What’s like walking to Santiago De Compostela?
Starting from the point that each Camino is personal, everyone experiments something different in himself and in his / her surroundings. There are no rules, only you can define your own ones. There is one sure thing: you will see something changing in yourself, at every single step. You might not realise it along the way but, for sure, you will figure it out once you are back.
Everyone has his / her own reasons for walking so many kilometres: they can be spiritual or religious ones. So many people need to take a break from the reality to take an important life decision. Some others might need to find the strength to make changes in their life. Everyone is doing the Camino for a reason.
I have personally been attracted by this experience since a while. I wanted to see how it is like being on the way for weeks, far from everything and everyone. I was looking for something which could calm down my mind and make me live aquí y ahora. Did it work? Partially. It made me to reflect a lot, on lots of things. I think that real changes will happen now, back to my life routine.
I did not want to miss anything about this experience. Therefore, from day one, I decided to turn off all the social media channels. How challenging it has been! Walking without that feeling of constantly checking notifications you could get from the virtual world, it has been one of the best choices of the entire Camino.
I realised how much addicted I am and how many things you can miss by constantly looking at the phone instead of looking around you.
Shall I go back to a stylish black & white mobile phone? ;)
What exactly happens during the Camino? What does it make it so magical? What characterised The Santiago’s Way?
Follow some of the my reflections:
- People. Even if you start alone, you will never feel alone. The Camino to Santiago it is a community experience: you cannot escape from people. You will end up to interact with other pilgrims you meet along the way, with the farmer that, early in the morning, starts his / her day. You will even get along with the owner of the albergue and many other local people you might find in that bar where you stop, exhausted, asking for a fresh cerveza.
Everyone you meet along the way is not random and you will fill enriched by all of them. Personally, I did really unexpected meetings which made me think how small and bizarre the world can be.
- Adaptability. You can be a prince or princess, nobody cares. During the Camino you are a pilgrim. You need to adapt yourself if you want to survive till Santiago. You will face lots of uncommon situations for days, or even weeks and months.
The fact which I was more scared about was sharing my personal (room) space with more than 40 unknown people. You must have faith to the others and respect. You will share with them everything (really everything — even the bed sometimes): toilets, kitchens, living rooms, etc.
Moreover, in the worst cases, you will find yourself sleeping on the floor and you will even end up to appreciate it!
I think the Camino de Santiago will make you a more tolerant person and it makes you understand that respect is at the base of each culture.
- Infinite sense of freedom. The Camino says to you the path you should walk through but it does not tell you how and when you should reach the final destination. You can live your days as you wish to live them: you can decide at what time you can wake up in the morning (even if sometimes you are pushed to leave your bed at 08:00 a.m.), how many kilometres you can walk each day, the people you want to share the path with. No defined rules.
I think this is the most beautiful aspect: living without schemas.
- Feeling alive. During the Camino you will get across different souls (and you will feel your feet reacting in different ways), you will see how the surroundings change step by step and time by time. You are focused on what you have around. Lots of times your quietness will be broken from the shouts of your mind and you have to deal with it (the future and the past will be materialised in your present).
You will admire breathtaking landscapes, understanding what touches your inner self and what not. You will be surrounded by nature most of the times: flowers, the sound of the water, green spaces, mountains, sunsets and sunrises. I can still hear in head the sound of my wooden stick which it marks the rhythm of my long walks.
- Time cognition changes. The first days of your Camino will seem infinite. You just want to reach the destination as soon as possible. Right now. Each minute will last forever and everything is so slow that you think the day will never end. This sensation will come with you all the way on but it would be our approach to time that will start to change. We will take advantage of it, giving value to each second of our life. You will start to be fascinating by everything you see, everything you touch and everything you feel. You won’t care much about waking up before the sunrise, you will be looking forward to see the Sun slowly going up to the sky. You won’t care much by arriving to destination later in the evening, you will be looking forwards to see how the sunrise changes what you see along the way.
- Time enhancement. Along the way, you will meet lots of pilgrims. It is up to you to choose your travel mates (or would be them choosing you). You will start walking with them, and you will be walking with them for hours maybe. You realise that you have never spent so much time in a day even with your closest friends. You give value to time and to everything you see. It is easy to know deeply enough someone and make important and valuable connections.
- Landscapes change, continuously. While walking you will find yourself going towards uninhabited villages, as well as big and noisy cities. You will be walking with the sea few meters far from you, by listening to the waves that crash the rocks. You will be walking to endless forests and, sometimes, on hot paved roads. You will see how climate, distance and time will impact what your eyes see. Even the same landscape will bring you different kind of emotions if watched at morning or at night. Everything changes, together with your steps.
I am sure there are more points that make the Camino De Santiago unique. There must be good reasons if, every year, the flow of pilgrims has been increasing. These are, to me, the most significant ones.
What I understood is that lots of patience is needed in order to achieve your dreams, your life goals and finding your own identity in this constantly changing world. It does not matter how much it takes, what it matters is getting into the right path (and trust me, I lost so many times those yellow arrows which mark the way).
ps: this is a citation which touched me a lot. I found it attached in the wall of this Albergue close to Arcade (which was full of positive vibes):
It is not the world that needs peace; it is people. When people in the world are at peace within, the world will be at peace.
I wish everyone to experience such a great adventure! BUEN CAMINO!
