Tags

, , , , , ,

Camino de Santiago

I have not written on this blog for a while. I have been slightly distracted by life these last couple of months. I have just returned from my travels and it was truly an amazing experience.

I loved doing the Camino de Santiago. I had a deep sense of gratitude and had a real feeling of being totally alive when I was doing it. No two days were ever the same. You never seemed to know who you could be walking with from one day to the next. Some days you could start walking with somebody you have never met before and by the end of the day you are like the best of friends.

Most of the Camino involved walking in some aspect of nature. It could be through a woods, on a road through fields, near a river or by the sea. I found many of these experiences truly breath-taking. Some mornings I would be on the way well before the sun rises and I had the fortunate experience of seeing some amazing sun rises. I felt a deep connection on my travels with nature.  I feel maybe its something that I had lost before I did the Camino however I feel that it is something that I have found again.

Much of the Camino involved walking anything from 18km to 40 km per day. On my first week, this daily journey was more of a race to me rather than a walk. However as I gradually walked the Camino, I found that I tended to walk slower and slower and started to become more present to my surroundings and to myself. I really found it to be amazing that the more present I became, the more I truly started to see myself, other people and my surroundings.

A lot of the journey involved walking with other people. People from all different walks of life and different cultures. People from the ages of 5 to 80. I found this experience of walking with people to be truly the best part of the journey. I can safely say that I have never laughed so much. There was a great sense of freedom walking with these people, many who became my friends. What is great about the Camino is that everybody is the same. We all have a rucksack, a couple of pairs of T-shirts, pair of boots and a few other bits and pieces. I don’t think I was ever asked once what I do for a living. I don’t think anybody really cared. Everybody was there on a journey of some sort and it was great to be sharing it with so many alive and fun people. I also found that the Camino allowed an opportunity to have more authentic, deeper connections with people, connections which  may never have happened out there in the “real” world.

A big part of the Camino was me listening to myself. Listening to my inner inspiration, my inner guidance. Listening to what felt right for me. Many times I was walking with a group of people who I developed good friendships with. Sometimes I would get this inner voice inside saying to leave the group or to go ahead. At times it was hard to leave the group and I didn’t know what the outcome would be as a result of my action. The fact it felt inspired, all I could do was trust it. When I trusted to take the action, everything always seemed to work out perfectly.

All I can say that this part of my travels, the whole 5 weeks, has been one of the most amazing experiences I have had in my life. I would totally recommend it to anybody who is looking for some time out of the “real” world and wants to experience something different. It is a great opportunity to connect with yourself, with the world and with people.

Namaste,

TW