Final Thoughts
It was quite the amazing trip. I walked over mountain ranges and ancient bridges. I walked through towns, cities, ruins, vineyards and wheat fields. I got to be outside every single day. Although I started this trip on my own, I was never alone in spirit. H, Cat and all of my friends and family were cheering for me on the sidelines, and I felt their support. Most people I met had a story to tell and wanted to hear mine as well. Almost everyone I met were kind and it was rare that we weren’t looking out for each other. We made instant friendships and built bonds but seldom learned each other’s last name. We shared bunk beds and bathrooms and were just grateful to have a hot shower and a place to sleep at night.
An adventure of going to new places, meeting new people and trying new things is really my happy place. Being open minded to those new places, new people and new things was very important and I found that the more open I was, the more I tended to enjoy them. I got the opportunity to meet and hang out with people that I would never come across in my daily life and it was amazing. Most people have a kind heart and good intentions. We are all just trying to find our way and do the best we can.
At times we cherished the camaraderie of the other pilgrims but other times we craved solitude. I was alone about 60% of the time. I had a lot of time to think about previous situations and conversations with friends and family. A lot of things came up. Luckily, I haven’t had any real trauma in my life but I had time to work through a few small issues and realized that boundaries are important. When I was growing up, there were several times that I needed support or help. I turned to my parents first and they just weren’t able to accommodate. I used to be very resentful of these situations, but in hindsight, I feel quite fortunate because I learned that no matter how bad things got, I could always figure things out on my own.
At this point in my life I do have an innate knowledge that things will always work out. They might not work out as planned but they always work out – and sometimes they are even better than I thought they would be. It was interesting to meet people on the Camino that didn’t believe that to be true. For them, the problem wasn’t the problem. The problem was the way they perceived the problem, and this defined how they thought, felt and responded to the problem. Instead of asking for help, they just assumed things wouldn’t work out. Instead of accepting that we were on an amazing pilgrimage, they focused on how things weren’t as comfortable as they were at home. Instead of assuming Spaniards had good intentions, they assumed the answer would always be no. It was an interesting observation. I realized that a person’s outlook on life is a very important trait that has big effects on me.
Life was simple: walk, talk, eat and sleep. That said, this hike was physically much harder than I thought it would be, but I learned I am very adaptable and capable of pushing my limits much farther than I ever thought I could. My body just kept moving forward. It wasn’t like I told my feet to move forward with each step. I just told myself where I was headed, and my body figured it out. There were times I was ready to give up or be done for the day and the universe would step in and show me a butterfly, have a friend walk up to me who I hadn’t seen for a few days, the weather would change, or a food truck would appear out of nowhere and I would find energy I didn’t know I had. Mind over matter, I guess. The amazing thing was that no matter how much pain I had during the day, the body rejuvenated itself every night and I woke up the next morning ready to go. The other awesome part of this hike was that I ate more chocolate croissants and drank more cafe con leches and wine than I have in a lifetime and I still managed to lose a lot of weight!
My best memories are not from the large attractions or major points of interest written in the guidebooks but in the obscure, random things that I came across by mistake or off the beaten path. There were several amazing moments that come to mind: In a small church in a deserted town, a nun blessed me and gave me the best hug I had had in a long time. Another evening, I was being silly with a group of friends and laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. On a different day, I walked with a priest while he read the Bible in Latin for 2 hours. I will cherish the entire trip but it’s the obscure moments that I will forever hold in my heart and know that upon returning home, I need to remember to get off the beaten track and go out on a limb because that is really the place I thrive and love to be.
