Why?
The most common question I get is “Why would you want to walk that far?” Unfortunately, it’s also the hardest to answer as it has many different levels.
My answer is simply that it is time! Many people who walk the camino enjoy the walk as a physical challenge, or as a cheap holiday. Many others, including myself, experience something very different, and find the Camino experience to be somewhat addictive. Once ‘bitten’ the Camino calls again, and this time I will answer the call. The “What is a pilgrimage” page helps to spell this out more.
This walk is definitely going to be a challenge to my physical and mental abilities, but it is more importantly a tribute to my daughter and her family, and to every other individual and family fighting leukaemia. This walk promises to be one of the most rewarding accomplishments I have yet achieved.
Physical Challenges and Rewards
Obviously long-distance walking sets a physical challenge, but I have confidence that, barring serious injury, I will be able to complete the walk. I found on my first camino that after a while my body adjusted to walking every day, to the extent that a few days out from Santiago, I wrote in my diary “Did a lazy 30 kms before lunch today”. Obviously not every day was like that, and some days I struggled to walk 20 kms.
The plus side is that I will be seeing some fabulous countryside, and meeting many different people. Walking pace is a great way to fully experience the environment. I will not have time to fully savour all the sights of the cities, towns and villages I will pass through, but I have always been someone who enjoys the beauties of nature more than man-made things.
Starting in the pre-dawn light, I really enjoyed watching each day unfold and seeing the countryside become more and more colourful as the sun rose in the sky.
Mental and Emotional Challenges and Rewards
These were by far the most difficult parts of my last pilgrimage, and I anticipate they will again pose the most problems. The challenges of communicating in foreign languages, getting lost, finding accommodation and supplies, and asking for help are all formidable obstacles for me.
Spiritual Challenges and Rewards
I found last time that I was constantly reminded of the one-ness of human-kind, both in terms of a community with others in the present moment, and with all pilgrims who have gone before me. Also I truly learned the lesson of being grateful for whatever was on offer to me, rather than wishing for something else.
Long-distance walking is similar to going on a mobile mediatation retreat – I will be far distant from the pressures and demands of modern-day life, and will have a lot of time to reflect on my life.
This quote puts it well - “You can’t see the teeth on a buzz-saw. …Too much diversion can keep us from knowing how miserable or how happy we are, what bores we are or what fun, how much we want, need or lack. Each day on the river I shed more and more of my external self until I find eventually that I’m left totally alone with the core, facing myself as angry and aggressive, often afraid, no physical superman. Just a man and nothing special. A vacation is external. A pilgrimage is internal. An adventure combines them.” – Eddy L. Harris, Mississippi Solo (1988)
The real challenge continues when I return – the walk may be over, but my personal Camino continues. Can I hold on to, and apply, the lessons learned when I get home?