From Finisterre to Jerusalem, the pilgrimage of hope and optimism of the Spanish Carlota Valenzuela

• Direct Witness The saddest Christmas in Bethlehem

At the end of a year marked by conflicts in many corners of the world and even a war in Europe, one can remain trapped in pessimism.

Or, imbued with the Christmas spirit, listen to

to verify that there are more good people than bad people on the road.

And that of this Spaniard has been long.

6,000 kilometers, eleven countries and almost a year to fulfill her dream.

The answer to a call that she, reveals her, she felt her.

In her

from Finisterre to Jerusalem and using Instagram as a virtual mirror and a real compass, this pilgrim has met hundreds of individuals of various origins, religions and professions.

"Every day, a different family welcomed me. Every day, something surprised me. What I have seen is that people are generous and wonderful. When you go with good will, they welcome you with open arms," ​​he comments as he leaves the Holy Sepulcher. , moved and stunned by his crowd, incense and holiness.

Before rebuilding for EL MUNDO.es his steps supported by two sticks, you have to return to the starting point.

This 30-year-old Catholic from Granada lived happily in Madrid and worked in a sustainable solutions company when she made the decision in June 2021: "I felt that making a pilgrimage on foot to the Holy Land was what God was putting in my heart. Having the opportunity to carrying out his will gave me so much joy and peace that I did not doubt it".

On January 2, 2022, Valenzuela left Finisterre.

After skirting the north of Spain, he entered France at the end of February where he overcame a heavy snowfall, skirted the Pyrenees and made the Côte d'Azur.

Already in Italy, a strong heat wave forced her to walk below 42 degrees in the shade.

So, she went down to Rome to reach a peak, the meeting with Pope Francis.

"I'm going to see Jesus, but first I went to see Peter," she told the Supreme Pontiff, who answered with a smile: "Very well, it's important to greet the doorman."

"He wanted me to bless a clown's nose as a symbol so that I could bring God's joy to the rest of the world," he recalls, summarizing the quote: "We died laughing. It was all very fun and natural."

With Pope Francis, in Rome.CV

On November 1, and after a long journey through the Balkans, she flew from Greece to Cyprus without knowing that an Israeli of Uruguayan origin and traveling in Spain heard her story on the radio and, impressed, addressed her on Instagram with an offer. Irresistible.

"Claudio arrived with his boat to Limasol to take me to Israel", she says, still fascinated by

.

Like the pilgrims of old.

On November 3, he landed at Herzliya, near Tel Aviv.

He stepped foot on and kissed his long-awaited land before recovering his strength at Claudio's family home and visiting San Juan de Acre, Nazareth and the Sea of ​​Galilee.

"This lake made a huge impact on me. I felt like I could see what He saw. Peter's role is the one I most identify with in the Gospel. I was able to witness the sunrise on the Sea of ​​Galilee and had time to digest it all."

From the north he went to the central Yafo and from there to the south, to the

.

In Bethlehem he practiced the Arabic that he had learned in his year of work at the Spanish embassy in Rabat.

"I felt at home. The atmosphere was very good and it seemed brutal to me to be in the place where Jesus was born," he highlights.

From the Palestinian city, he approached the last station of his journey and the first in his heart.

"As we entered Jerusalem, I felt, as we are talking about right now, that this city vibrates very strongly with such a powerful energy that everyone is like uff...", she exclaims, shocked as her eyes reflect as wide as the plates that they sell in the bazaar that we crossed.

-Have you found the idealized Jerusalem of the texts or the conflicting one of the news?

When in Spain they called me Jerusalem and like many, I thought first of Jesus.

It takes a long time to understand it.

"I trusted that God would take care of me"

If he was

before , now he is from experience.

Faced with the journalist's attempt to search, due to professional distortion, shadows in his story, he insists that he did not come across selfishness.

"Having faith in people and needing them to eat and sleep has made me see the best of humanity," he explains with the same hopeful smile with which he left Finisterre.

Of course, more tired.

Without faith, he would not have arrived in Jerusalem before Christmas and without the key to Instagram (from 0 followers he reached 30,000, including "guardian angels" along the way and others who only ask for a 'selfie'), there would be no opened so many doors.

As he admits to her, she also helped

.

"Because I am a woman, it has been easier for people to trust me and welcome me into their home. There is a greater instinct for protection. Since it was a journey of faith, I trusted God to take care of me."

Share John Paul II's words about the Jews as his "big brothers."

"From the first moment, they have welcomed me very well in Israel," he says, adding as an example that he will never forget the

he spent in the home of an Orthodox Jewish family.

"I felt very loved. They knew a lot and I was able to exchange some wonderful conversations. Hopefully we can have a real rest day like this without television and cell phones, to be able to talk about God at the table, etc."

Valenzuela assures that he would do each of the 6,000 kilometers again.

"It has not been a sacrifice but a gift. There are hard times and sometimes I went hungry and cold, but the joy of doing God's will is so beautiful that you don't feel the weight on your back," he says with his inseparable eight-kilogram backpack. .

With Rice and Nevo at Santa's house in Jerusalem.CV

In the Christian quarter of the Old City, the pilgrim merges in a prolonged embrace with Golan Rice and Yael Tarasiuk Nevo.

Recognition for what has been done and encouragement for what can be done if the project of these two Israelis prospers.

When she lived in Madrid, Rice learned about the Camino de Santiago and did it twice.

"When I returned to Israel, I thought of doing the road to Rome when I wondered how it is possible that there is one to Rome and Santiago and not to Jerusalem," he tells us about the recreation of the

that he hopes to organize before Easter in 2023. "Yael and I researched the historical pilgrimages of both the Jews during the Second Temple and the Christians and, together with academics, designed a journey," he says.

"It will include holy places and archaeological sites to allow everyone, regardless of their origin and religion, to make their way to Jerusalem," says Tarasiuk, assuring that "Charlotte, full of light, has won us over with a message that matches our project."

"My greatest lesson from this pilgrimage is that God loves me as I am and that he has a mission for each of us. I discovered mine. I would invite people not to believe that there is only one path to success, but to seek their own because it is It is so comforting to know what God has put in your heart and to carry it out. Each one of us can contribute to this world something that no one else can," concludes the Spaniard.

And now?

"God will say, but he has given me

and will accompany me and offer a path of Holiness", he answers before wishing a happy holiday and promising: "Not only has this not ended, but it has just begun".

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