I Made It!

People have asked me, what was it like? It was a wonderful experience, but not easy. A typical day started at 6 a.m. With an 800 km journey ahead of you, and walking six to eight hours a day, you want to get an early start. You leave in the dark before the lights are on in the auberge. Many of the other pilgrims, whom you have shared anywhere from a dozen to 100 bunk beds with by the end, are also getting up.

After you put on your backpack and boots, you make sure that your headlamp is on, as outside it is pitch dark and does not get light till after 8:00. Your lamp lights the way because the path is often uneven and rocky, and you need to follow the yellow Camino markers. They can be anywhere: on a post, a tree, a road sign, a rock, on the ground or guardrails.

After you have walked for two hours, it is time to find a place for breakfast. A delicious latté, freshly-squeezed orange juice and a large slab of toast with butter and jam. You find a place to sit among other pilgrims, who have come from all over the world. You make instant friends. Even when you don’t speak the same language, you find a way to converse.

Then we’re off again.

The terrain varies from mountains and forests to flat prairie landscapes, with temperatures ranging from very cold in the mountains to very hot on the plains with no place for shade. My daughter joined me for the first two 200 km. They were among some of the hardest. Crossing the Pyrenees was not easy; however, when you get to the top, the view is breathtaking.

You never know what you will encounter on the way. A shepherd and his flock crossed our path a few times. It struck me how gentle the shepherd was with his sheep. Is that why David called the Lord his shepherd?

When it is time for lunch you have a choice. You can either eat what you brought with you—usually a stick of bread and a chunk of goat cheese, or you can look for another café.

At about 2:00 it is time to start looking for a place to spend the night. When you check in, your passport number is recorded, a requirement of the Spanish government. You wash your clothes in a small tub or sink. Then it is time for a siesta. All shops and businesses close in the afternoon. For me, it was time to write my blog. It is also a time to make new friends. You can start the Camino alone, but you cannot stay alone.

Talking with some of these friends, I came to the conclusion that the Camino has three phases. The first is physical, when all your attention is on where it hurts. Blisters need attention and muscles need a rest. Every town has a pharmacy where people are very helpful in finding the right treatment for your feet.

The second phase is mental. After two weeks or so, your feet have adjusted. By now you have covered 200 km or more and you see a road sign that says that Santiago is another 600 km. You start to wonder, why am I doing this? You doubt whether you will be able to finish. This is when you need to encourage each other and yourself. You focus on the beauty of the ever-changing landscape and on the friends you make along the way. You share personal stories and reflect on what you expect to learn along the Camino.

The third phase is spiritual. By now you have passed the halfway mark and you start to talk about what you will do when you get to Santiago. You reflect on what you have learned. You ask, will this change my life and will these changes last when I am home?

Most people I met walked the Camino for a reason. They had something they wanted to reflect on. For some it was a career change. For others it was the state of their marriage. For others still, it was a transition into retirement. For most, I think, it was related to the question, what will I do with the rest of my life? They had a decision to make.

Every town we passed through had a church or cathedral at its centre. The churches were all open and they invited you to come in and rest. Usually there was an elderly man or women welcoming you in Spanish and giving you a stamp on your pilgrim’s passport. In Santiago it will be reviewed to see if you have walked the minimum 100 km required to receive the Compostela, the pilgrim’s certificate proving that you have walked the Camino.

Finally we reach the end of the journey. Exactly 40 days after we started our walk in the south of France, we have reached Santiago.

We have made it.

Finistera, the end of the world, is the end of our Camino. But it is also the beginning of our journey for the rest of our lives. Will it be a different journey because of what we have learned? What have I learned?

I have learned that we can live with a lot less than we think. On the Camino you don’t buy anything you don’t need, because you have to carry it on your back. Jesus preached against acquiring a lot of stuff. He told us to pray for our daily bread, nothing more. And Jesus told us to give our burdens to him. Carrying 20 pounds everywhere you go becomes a real burden. I learned not to carry more than I have to and to bring my burdens to he who said, my burden is light.

I learned that the Camino is about people. People you meet along the way become your friends. You experience the same things. And you look after each other. The Camino is about helping each other, but also about accepting help from others. I had to learn that. I had to learn not to worry because someone will look after you. I learned not to worry because God looks after me.

I learned that we are all headed for the same destination. For this pilgrimage, whatever our age, the country we came from, how fast or slow we walked, we all ended up in the same place. The same can be said for life.

Camino means “the way.” The way we should live. Walking the Camino has forced me to focus on what is important. It has made me look at people differently. On my walk through Spain I got strength from knowing that my wife, Lynne would be waiting for me in Santiago. Through all the ups and downs of my journey through life, I know that someone will be waiting for me on that day when I reach my final destination. Someone I love and who loves me.

Buen Camino is how you greet each other along the pilgrimage. Buen Camino to all of you fellow pilgrims.