El Camino

(this was first posted in LinkedIn)

About two months ago my sister told me that she would be doing the final stages of Camino de Santiago and I decided to join her. Seven days of hiking through Galicia, totaling 140 km between Triacastela and Santiago, seemed like a good idea for an active break albeit a bit daunting. Well, it turned out to be an extremely rewarding experience!

As you can imagine, walking an average of 20 km per day gives you a lot of time for thinking, that's the main point of doing el Camino after all. Sure, a lot of the thinking is about that pain developing in your knees while going uphill or downhill, about the pain in your feet (is that another blister in the making?), about the weight of your rucksack with things you don´t need, about why is it pouring with rain, or why leaving at 6:30 am to walk through a pitch black forest lighting the way with your mobile seemed such a great idea the night before (actually, it is).

More importantly, in between all these mundane thoughts you also get time to reflect on what is important for you, talk to other people from all over the world and share your experiences. Pain fades, memories remain. Beyond the physical challenges, the Camino offered me a profound sense of peace. The daily rhythm of walking, combined with the stunning natural beauty, provided a sharp contrast to everyday life.

This is a post of gratitude, first and foremost to my sister for talking me into doing this, and to all people we interacted with and made it such a remarkable experience. I will probably come back to do more stages at some point in the future. This is an experience that I can definitely and wholeheartedly recommend.