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| At the iconic Alto de Perdon, made famous in "The Way" movie |
“How was it?” you might ask.
Just like our coming home from the Peace Corps in 1980, we’re at a loss for
choice words or a brief sentence to describe our experience to someone who hasn’t
done it. But so far, our three best words
are special, unique, and satisfying. If you
happened to catch some or all of our posts on Facebook or Tumblr, you can
probably see how these words fit. It was
a special time and experience for
us. The Camino, with its 1200-year old
history and infrastructure, is unique
in the world and unique from all of our other travels. And we both found it immensely satisfying in so many ways.
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| Our shadows pointed the way to Santiago each morning |
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| So did these! |
Throughout the walk we were constantly filled with thoughts of gratitude about everything, including that we were able to do this. We thought about so many people we've known in our lives. We were in awe of the early pilgrims and developed a deep sense of Western human history. We enjoyed the social aspects of it, the beauty, the
culture, and above all, the simplicity. And
the food was great, especially knowing that everything we ate would be quickly
burned off.
In retrospect, it wasn’t that hard physically (except when in pain). Just one step at a time, one day at a time, walking to the metronome beat of our walking sticks. Just get up and walk—that was our day job (plus laundry, eating, drinking, and finding a place to stay).
In retrospect, it wasn’t that hard physically (except when in pain). Just one step at a time, one day at a time, walking to the metronome beat of our walking sticks. Just get up and walk—that was our day job (plus laundry, eating, drinking, and finding a place to stay).
We ran the risk of over anticipating this trip. Fortunately, it still vastly exceeded our
expectations. We were glad we made it
all the way, but we are sad, knowing it can never be replicated again—a good
metaphor for life itself. A good reason to savor every minute of the present.
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| Our pilgrim credentials--each night a new stamp; two per day on the last 60 miles. |
I’ll have a link to a consolidated blog and curated photos in the near future. Please check this site in a week or so. Meanwhile, you can see our daily posts and photos on my Facebook page or on Tumblr at our Retirement Adventures website.
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| Before: St. Jean Pied August 29 |
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| After: Santiago de Compostela October 6 |
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| Our constant companions, who never gave us a single blister. We left them in Santiago and Seville. |
Interesting reflections. I can relate to your Peace Corps comparison. You can't tell the whole story at one sitting or in response to a single question. Maybe because it's made up a lots of little stories that seem to get told in bits and pieces over time. I admire you both for taking on the Camino. You look as good at the end as at the beginning -- maybe better!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ken. I like your concept of lots of little stories. Like parables, they would help convey the experience. Let’s get together in the next few days.
DeleteThanks for sharing. I too am wondering how to respond when asked about my time in Uganda. I very much miss my peace corps friends I made there.
ReplyDeleteLarry—Welcome back. I won’t ask you how it was, but I got a glimpse from your blog and Facebook posts. However, we’d still love to get together with you and Karen and hear little pieces of it.
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