Happy Anniversary, Pilgrim!
Crack open the Champers and pull the string on your Party Popper, peeps, because this month marks the first anniversary of the start of my last Camino! The 24th of April to be precise. Not a single day has passed where I haven't thought about it, replaying whole sections in my mind and longing to feel the straps of my pack digging into my shoulders and to hear the measured cadence of my poles across cobblestones, bitumen, and dirt. To say that I've been bitten by the Camino bug (not of the bed variety) is an understatement. However, the words "Flying Out" have been inscribed on my Google Calendar against the 23rd of May 2020, so the official countdown to my next Camino has now begun! That Saturday can't come soon enough.
To mark the anniversary of the start of my Camino I thought I'd look back on things and do a bit of a Q&A about my thoughts, feelings, and the expectations that I had before setting out on the Camino. I've borrowed the questions from the excellent episode of 'My Camino - The Podcast' where Dan is interviewed by Bill Bennett before setting out on his second Camino. So, here we go...
Why did you want to walk the Camino?
I wanted to walk the Camino to disconnect. I was juggling three jobs and what free time I did have was pretty much taken up with my girlfriend, friends, and family. Not that that's bad, but I didn't have any time just for me. I guess I wanted to be a little selfish and didn't want to run to anyone else's schedule or feel the need to be somewhere at any given time. I just wanted to be.
I had also recently had a major upheaval in my life as I'd just been through a divorce. I wasn't lamenting the breakdown of the relationship, more that the plans I'd had and the path I'd envisioned for myself had suddenly ceased to exist, so it was time to meditate on where I was right now, to take stock, to work out what I wanted to do with the next forty odd years of my life and to give thanks for everything that I had.
How heavy was your pack?
My pack was between five and six kilograms, which was in line with the ten percent of your body weight rule.
What did you hope to learn by doing the Camino?
I'm not sure what I had hoped to learn by doing the Camino, but I went in with an open mind and hoped that whatever I did learn would make me a better person. I did give myself three challenges when I started the Camino - 1) Take and post one photo every day, 2) Write a blog post every day and 3) Don't listen to music while walking. So on a very superficial level, I'd hoped to learn to take better photos, learn to keep a diary, to be a better writer, to be open and honest in my writing, and to be a better listener.
What were you afraid of?
I was afraid of injuring myself and being unable to complete the Camino. Every pilgrim would have this fear I'm sure. I was also somewhat afraid of not knowing anyone and of meeting total strangers and having to strike up a conversation with them. I'm quite shy and was afraid of not having anything to say or putting my foot in my mouth and looking like a fool. I've always been that way, which may come as a surprise to most people who know me, but it's true and something that I was certainly afraid of.
What did you hope to experience on/by doing the Camino?
I hoped to find the peace and quiet I needed to be able to meditate on a few questions that I had to ask myself and to have that chance meeting or experience that opened my eyes to whatever it was that I was looking for or seeking. I didn't know what that was exactly but I hoped that my mind would be open to it if and when it eventuated.
What did you do differently to your first Camino?
The big difference was that I was walking solo. When you walk with someone you can be somewhat insular as you always have someone you can turn to, so you don't seek the company of others as readily, or at least I didn't, so this time I didn't have that safety net.
This time, I also tried not to stay in towns or walk paths that I had before, like taking the path to Samos and deciding to switch to the last one hundred kilometers of the Camino Sanabres.
OK, so that's the pre-Camino Q&A session over with. Next month I hope to reflect on the completion of the Camino and see just how closely Expectation and Reality actually compared and whether or not I found whatever it is that I was looking for, so stay tuned.
If any of you are wondering how we fared on the Six Foot Track hike that I mentioned last month, unfortunately we had to cancel it at the last minute due to the weather being stormy across all three days. I don't mind walking in the rain but electrical storms and camping in the wet is another thing entirely. This means that unfortunately I didn't get to road test my new trail runners, so hopefully I'll be able to do that sooner rather than later and let you know how they fared.
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To mark the anniversary of the start of my Camino I thought I'd look back on things and do a bit of a Q&A about my thoughts, feelings, and the expectations that I had before setting out on the Camino. I've borrowed the questions from the excellent episode of 'My Camino - The Podcast' where Dan is interviewed by Bill Bennett before setting out on his second Camino. So, here we go...
Why did you want to walk the Camino?
I wanted to walk the Camino to disconnect. I was juggling three jobs and what free time I did have was pretty much taken up with my girlfriend, friends, and family. Not that that's bad, but I didn't have any time just for me. I guess I wanted to be a little selfish and didn't want to run to anyone else's schedule or feel the need to be somewhere at any given time. I just wanted to be.
I had also recently had a major upheaval in my life as I'd just been through a divorce. I wasn't lamenting the breakdown of the relationship, more that the plans I'd had and the path I'd envisioned for myself had suddenly ceased to exist, so it was time to meditate on where I was right now, to take stock, to work out what I wanted to do with the next forty odd years of my life and to give thanks for everything that I had.
How heavy was your pack?
My pack was between five and six kilograms, which was in line with the ten percent of your body weight rule.
What did you hope to learn by doing the Camino?
I'm not sure what I had hoped to learn by doing the Camino, but I went in with an open mind and hoped that whatever I did learn would make me a better person. I did give myself three challenges when I started the Camino - 1) Take and post one photo every day, 2) Write a blog post every day and 3) Don't listen to music while walking. So on a very superficial level, I'd hoped to learn to take better photos, learn to keep a diary, to be a better writer, to be open and honest in my writing, and to be a better listener.
What were you afraid of?
I was afraid of injuring myself and being unable to complete the Camino. Every pilgrim would have this fear I'm sure. I was also somewhat afraid of not knowing anyone and of meeting total strangers and having to strike up a conversation with them. I'm quite shy and was afraid of not having anything to say or putting my foot in my mouth and looking like a fool. I've always been that way, which may come as a surprise to most people who know me, but it's true and something that I was certainly afraid of.
What did you hope to experience on/by doing the Camino?
I hoped to find the peace and quiet I needed to be able to meditate on a few questions that I had to ask myself and to have that chance meeting or experience that opened my eyes to whatever it was that I was looking for or seeking. I didn't know what that was exactly but I hoped that my mind would be open to it if and when it eventuated.
What did you do differently to your first Camino?
The big difference was that I was walking solo. When you walk with someone you can be somewhat insular as you always have someone you can turn to, so you don't seek the company of others as readily, or at least I didn't, so this time I didn't have that safety net.
This time, I also tried not to stay in towns or walk paths that I had before, like taking the path to Samos and deciding to switch to the last one hundred kilometers of the Camino Sanabres.
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If any of you are wondering how we fared on the Six Foot Track hike that I mentioned last month, unfortunately we had to cancel it at the last minute due to the weather being stormy across all three days. I don't mind walking in the rain but electrical storms and camping in the wet is another thing entirely. This means that unfortunately I didn't get to road test my new trail runners, so hopefully I'll be able to do that sooner rather than later and let you know how they fared.
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