Sunrise on the camino

I didn't expect the camino to be easy. I just didn't think it would be this hard. [Fair warning: possible complaining ahead]. I tried to come with no expectations, but expectations are inevitable. And so I think I expected the first week or so to be hard, but then blisters would heal and my body would get with the program. Unfortunately that hasn't been the case. With boots that are too small (since feet flatten, swell, and double pairs of socks are worn), blisters have come, and come, and come. Some days my feet hurt so bad that I felt nauseous. I started to doubt that I would walk normal again. But as they say, the camino provides. Linda, one of my camino family, had a pair of hiking sandals that she was looking to get rid of. My feet are much happier and healing and recovering much faster after so much walking. I am starting to walk normal again :-)

Commiserating with weary pilgrims

But if it is not one thing, it is another. A nasty cold has set in. Pair it with rain and wicked winds and you have created the perfect conditions for miserable walking.

My walks are often haunted by my worries as well. I worry that I won't be able to finish the camino before my flight leaves and it will feel horrible to leave yet another thing unfinished.

Being a nomad like this also feels a bit like insanity. The same routine everyday.

I had idealistic notions of a life of simplicity, happily traipsing the land of Spain in deep introspective thought and getting clarity and epiphany after epiphany. The camino gives much, but not without working for it.

Halfway to Santiago!

It is hard, but wonderful. I may not finish the camino having the details of my life figured out, but I come home with many lessons. And clarity is coming. Walking, walking, walking, I am able to work through some big and important things. I feel like I will come home a more whole and authentic Jamie. And despite the hard things, life is pretty grand. Walking, I feel alive, and after walking, there are few chores to do before spending the rest of the evening socializing, catching up with "old friends" (people we have met along the way), drinking $2 wine that is better than any bottle I have tasted at home and eating delicious food (that will be walked off the next day). There are beautiful moments, beautiful souls, and beautiful images that I  am storing up to pull from for a lifetime. Fiery sunrises, a gentle squeeze of the foot for an alarm, a pink wig that causes much belly laughter, singing nuns, fresh tortilla, the relief of crashing on a bed off your feet after 27km of walking. The gratitude you get from clean laundry, a free electrical outlet, and a night without a storm of snoring.