The sense of accomplishment on finishing a 354 km (226 miles) walk on the Camino de Santiago really can’t be put into words. As we began our last day of walking toward the town of Santiago the entire feeling of the walk changed, I was overcome with excitement and sadness at the same time, so delighted to be closing in on Santiago, but not wanting the incredible journey to end. What would I do tomorrow when my previous 17 days had been filled with walking? The Camino is the perfect metaphor for the journey of life in this regard. You learn how to enjoy the path to every destination.
Entering the square that opened to the cathedral pilgrims are treated by bagpipe music and a square filled with tourists and a flood of pilgrims overcome by the end of their journey. You may try but it is nearly impossible to hold back the emotional tears and they are shared by the grateful pilgrims that are all around you.
It’s time to grab your companions, friends met on the journey and sometimes a nearby stranger for a hug and a final “buen camino”.
“A great accomplishment shouldn’t be the end of the road, just the starting point for the next leap forward.” – Harvey Mackay
As we walked on the last day my companions and I compiled a list of “Camino Lessons Learned”, it was a great way to remember some of the high and the low points of the journey and reflect back on our Camino time together. If you are considering a pilgrimage someday these may come in handy, and even if you are not they are good life lessons.
#1 – Don’t get cocky and don’t make assumptions. Respect your limits – you may have planned for a 30km day on the books but your body decides that 25km is plenty. It could be raining or hot, muddy or dusty, anything but the perfect conditions for walking over 20 miles. It may have looked like an easy day but something gets in the way. No matter what those expectations that you started the day with seem an eternity ago and you realize the only way to continue is to loose all expectations, be in the moment and execute a plan B.
#2 – When there is a downhill there will be an uphill, and somedays it’s all uphill. There are days that are filled with picturesque beauty, others are a never ending run of the same scenery and kilometer after kilometer of uphill climb. It’s a bit like life in that regard.
“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” – Thomas Dekker
#3 – When you’re tired you can sleep anywhere. We were lucky enough to be able to stay in a variety of accommodations along the route. From the most basic Albergue (hostel) that offered few if any amenities except a bunk and a shared bathroom and shower to a full apartment that included our own kitchen, bathroom and beds with linens! Some of our favorites were the smaller rural private albergues where we would sit down for dinner served by our hosts surrounded by other pilgrims from all over the world. Often these places are renovated farmhouses in quiet and relaxing locations along the route. But even when you are sleeping in bunks surrounded by pilgrims sleep somehow seems to come as your weary body needs the rest if even just to lay in a prone position for a few hours. And some of the most basic can be the most beautiful as in the case of the monastery in Sobrado.
“There comes a moment on a journey when something sweet, something irresistible and charming as wine raised to thirsty lips, wells up in the traveller’s being.” — Patrick MacGill
#4 – Eat when you can, carry snacks for when you can’t and always drink enough water. There are some long stretches of walking on the northern route that have no services for pilgrims. Having some snacks and enough water for the day can be critical for your walk. Getting to the next stop very hungry can be a problem especially when it is a small town and everything is closed until 8pm for siesta! And while we are talking about food and drink, we discovered a proven fact: Wine is really helpful and healthy (especially at the end of each Camino day!).
“The main thing that you have to remember on this journey is, just be nice to everyone and always smile.” – Ed Sheeran
#5 – Listen to the locals they know more that the guidebooks, the internet and your gps. It’s OK to stray off the road sometimes. Early in our journey while starting the day that was expected to have a steep uphill climb right from the get go we met a local walking down the road who told us to follow him as he was heading in the same direction as another route that would avoid the climb. Well Jan and Debora were all for the detour and started happily off down the road after the gentleman with me tagging reluctantly behind saying “but the gps says we are going off the route….”. It turned out that not only did we avoid the hill, but had a great conversation with a local on the way to his morning coffee shop. It was a good lesson and made it easier for me to accept that it’s okay to leave the published route.
Along with listening to the locals the best thing to wear as a pilgrim in a foreign country is a smile as this will help you meet interesting people and can at times get you out of a jam! What fun it was to take a photo of a farmer working his tractor along the road only to discover that he would be the same person that owned the small albergue that we would stay in that evening. He remembered my smile as I shot the photo of him traveling down the road!
