A 71-year-old man has walked 270 kilometres on the roof of his Fgura home to raise money for charity – covering the distance of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage he was meant to take before the coronavirus pandemic forced its cancellation.

It took a determined Paul Stafrace 372,349 footsteps to circle his roof 6,210 times over eight days, starting on April 20, to raise money for Caritas.

Paul Stafrace walking the last kilometre barefoot, as is done during the Camino.

“This is a religious experience. I started thinking about my life journey, starting from my childhood. I laughed and I cried,” he said.

The most emotional moments during the walk, he said, were remembering his wife, Joyce.

“She was a saint. We were married for 41 years before she was killed in a traffic accident five years ago.”

His journey of introspection led him to a conclusion.

“I thank God for everything. I want to live day by day. And I want to remember people who are suffering.”

Paul, who was born in Senglea and lives in Fgura, was meant to walk the Camino for the second time earlier this month but it was cancelled due to COVID-19.

The Camino de Santiago is a large network of ancient pilgrim routes stretching across Europe and coming together at the tomb of St James in Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain.

“Mine is a long story that started five years ago when my wife died in the accident,” he says as he goes on to recount the emotional journey that led to him to circle his roof.

His wife, with whom he had two sons, passed away in August 2015, a few days after the accident. She had just picked up their four-year-old grandson and was heading towards their summer apartment in Birżebbuġa when the car she was driving was involved in a head-on collision in Valletta Road, Żurrieq.

Thankfully, their grandson survived the injuries.

I started thinking about my life journey... I laughed and I cried

“One of the things my son, Simon, told her before she died was that he would make her wish come true and give her a second grandchild – he had a daughter a year later,” Paul says emotionally.

When his wife died, he felt broken. A friend of his, who tried to distract him from his grief, asked him to join a walk organised by BirdLife. He attended and started joining other walks.

That was when he learned about the Camino de Santiago. However, he didn’t manage to raise enough funds to participate the first time he applied to join, in 2016.

The following year he signed up again – this time collecting the required funds and going into training. But 10 days before the trip he tore a ligament in his leg and had to cancel. 

The following year, 2018, he tried again – but a few days before he was due to leave he injured his knee when he stepped onto a chair to fix his internet router.

Finally, last year, he signed up for the shorter 160-kilometre walk and made it to Spain. On his first night in the hostel his ankle swelled up. But he was undaunted and managed to complete the walk.

This year he was planning to embark on the longer version – 270 kilometers in 10 days – but then coronavirus happened.

Taking a break from the endless circling of his roof.

Reliving life’s journey in eight days

Meanwhile, seven weeks ago, before the pandemic hit Malta, Paul went to Prague and, on his return, had to go into mandatory quarantine. Spending a lot of time on the roof, pacing around, he got the idea of completing the length of the Camino right there, for charity.

Similar initiatives have been taking place around the world.

British Rob Ferguson become the first person to climb the height of Mount Everest from home when he climbed 6,506 flights of stairs in 24 hours, barefoot. Also in the UK, 90-year-old Margaret Payne climbed the equivalent of Suilven mountain on her stairs to help raise money for the NHS during the pandemic.

Paul got the go-ahead from the local organisers of the Camino trip and set his mind to it.

Starting at about 7am and finishing at about 3.30pm he walked at an average speed of five kilometres per hour for between six to eight hours a day, taking short breaks.

As he walked, he listened to the news or music but then turned it off and went deep into thought, reflecting about his life’s journey.

He completed the walk in eight days instead of 10, burning 8,103 calories in the process.

As happens during the Camino, he walked the last kilometre barefoot, reciting the rosary and carrying a cross which he made out of a broken broomstick.

In line with tradition, he also laid a stone to mark his journey, placing in on the wall of his roof. Then he posted his journey to Facebook and asked people to donate money to Caritas.

“My message is: don’t give up. Cherish life because it is precious. Think of others because they are thinking about you. And to those stuck at home with their family at the moment I say: try to live in harmony because peace is priceless.”