It’s that time of year again! As I write this (15th April 2014) it is exactly one year to the day since I set off with my daughter, full of trepidation, to walk the camino de Santiago, ‘Frances’ route from the French side of the Pyrenees, westward across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela and further to Finisterre, a total of just under 1,000 km.
And in two weeks’ time (1 May) I shall be setting off again, this time walking the camino Portuguese, starting in Lisbon and heading north through Porto, across the spanish border and once again to Santiago de Compostela. Not such a long route at just 615 km, but my big challenge this year is that I shall walk alone. Few people start this route in Lisbon, most preferring the shorter stretch from Porto, so the first couple of weeks might be a bit lonely.
The preparations for my first and second caminos have varied greatly, rather like the experience of childbirth, first and second time around. The first time I read every resource available, I worried about how I would cope with disturbed nights (sleeping in mixed dormitories in close proximity to snoring strangers). There were many descriptions of how painful it can be, walking day after day, week after week, but nothing can prepare you for the real thing. Life takes on a whole new routine – doing the same few things every day and listening to your body and mind as never before.
And along with all the discomfort and disruption, comes a whole new exciting and fulfilling world, a whole new circle of friends, priorities change, things that seemed so important a few weeks earlier drift off into insignificance. You have endless patience for mundane tasks. You are delighted by tiny changes in a strengthening body. Small setbacks are followed by huge leaps forward. And the sense of joy and achievement in something only you are responsible for is immense.
But as with childbirth, immediately you have given birth and the pain and effort is still fresh in your mind, you are likely to think that this is not an experience you want to repeat. And miraculously, after only a day or two this wonderful thing that you have achieved eclipses any negative thoughts. And so, within days of reaching Santiago and exclaiming that you would never walk another camino, there creeps into your psyche, totally unbidden, this undeniable urge to stay in contact with the camino, to maintain new friendships with other pilgrims, and you very soon realise that there is nothing you want more than to walk that path again, be it the same one or a different route. And before you have even embarked upon your second camino, you are already thinking about which route to walk on your third!
The second time around, as with my second child, I am rather laid-back! I know I can walk day after day! I know it will be hard for the first week or ten days! I am not stressing about what I should or shouldn’t take! I know I can carry everything I need on my back. I’ve done it before – thousands of people do it every year, I know my strengths and weaknesses – because I have already tested myself. Unfortunately my daughter is not able to join me on my forthcoming camino Portuguese, but who knows – maybe next year, on the Via de la Plata…….
You can follow my adventures live from the camino Portuguese via my blog http://www.magwood.wordpress.com. Share my pain and achievements and give me some welcome encouragement by commenting on my posts. The blog started as a way of keeping in touch with my family and friends and has now received over 40,000 hits. Oh, and look out for my partner David, who will be collecting sponsorship on my behalf in aid of Cudeca and Action for Animals (last year we were able to hand over 820 euros to Cudeca and about £250 to Macmillan Nurses).
