from America to Asia to begin a career in international teaching. She said this was part of the inspiration for her decision to make a trip on foot from France to Spain.
Dubin said she also was inspired by the Camino which translates to “path” or “trail.” She said she learned about the Camino through a Facebook group. The Camino originated from pilgrims during the medieval period who walked to the burial place of St. James the Apostle in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
The pilgrims did the journey for Catholic religious purposes or prisoners would be forced to do it as a form of punishment. To this day many people who are devoted to various religions from all over the globe still chose to take part in the Camino to support their faith.
Some people chose to complete the walk for personal reasons and Dubin was one of those people. She said she made the decision to do this trip to become at peace with her own thoughts, relieve stress, and have moments of self reflection. The teacher emphasized that these reasons were why she chose to take this unique adventure on her own.
One of the most memorable thoughts she had on this walk came to her when she awoke early one morning after a previous day of walking while self reflecting. Dubin said her thought was “Let go of what doesn’t serve you.” This included physically, mentally, and emotionally.
To prepare for the 37 day walk in Europe that lasted from Sept. 29 to Oct. 31st, she packed a backpack weighing 20 pounds. It contained 15 items, including two hiking outfits, a pair of pajamas, a poncho, sunhat, rain socks, a winter hat, coat, gloves, two headbands, bandaids, vaseline, gel pads, toiletries, medicine, and more. She did not pack any food or water for the expedition. Water and foods like cheese and Hummus can be purchased for $3 during the Camino walk. They needed to be restocked every two to three days. Most of her clothing was washed by hand.
To begin, Dubin traveled from Belleville to France on an 11-hour flight.
When she reached France she got on a train that took her to where the Pilgrim Office was located in St. Jean Pied de Port. This is in a French town where Camino walkers register to participate in the walk free of charge. During registration the walkers are also given a free credentials book. This book is used to receive stamps from all the locations the walkers have reached in order to prove they have walked at least 100 kilometers (62 miles).
Dubin completed 778 km (483 miles).
The travelers can get their books stamped at restaurants, albergues (hotels), cafes, and churches. Once the travelers have everything stamped they are rewarded with a certificate as evidence that they had completed the long journey.
Dubin began walking the path in France on Sept. 29, with no prior training. She said the first week of walking was difficult. Dubin began having foot arch issues and received a blister from walking on road pavement. Despite these hardships Dubin said she did not once consider quitting.
After getting past the challenging first week, her body quickly learned to adapt to the repetitive walking. Dubin walked between seven and eight hours a day for 17 miles, on six days each week. She took an occasional 15-minute rest once or twice a day. She said she tried to avoid walking on streets and preferred walking on dirt roads to reduce foot cramps. At the end of the walk each night she stayed in a hostel. She described foot pains at the end of each walk. She said she contracted no illnesses nor suffered any severe injuries from walking the trail.
She said the weather experienced on the Camino was windy, cool, and sunny.
“I chose to do the walk at the perfect time, at the end of September, when the weather in Spain is nice,” she said.
And, the landscape? Dubin described most of her trip as walking through small villages and flat farmland. There were only one or two restaurants she passed each day, which typically only served foods like sandwiches, toast, and a Spanish omelet similar to a quiche. When lucky, a village would also have a store, and she could stop in to restock food.
“The culture in Spain is very relaxed,” she said. She said the residents who lived in the many different villages she passed through in Spain, were polite and helpful in providing assistance by giving her directions and being very considerate of language barriers.
“Between 2 and 4 p.m., all the stores close for siesta (nap) time and reopen at a later time,” she said. “Most stores were not open on Sundays or only open up until 12 p.m., so I’d have to remember to go before then.”
Not only did the educator learn about Spain’s culture, but she also met a versatile group of travelers, who happened to be walking the same pathway or staying in the same hostels. She said this included people of all ages, coming from places all over the world including South Korea, Australia, Spain locals, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, and a few other Americans.
Dubin said some of these traveling acquaintances completed the Camino on bikes, horses, or just walked like she did, however, they were not permitted to travel using any electric vehicles.
During the trip, despite speaking different languages, the travelers were able to communicate with each other by saying the phrase “Buen Camino” meaning “Good path,” “Happy trails,” or “Have a good journey.”
Towards the end of the journey Dubin hiked through the Galician Mountains in western Spain. Her long walk ended on Oct. 31 in Santiago. There she was greeted by bagpipe players and received her final stamp, certifying that she had completed the long Camino walk. As a souvenir from this interesting odyssey. Dubin brought back to America a shell which is a symbol that represents the Camino, in reference to its culture being known for water and seafood. This symbol was placed on signs for travelers to follow to guide them in the correct direction throughout their travel.
Dubin said she cried and felt emotional on the last day, when officially completing the five-week trip.
She said she feels her walking stamina has improved. The teacher credits living and teaching internationally for helping her become more open to taking risks, becoming more creative, and more efficient with problem-solving skills than she was before.
Because of these improved traits, Dubin said, “I’m okay with not speaking the language and being somewhere where I’m the outsider.”
Dubin’s said her goal is to share her experience with exploration of a new culture and self discovery with her community here in Belleville in hopes of inspiring others to take risks and not be afraid of learning about things that are outside of their norm.
“Sharing this story I know will inspire somebody, and that’s what’s really exciting,” she said.
After the interview in Belleville, Dubin headed back overseas.