Buen Camino!

El Camino de Santiago/The Way of St. James is a long distance footpath recognized by UNESCO for its historical and spiritual significance. Would I realize a deeper meaning in my life while walking the camino? All I initially wanted to achieve was completion of something started. It hasn´t been a great year and I just wanted to finish something with intention.

And I did.

After 35 days walking the Camino Frances (the most popular path of the many caminos) and a mid-camino detour walking 4 days to the end of the earth with a good friend, the Camino Finisterre, I arrived in the very beautiful city of Santiago.

It was indeed great to arive, but when I was within 150km of Santiago I became quite anxious. And I wasn´t the only one. We all were feeling this way. We weren´t ready to finish. Whereas I had been pushing myself each day, I was now slowing to almost a crawl. I did 8km one day! But I was able to prolong the camino by a few days. Then after an anxious night and much vino tinto at an albergue at the 40km mark, I decided enough was enough, and it was time to finish. I felt good walking the final few kilometers. It was the best way to arrive in Santiago, after a long walk of almost 900km, but I was also sad that it was over.

I stepped onto the path in St. Jean Pied de Port in France, 20km east of the Spanish border, and I now see that I couldn´t have timed this better. On the path we would occasionally hear bits about a global financial disaster, but only now am I learning how spectacular this has really been. With a copy of The Guardian and the Economist, it is time to do some reading. I am grateful now for having had only my own demons to deal with during this time.

Other things that I have been grateful for while walking the camino:

* gel-lined tubular bandage, cut to desired length, discovered in a pharmacy in Pamplona on day 3; worked like magic and saved my toes further grief

* good weather - only 3 days of heavy rain and a few very cold days, but otherwise great walking weather

* good health and no injuries - a cold, a swollen gland, one missing toenail and other bruised toenails, but nothing serious

* umbrella/walking stick passed on to me, provided much support on hills, on long days, against the rain and sun; made me a recognizable character on the route, sometimes called Mary Poppins

* altho I have never wanted to use earplugs, I now appreciate the benefits of using them

* yellow arrows that guided me along the way, altho now I am back to making my own decisions

* all those who shared the camino with me, walking with me, sharing their stories and listening to mine


Some of the many camino characters:

* Canadians and Germans seemed to be the most numerous on the path, followed by all the others, including Koreans, Japanese, Bolivians

* a very funny French guy walking from Marseilles with his beloved donkey

* a Dutch woman who rode her bicycle from Holland to St. Jean, and then started walking to Santiago from there

* a Canadian couple I stopped who were walking in the reverse direction. They were on their way back to St. Jean after just walking from St. Jean to Santiago. There were many others doing the same thing

* a German guy who started walking from home in Bonn on his 32nd birthday on June 16th

* and then a guy who has walked from Basel, Switzerland and another from Frankfurt, Germany

* many many pilgrims had walked the camino at least once before, including an 84 year old man from California on his 4th camino

* 6 Finnish pilgrims who had been selected from 2000 candidates in a contest. They were being filmed along the route, in the dorms, at breakfast, etc for a reality show to be aired in Finland next year.

* a Finnish woman with scoliosis, finishing this year, after doing a section for each of the last 5 years

* a blind man and his sighted partner

* a woman in a wheelchair doing wheelchair accessible sections with the help of a crew of friends


And me, how did I fare? When I started I was frustrated, wondering if the camino was a sporting event (people setting alarms and rushing out before the sun had even risen), tourist activity (people doing a couple sections in groups by bus and souveniers galore), or a commercial exploit (profits to be made all along the route). But after awhile, none of this mattered, and the camino became personal. I learned more about my capacity - I felt very pleased after a couple of 38km days. There were more than a few tough emotional days. And I saw that the camino was an intense version of the life I am already leading. I think a few hundred kilometers more would do me some good. I need more time and I am really missing the walking.

However, it is time to get on to other things. A visit to San Sebastian, then to the Guggenheim in Bilbao, and for mid-November I have accepted another contract with MSF, a nice short 3month commitment in Ethiopia. I will also get around to sorting out the more than 1000 photos I took (!!!).

It has been awhile since I have felt this, but I am again feeling very fortunate.