Another note about language, do your best to speak the native language of the country when at all possible. Even just a “buenos días” in the morning and liberal use if “gracious” to say thank you is appreciated. As a visitor in another country we should not expect that everyone speaks our language or even wants to.
“Share your smile with the world. It’s a symbol of friendship and peace.” — Christie Brinkley
#6 – Take care of your feet as they will get you through to the finish. The biggest problem that plagues pilgrims on the Camino seems to be foot problems. Blisters are commonplace and each day you get through the walk without having to deal with massive and painful blisters is a good day. There are things that you can do to help prevent blisters from forming including having comfortable shoes, preferably about a half size larger than your normal shoes to allow for feet swelling; using compeed (blister prevention tape), a lotion to keep rubbing down, good double layer socks and most importantly stopping to take off your shoes and change into clean and dry socks at least once during the walk (twice on long days). Sometimes it’s helpful to also change your shoes especially if you have been walking in mud or water, so carry a spare pair of walking shoes!
“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”- Stephen Hawking (RIP 2018)
#7 – Be open to change, nothing should be written in stone as each day could open up new possibilities. Don’t be so focused on the destination each day that you forget to enjoy the days journey. Some days may seem like the distance will be short but a cool distraction or two will present itself along the route. While walking from Carballedo to Sobrado dos Monxes we stopped to admire the sculptures on the wall of a casa along the route. The gate opened and the artist waved us in to his studio to explore and enjoy his works. An amazing artist and he enjoyed sharing his creations with a couple of pilgrims on their journey.
#8 – Appreciate the small accomplishments, like getting up in the morning. It is truly amazing what your body and your mind can accomplish, you learn that you are stronger than you ever imagined. All you need to do it put one foot in front of the other and everything falls into place at the end of the days walk.
“Sometimes you will think you can’t take it another day. But if you hang in there, one step at a time, you will be able to accomplish more than you ever imagine.” – Taya Kyle
With only two walking days left on the Camino our day started in Arzúa where the Camino del Norte meets up with the very popular Camino Francés. What a change, in the first hour we saw more pilgrims than in the entire previous 16 days on the Norte. Unfortunately the other things that changed were the amount of graffiti on the camino markers and the amount of trash along the route. It is sad to see that with people also come problems even on this spiritual walk across Spain. Many people only walk the last 100km as it is all that is required to get your certificate in Santiago and it was apparent that many folks were opting for this shorter experience. Watching all these folks “rushing” to get in their 100 km made me rethink some of my own “goals”. How much of an experience is just about checking the boxes? Most people focus solely on the goal and disregard the journey altogether.
Setting goals like visiting all the National Parks or seeing a certain number of countries in the shortest amount of time shouldn’t be as important as what you gain from each individual experience.
This leads to the last of our “Camino Lessons”:
#9 – Don’t rush around the world checking off the boxes, savor the journey, be in the moment, relax, slow down and enjoy.
“Happiness is attained by living in the moment.”
How many times have you heard this saying but never actually lived by it? Most people are guilty of making their desired goals the focal point of their lives. They set target after target, and in doing so they become constantly caught up in a race to accomplish more, get farther, climb higher and reach the top of the proverbial mountain. However, in this rat race, people often forget what truly matters and that is: the journey.
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” – Greg Anderson
We were scheduled to leave Santiago the next day on the train and I couldn’t resist getting up before dawn for one last walk through the city in the quiet darkness before sunrise.
The old part of the city is beautiful with ornate historic buildings, squares and fountains that made for great nighttime photo opportunities.
A lone pilgrim was heading out, likely continuing the journey on to Finisterre and the coast. This would have been four more days of walking and that just wasn’t in the plan for this trip. I will be back to once again start each day by lacing up my boots, packing up my gear and heading out each day as a pilgrim, yes I have the “Camino bug” and the only way to satisfy it is to walk again.
“To feel the pull, the draw, the interior attraction, and to want to follow it, even if it has no name still, that is the “pilgrim spirit.”The “why” only becomes clear as time passes, only long after the walking is over.” ― Kevin A. Codd, Beyond Even the Stars: A Compostela Pilgrim in France
Leave a Reply