Pilgrimage Trail (Camino de Santiago)

So the Camino de Santiago (pilgrimage trail) was ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL. I just got back, and i can not remember the last time i was so at peace with the world. Beside all my sins being washed away after arriving in the cathedral in Santiago... the whole experience was amazing. i am still on cloud nine about it.

The Camino de Santiago is a long trail that runs along the north of Spain - beginning in France and ending in the Spanish city, Santiago de Compostela. It is a pilgrimage trail seeped in centuries of history, as countless ordinary people have made there way to the huge Santiago cathedral from all over. Traditionally the pilgrims have religious motivation to make this journey, however it is recently popular for vacation, spiritual exploration or plain exercise. I spent the Semana Santa (easter week) doing the last Galician portion of the trail - 160 km or 105 miles. I was eager to have a solitary journey in nature for a week. A time for personal reflection and challenge. I packed my backpack, sleeping bag, and hiking snacks, took a 15 hour bus ride up north, and got dropped off, alone, in a village of about 75 people. The adventure began:

Day One: Well you wouldn't believe it. After getting my credentials (to be an official Pilgrim, passport and all), getting my picture taken at the trail head in O Cebreiro, filling up my water bottle and getting my first cheery "buen camino!" from the resturant owner - I hit the trail. . . And, LITERALLY 40 seconds in, it started to rain. "Gosh this is some hard rain" I thought. I look down. Its HAIL! Yes, like the rain that turns into ice. There is hail flying at my face, stuck to my pants, and whipping against my backpack that is filled with supplies for the week. Unbelievable. My poncho rips as I take it out in the wind to cover my packpack from getting soaked, and I quickly discover that the windbreaker is not waterproof, seeping through onto the one fleece I brought. I am already bundled up in the scarf and hat I brought and kicking myself for not bringing gloves. But how was I supposed to know it was going to hail?!
Things looked up as I met my first companion. Turns out she was from California and had been on the trail one month. Very kind San Diego tour guide, Lisa, who gave me the Camino scoop, and one of the 4 Americans I met the entire week. During my next stint of solitude my spirits balanced out the poor weather for a while, even after the zipper on the windbreaker broke, and I made it to my first Albergue!

Albergues are open refuges provided all along the trail, and are part of the spirit of people opening their homes to pilgrims. A public Albergue is like a very simple hostal, available to people who are 'official pilgrims'. Bunk beds in rooms of up to 40 people. No sheets. YMCA style showers. Hot water 50% of the time. One washing machine and dryer. 3 euros a night.

My first Albergue I was in a room of 4 people. Clothes were strewn all over the room in an attempt to dry out before the next day. After gaining feeling back in my fingers and toes and putting on clean dry socks my spirits were still high. I felt as if after a day like that one I could conquer just about anything in the world. 20 kms and 5 unsheltered hours in the elements. That night I was already thinking about how I want to do the trail again, but from a further distance.

That first night I wrote in my journal "It is comfortable to pass the time with a stranger in silence. It is nice to have the company on the trail but otherwise just taking it all in. The nature (the elements) and the journey. No profound thought has come yet. It has only been a day. But I am enjoying the peace. The concentration. And considering how nervous I was and the awful weather my spirit s are high. I just had a hotter shower than I do in Ronda. And the cobblestone and slate homes are absolutely picturesque. It feels like you are in a fairytale. I can't imagine living on this path and leading the tractor, water spigot life. But it is peaceful to observe others do it. See the adolescent boy backing up the tractor. Or the apron clad woman watching us pass from her doorway."
My contemplation and dinner of tuna and crackers on my bunk bed was interrupted by the grand entrance of my roommates. 3 boisterous Spanish males who would quickly become my best companions for the rest of my journey and terrific friends. Carlos, 50 yrs old, who has been on the trail for a month; Alex, age 34, from Barcelona; and Ramiro, age 20 a student in Madrid.

So after day one not only did I feel like I could conquer the world, but the weather also proved tolerable, and later in the week beautiful and sunny. The little stone villages we passed through were magical. And the people I met amazing.

I though this was going to be a very solitary physically strenuous experience. And it turned out to be just the opposite. I had very good training the past few months hiking in the mountainous terrain on Ronda, and felt good flying on the trail kilometer after kilometer. I also found the adjective "experienced" creeping up on me in the hiking world. I would never describe myself as a hiker in any serious fashion, but i had more experience that the large majority of people who were on the trail, and it is interesting to see the experiences I have pile upon each other.
Right from the start and no stop I met the MOST generous, kind, friendly, and down to earth, easy going people. I thought perhaps I would met some beautiful strong characters that would teach me a great deal... but what I found to me even more inspiring was meeting all these absolutely normal people who decided to do the trail. That in and of itself was inspiring. And that goes along with the hiking experience level. Lisa and I were laughing the last night about the difference from the US, where often to do something like this people would have all sorts of

This experience is what put me over the edge. I still don't really understand this country. Sometimes I feel like I am in a But I feel in love. I don't even know with what. With Spain? Not exactly. With an idea? Perhaps. But is that possible? And if so, what exactly do I find so enchanting? The Camino is a prototype of what I would like to duplicate and expand to be a plan for how to make the world a happy place. It was a place without competition. With deep kindess. Support.

the trail itself, from where i started was nearly 170 kms.. averaging 30 kms a day and we stayed in albergues.. very simple hostal. a public albergue is 3 euros. it has bunkbeds (you bring a sleeping bag) in rooms of 8, 12 or up to 40 people, shared bathrooms YMCA style, and sometimes a hot shower. then you hit the road bright and early (sometimes woke up at 5 am, sometimes 7 am ) and walked. and again.. i was surprised that although no especially profound thoughts came to me ... you are usually thinking about what to eat next, how many kilometers you have to go, blisters, the next hill, etc, it felt just as good to not think about anything.

and i was certainly not alone. i felt part of a family as we traveled each day with couples, old and young, individuals, to the same spot. often i would walk alone, or with a friend, or a little of the two. then in the afternoon shower, and eat a full course meal, wine and all. explore the city, etc.
it was beautiful. and arriving in santiago i was overwhelmed by the huge church FILLED with churchgoers, bishops and a real service. it was moving, even though i am not catholic.

and then today i arrived in sevilla after an overnight bus and i went to juanjo's house before catching the next bus to ronda.. and i met the sisters, nieces, aunts, parents, grandparents, and more aunt, and uncle, and had a nice lunch. here they don't do anything special on easter, they do it all the week before. the family visits were just a normal sunday thing. but it was nice for me to be with a family in easter.

all in all... absolutely amazing experience. i made friendship that i will keep. and i want to do it again.. but from a longer distance. there were two special moments,... one when i saw the most amazing rainbow i had ever seen .........and two, when we were climbing the last hill late in the day on the 40 km day to the last point before santiago, and the sun was setting and we could see the citylights over the hill with a beautiful sunset up above. magnificent. i can't remember ever feeling this joyful and at peace with the world.