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The Camino de Santiago is a Catholic Pilgrimage, people from all over Italy, Spain, Germany and many other predominantly Catholic countries walk it. But what is most interesting is asking them why they are there.
Along the Camino religion is a big talking point, but not in the way that you may expect. I would get into great debates with my fellow pilgrims as to why people were there, if it was religious or if it was for something deeper within them drawing them to this particular walk. During these debates we would often come to the agreement that although many of the pilgrims knew about the Camino because they came from Catholic countries, they were more often that not walking because of something else that happened in their life. They were looking for a break to re-evaluate their current situation. Some had been through break ups, some had lost a loved one, some were questioning the way in which their life was heading and some, like me, were just looking for an adventure. I think at the heart of it, all of us are just looking for something to put a smile on our faces and forget real life just for a second.
The Camino is one of the greatest adventures I have ever embarked upon. I have travelled before and I had great fun but stepping out into the great expanse that is Northern Spain's countryside for 30 days, alone, is quite a different experience. You arrive with this overwhelming feeling of fear, "Will there be a language barrier?", "Will I be completely and utterly alone for an entire month?!". But if you take a second to look around you at the faces who accompany you on the train ride over you see that each individual person has those same fears running through their heads. You feel relieved when that first brave person talks to you and asks where you are from and if you are walking to Santiago. And you feel comforted when you are offered help in finding out where to stay or where to get your credentials from.
Those first days are the ones that form your initial feelings towards the Camino, the happy faces and friendly "Buen Camino"s start you off with a positive outlook on the month to come. You think to yourself "It doesn't matter how hard it is, because I'm not alone!". And there is nothing more true than that. Those friends that I made in teh first couple of days will always be held close to my heart, they were the people that made me feel safe, comfortable and confident in my decision to walk 800km.
Over the next couple of months I will be uploading a post explaining specific things about the Camino experience every Monday to accompany each episode. Every Wednesday and Friday I will be uploading the Diary entries I made from that weeks episode so that you get a full understanding as to how emotionally and physically it effects you along the way. Thank you for reading and please don't forget to share this with your friends and family.
Here are a few photos from the day that I arrived in Saint Jean Pied-de-Port
Buen Camino xx
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