My friend Tim Latter says walking the Camino makes you a better person. He might be right.
Certainly it teaches perseverance. (You could also call this stubbornness.) But, at the risk of sounding like Pollyanna or Brené Brown, it also encourages empathy and curiosity.
Meals on the Camino are a veritable mini-United Nations. At last count, I’ve met pilgrims from 19 different countries. After the obligatory “Where are you from?” and “Is this your first Camino?”, the question of why we are doing this walk comes up. And that’s when it gets interesting.
Renee, from the Netherlands who dreams of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, told me she wanted to test her stamina.
Barb from South Africa, who has raised a family and cared for aging parents, to take time solely for herself.
Steve from England, to take a breather from the pressures of his job as a doctor with the National Health Service.
Carrie-Ann from New Hampshire, who makes her living writing about cruise ship travel, to see if she is up to the challenge. (Imagine switching from cruise ship cabins to Camino dorms!)
Pauline from Calgary who saw meaning in every act of serendipity and kindness on the trail, for her soul.
Stella from Germany, to clear her mind before resuming her studies in psychology.
Ann, a kayaker and mountaineer from California, who sees the Camino as ‘backpacking light’, to get a jump on the summer hiking season.
Alec and Lada from the Czech Republic, for the adventure.
Finlay and Rob from Scotland, for the beer.
Maria, a nun from Italy wearing a long white habit, for God. (I was dying to ask how she kept that habit clean — it was spotless.)
Brigitte from Ireland, who told she just needed to go for a really long walk.
This guy—definitely for the treats!
And me? That’s a good question. Somehow, getting up each morning and walking just feels right. (This feeling does tend to fade a little by mid-afternoon….)
A couple of nights ago, over several bottles of wine, a group of us decided the solution to peace on earth was easy — put world leaders on a Camino together.
Just two days and 53 kilometres to go. And one more blog post — I promise the next one will be about the where and not the why!
