Why this 50-year-old Italian man walked nearly 1,000 kilometres alone on the Camino de Santiago despite having to carry his own food because of coeliac disease

Walking the Camino de Santiago alone with coeliac disease left Marco Degl’Innocenti, a 50-year-old box factory employee and keen trekker from the Italian town of Empoli, carrying his own gluten-free food across nearly 1,000 kilometres. He began at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of the Pyrenees, following the most famous, ancient and frequented route to Santiago de Compostela entirely on his own, setting off on 26 July and returning home on 23 August after his employer granted him a month’s leave. His wife Martina then joined him in Santiago to cover a further 100 kilometres together towards Muxia and Finisterre.A painful fall during a hike turned into a promise to walk to Santiago once he turned fiftyDegl’Innocenti told La Nazione that the idea took shape after he fell badly during an excursion and hurt himself. Once he had recovered, he decided the pilgrimage would happen when his fiftieth birthday came round. His friends from the amateur football team 4 Mori backed the plan with a celebratory shirt, which he wore in his moments of relaxation and which drew plenty of interest and amusement from other pilgrims.Foot cream, a poncho and painkillers shared the rucksack with food he could not count on findingDegl’Innocenti said his rucksack held a hat, sunglasses and moisturising cream, which he massaged into his feet before each departure. It also contained technical walking gear, a poncho for the rain and some painkillers, because blisters and knee trouble are normal, especially in the first days. Then came the food. In some stretches, he said, food suitable for coeliacs was practically impossible to find, so he had to bring it with him.Early starts, afternoon sightseeing and a daily photo for friends at home shaped each dayDegl’Innocenti usually set off at about 6.45 and aimed to reach the next stop in the early afternoon, which left time to visit its most characteristic places. He covered the route in twenty-nine stages, fewer than the usual thirty to thirty-five. For company, he and his friends had created a WhatsApp group, where he sent a photo every day, and they exchanged a couple of jokes. It felt, he said, as though they were with him the whole way.A rain-soaked climb into Spain was the hardest day, while Rioja’s sunflower fields stole the showThe first stage, which crosses into Spain, was also the hardest, Degl’Innocenti said, because of a height difference of 1,200 metres and a downpour that accompanied him. From there, the route is marked with yellow paint arrows, something he credited to the historic parish priest of Cebreiro, Elias Valiña.Asked for the loveliest stretch, he pointed to the Rioja region, with its endless sunflower fields, red earth and low vines. He also praised the city of Burgos, the fountain of water and wine at Irache and the grandeur of the cathedral in Santiago.Walking alone became therapy as grief surfaced, with tears in the final stretch before CompostelaGiving up never crossed his mind. Physically, he felt well throughout and kept a good pace. Walking alone, he said, is therapeutic because it lets you reflect on many things. For him that included a bereavement. He cried a great deal along the way, especially over the last kilometres before reaching Compostela, when he told himself that he had made it.Running to his wife, quieting a snoring pilgrim and joking about the North Cape for next timeReunited with his wife, the first thing Degl’Innocenti did was drop his rucksack and run towards her with open arms.Along the way, he helped a woman who was struggling to breathe. One night in a hostel, he used gestures to persuade a Chinese pilgrim, whose snoring was keeping the whole dormitory awake, to turn onto his side. The next morning, the other occupants thanked him.He would do it all again, he told La Nazione, partly for the chance to meet people from other countries and swap opinions and experiences. As for the next adventure, he joked with his cousins that if a sponsor turns up, he will head for the North Cape.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.