Gailsie
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Frances Fall '09 ;
I can't believe it has been 10 years since I put my first food forward in Roncesvalles on the Camino Frances. I had just turned 60, retired from a desk job, with very little hiking experience and set off on the most profound journey of my life. I wondered many times in the first few days if I could complete the journey and why I had done this to myself. But I needed to get my self-esteem back and deal with one of my younger sister's death from breast cancer. So onward I trudged, some days not walking very far and often needing a hotel at the end of the day because I needed the peace and quiet. I took the bus a couple of times and the train once when needed but I felt like I had conquered the world when I got to Santiago. The camino has given me a new lease on life and made a huge impact on me personally. Many thanks to those who post on this forum, I read it before leaving and thankfully took many hints from what pilgrims had written. I still read the forum everyday to remind myself of the journey and I love to see photos of places that I have been.