When I tell people I went to Europe just to hike 500 miles across Spain, the first thing they ask is why? When this trip was first a dream of mine, I had no idea why I wanted to do it. Later, when I called my cousin and convinced her to go with me, I still wasn’t sure. As I got my passport, my plane tickets and even made my packing list I still had no true reason for going. Even as I hiked on average of 15-20 miles a day and I was in so much pain and misery from the weight of my backpack and the blisters on my feet, I had no idea why I did this to myself. But for some reason I couldn’t give up, and I knew that one day I would do it again.
The Camino de Santiago is a journey that is unique for everyone that walks it. They say that when you walk the “way”, the person you were when you started is gone by the time you reach the end. Your Camino doesn’t really start until you go home after the trip and realize how much you have changed. Even then, you’re not really sure why you decided to put your whole life on pause for 5 weeks just to walk in Spain, when you can walk anywhere in your own town. Maybe it’s the beautiful sunrise you see every morning in the Basque country, or the friendly locals wishing you a “buen camino” as you walk by. Maybe it’s the fellow pilgrims you compare blisters with over a bottle of wine. Every day you reach a different town you’ve never been to before, and yet you still see people you know sitting outside of the cafes. Living out of your backpack for 5 weeks humbles you and makes you appreciative of everything you have back home. When you finally do reach home, after what feels like a lifetime of suffering, you feel lost in this new world of convenience that used to be what you dreamed of.
The first days of being home, your legs crave to walk and it’s almost painful to relax. Blisters still throbbing, your feet are aching to put on your boots and carry the backpack you worked so hard to perfect. Weeks after “adjusting” to normal life you still feel a pull back to waking up before the sun and walking as far as you can. You still wonder why you did it and why despite all the pain you went through, you think about doing it again every day. People walk the Camino to find something they’ve been missing from their lives. There’s something about walking “the way” that changes a person. Many do it for religious purposes, some to grieve after losing a loved one, and others just to check off their bucket list. Whatever the reason to walk “the way”, no one gets to Santiago with the answer they came so far and worked so hard searching for.
Blog By Jessica Jacobs
Image courtesy of David Rodriguez Martin – Flickr License