Some Camino Reflections

 

As I’m walking through this beautiful countryside today, I’m just reflecting on whether my decision was right to make this a solo journey.  Again!

I think for me at this particular time, it was the right decision. Of course everyone walks the Camino at different stages of their life, and for many different reasons.

I’m enjoying the solitude, perhaps the rather selfish aspect of just being in the moment and not needing to worry about other people’s needs.

But there are certainly times when I would dearly love my wife Pat to be with me to share this experience.

In this beautiful countryside just to stop a under shady tree for a shared picnic, to share our thoughts as we make this journey together.

Perhaps to make the whole journey with a significant other, would create a very different Camino than the one I’m experiencing now.

But I think at some point we’ll make at least part of this journey together in the future.

 

 

Happy Birthday to Me….

 

I’m not really one to celebrate birthdays.  I gave them up when I reached 40 🙂  Some weird notion about not wanting to celebrate getting old!

 

But today I felt like celebrating in this beautiful old town of Castrojeriz.   So I did.  Twice 🙂

 

I had lunch with a delightful Irish couple (you know who you are) whom I had met a few times along the way and we polished off a bottle of red as we ate in a wonderful basement dining room of an old Inn.  I then tottered back to my Hotel to rest a bit.

And them at Dinner I decided to eat in the Hotel, which was a wise decision.  I had the company of three American Pilgrims over dinner.  And as we eased our way through yet another bottle (or two) of fantastic Red Wine, the conversations got deeper and more fascinating.

Again I met up with these lovely people a few times along the way, I think eventually parting finally Portomarin.

 

People often refer to walking the Camino as ‘Speed Dating on Steroids’.

It’s actually quite a good description I think.   Not in a dating sense, but in meeting lots of people in a short space of time and having really intense conversations with relative strangers.

Perhaps it’s because ‘pilgrims’ walking the Camino are relaxed and open to new adventures and people.  And both of these are to be found in abundance.  I suppose there is a shared experience too that brings people together.  And you also find a camaraderie, and mutual support structure develops like no other I have experienced.

I wonder what Psychiatrists and Sociologists make of the whole thing 🙂