spread_initiator
I took the « Way of St James » - you too!
Inspired by Hape Kerkeling and determined to be alone and entirely for myself, I took a quick decision to hit the trail – the Camino de Santiago Trail or, to be more precise, the pilgrims way of Camino Francés.
You took the route too. What were your experiences? What did the route give to you? Maybe you also received your personal message. Tell us about it, show us your photos and, on the other hand, invite all your travel companions to join this spread. How good it would be if we could all meet up here.
I had never before travelled alone. And, at more than four weeks, this was the longest period I had ever been away from everyday life.
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Initiator´s comment
In July 2008, with a minimum of luggage, I flew from Hamburg to Bayonne in France, then took the train to St Jean Pie De Port in the Pyrenees and from there I walked 830 km to Santiago De Compostela on the Atlantic coast of nortern Spain.
Every day seemded like a year at home. To see somebody or something approaching, be there, depart again – everything happening in slow-motion, easily and naturally. The focus was on the path.
Coping with the physical challenge and the drive to walk an average of 6 hours per day to cover the 30km stage target was something I was used to. One should not underestimate the midsummer heat and so early morning departures were the order of the day.
I had enormous problems with my hiking boots that were much too heavy and totally unsuitable for long distances. Hardly a day went by without pain. They called me the Blister-King.
Some of the myriads of people that I met on the trail read in this the path's message to me: your shoe pinches! Meaning: you have something on your mind..
So new footwear had to be found. But what initially appeared to be my saviour did not change much in the long run. New blisters brought along the familiar pain.
I can definitely find parallels to all this in my life. Especially when it comes to relationships, I often thought about new « shoes » when the old ones became too unattractive or uncomfortable. However, as on the Way of St James, one just carries on. For, by accepting the pain, I have the good fortune to be able to see the mountains in the distance and to smell the fragrance of the flowers in the air and, all of a sudden, the tight shoe is no longer important.