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My first Camino: reflecting on my journey so far.
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[QUOTE="LuisaR, post: 1056698, member: 103223"] I am currently in Villar de Mazarife. An emotional, enjoyable and easy walk from León. [B]Day 8: Cirauque to Estella 14.16km[/B] I felt confident about leaving on my own today, but only because I knew that the masses would be walking through from Puente La Reina which was only a couple of towns behind me. It wasn’t necessary to leave super early as I was only walking a short distance, and I timed it perfectly to find the pilgrims from Puente La Reina were walking through Cirauqui as I left - I felt safe in the knowledge that there were people around. I’m implying that there are crowds of people on the Camino but I’m exaggerating as it’s really not been that busy. I find that the majority of people do stop at the main stages recommended in their guidebooks, but even these stops don’t seem overrun with pilgrims. Having been the only solo traveller in Cirauqui, I was having doubts about not staying at these main stops. I was finding it difficult to meet other solo pilgrims; in my previous two stops, Cirauqui and Uterga, it seemed to be mostly couples, long-established friendship groups or families. I started to think that maybe I should be staying in the municipal hostels in the main stopping points with the hope that I’d meet more people. I don’t remember a great deal about this walk: I definitely walked by myself, and although the temperatures were still in the late 30’s, there was a cool breeze which made it all very bearable and the walk far more enjoyable! I stopped for a drink in Lorca, and I was amazed to see the blind Italian couple and their guide turning up! It felt like it had been so long since I had met them in Cizur Menor, but as I had only chatted to them briefly then, I felt too shy to go over and say hello. Throughout the day feelings of loneliness were lurking - whilst having a drink, I sat next to a table with two girls chatting happily away, and I felt like I was missing connection. I carried on to Estella, and at some point I passed the Italian couple and I did say to the man that it was nice to see him again, and he sounded really pleased that I’d said hi. I enjoyed Estella very much - it’s a lively and bustling town. I checked in to my hostel and met an Australian lady who was of a similar age to me. Like me, she was travelling solo. She said that she normally stayed in the municipal hostels but had gotten such little sleep the night before because of a prolific snorer, she thought she’d try a private hostel to see if it was any better! She told me that she was feeling anxious to be separated from her Camino ‘family’ - the pilgrims she had met at her hostel in St Jean and had walked with since. She was feeling conflicted: although she liked having a great group to walk with, she said they were all very much younger than her and she didn’t have very much in common with them. It was interesting to have this conversation when I was feeling a little lonely: I have always felt happier on my own rather than spending time with people whose company I don’t really enjoy, and I had this feeling more so on the Camino. I knew I was very fortunate to have this time to walk, and I didn’t want to compromise it my hanging out with people who I didn’t connect with. The hostel didn’t have any hand-washing facilities but did offer a washing service so I shared the cost with the Australian lady. Annoyingly, I forgot to put my socks in, so I gave them a quick rinse in the bathroom and then carried them around the town wearing them like gloves so they would dry! I spent the afternoon and evening exploring, and enjoyed watching the medieval festival that was taking place. Again, the feelings of loneliness kept coming back - I think it was the thought of everyone being in their pilgrim families and I was stuck out on the peripheries. I went back to the hostel and sat in the foyer and was feeling a bit sorry for myself, but after a while something amazing happened: a few people came and sat in the foyer, we chatted, and I really enjoyed their company. We were talking about the wine fountain which we’d walk to the next day, and an English woman walked past and said she’d already been up there that evening but the fountain was empty. I talked to this lady, Jo, a bit more in our room, and along with the Australian lady who I met earlier, we all decided to get up at 5.30am and walk out together, as none of us wanted to walk alone in the dark. Having felt quite perturbed by my loneliness, I was suddenly surrounded by lovely people who were in a similar situation to me and seemed to have the same anxieties as me. I went to bed feeling so much better: the Camino was working its magic! [/QUOTE]
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