Camino

I have a seasonal job which allows me a long Easter break in which I go on Camino and means that I earn enough that I can afford to do so but still a part of me was hoping that this term I wouldn’t get any work (the non-financial side of me that is) because my Mum and sister are about to set off on the Camino Portuguese, 117 kilometres from Tui to Santiago, and truthfully I want to be there with them.

Yes I walked this route from Porto in 2014 but that isn’t the same and not just because that was me, Dad and my sister but because every Camino is different – each special and challenging in slightly different ways and so I find myself slightly jealous and slightly sad; yes I am happy for them that they are going but honestly I wish that I could go on this adventure with them, that like Bilbo Baggins in ‘The Hobbit’ I could forget all of my responsibilities and run out the door after them, stuffing clothes and sleeping bag haphazardly into my backpack as I go but I can’t do that so instead I’ll watch them go with joy and jealousy and wait for Facebook updates and e-mails, postcards (hopefully stamped with new sellos) and then share time with them when they return looking at their photos and hearing their tales.

 

Bilbo running after adventure (image from https://www.quora.com/How-would-you-describe-Bilbo-Baggins-confidence-change-throughout-the-adventure)

Instead of running after them I will think upon next Easter holidays which will hopefully lead me back onto the Camino and new adventures and new members of my extended Camino family.

Yes, I’ve been drawn in even now that my Caminos number just within the double digits I want more of them, think about them in difficult times (and good ones too) no doubt forgetting many of the Caminos’ problems and struggles as I plan ahead (and wear in new boots in anticipation) but honestly there are worse ways to spend your time than on a long walk through Spanish countryside meeting people I would otherwise never cross paths with, eating good food and taking a slower rhythm to life. The Camino is a good experience which doesn’t truly end even once you reach Santiago – even if you are never drawn back to the Camino I think it still leaves people a little changed, maybe even a little wiser.

So ‘Buen Camino’ to all Pilgrims setting out soon – have a great time, I’m only a little bit jealous of you.