I remember my first week early April 2018, after wanting to do this walk for 20 years, I thought to myself, "okay, I got this, I don't need to walk to whole way to Santiago, let alone Fisterra; although I have always loved walking, it's sometimes painful (physically and psychologically)." But I continued to walk.
I remember meeting pilgrims along the way who were saying that they had completed the Camino 3, 4, ...7 times and wondered what was wrong with these people, there are so many other places to visit in the world! I thought it must be like having babies, you forget the pain of labour after 18 months-two years and want another one.
My husband and I completed the walk from SJPP to Fisterra 34 days later, in May 2018 and we both have missed it since. Maybe I have missed it more. I think, once I let go of all my anxious thoughts about my pain, the weight in my backpack the first week (overpacked at the very last minute), the next hill going up or down; can I really complete this Camino? etc. Once, I let go of those thoughts (and they continued to pop in every now and again) I was more in the present moment (which I thought I was doing in the first week).
Today, I am so grateful for being able to complete the
Camino Frances with all its challenge. I'm grateful for having the choice of taking the time to walk it. It gave me a chance to get to know myself better, to improve the relationship with my husband of 36 years. In the end, the whole experience of walking the
Camino de Santiago enriched our lives with the all the people we met along the way, the communal dinners we participated in (I highly encourage people to do this), the wonderful memories of the Spanish people's hospitality and the sceneries. I'm now planning the next one!