I’m rushing this out a bit, as im starting to walk the Ridgeway today, and don’t want my blogs to overlap. I may not blog in real time as its not a solo walk, and I won’t want to appear anti-social. PS – I’ve added a link to subscribe on the About page, which seemed to have got lost over time.  Come back to this post, I have more to add.

Walking the (my) “Camino” from my front door to Santiago de Compostela is probably the best journey I have ever done as it had so many satisfying elements.

Facts and figures. I walked over 780km, (485 miles) between accommodation, over 27 days and as you can see I wore out my boots! On two days I didn’t add any distance but it would be wrong to call them rest days as they were enforced pauses. The first was the day spent on the ferry, and the second was waiting over a Saturday night in the Picos de Europa so I could walk a long day to confirmed accommodation on the far side of the mountains. Overall, I averaged 31 km (20 miles) per day, with a total height ascended of 14,900m. The biggest day of climbing was 1,452m ascended on Day 12 from Potes to Fuenta De. Looking at my Strava, this is the most climbing during a walk I’ve ever done, and my third overall (behind two cycling days, one on the South Downs Way over 80km with 1,838m climb, and the other in mid Wales over 90km with 1,616m climbing). No wonder I was tired when I got to Fuenta De and was enticed by a fancy hotel. Distance wise, I walked nearly 48km on Day 16 when I got from Cistierna to Mansilla de las Mulas in one day. This is the second furthest I have walked in a day. I did walk over 50km when doing the Greenwich Meridian Trail, but it really is too far for one day, especially if you intend walking more days after. I think the mid 30kms is a good maximum to aim for as a full days walk. On the Camino, I did three days over 40km and you really feel it the next day.

Looking at accommodation. I was surprised to find that I spent half the nights either in a Albergue or camping. These were the least cost options, with camping being less than €10, and an Albergue (bunk bed dormitories) between €10 and €20. I did find I needed to either camp, or find more expensive options after a couple of nights in an Albergue. This was either to try to get a better nights sleep (I slept best in my “tent”) or to get washing done, as some of the private Albergues didn’t have suitable washing facilities (in reality it was the drying which was the problem). The situation was worse in Pensions (private room with shared facilities) where it was difficult to dry anything. It is one of the real benefits of camping where all the sites (except one, which barely had a toilet!) had a laundry with washers/driers. It was especially nice after a few days of rain, when everything was damp, to launder almost everything I had. It is such a nice feeling. Sitting in a launderette became one of my favourite things. I only spent three nights in a Pensions, a private room with shared bathroom, and they cost between €27 and €48. I booked them on Booking.com, and while there is plenty of choice for future dates, I was generally looking later on the day I wanted to stay and the choice was limited. I did spend the majority of nights in hotels, with nine of the travelling days. The cost varied between €49 and €100. It must be said that I could have found less expensive hotels in many cases, but opted for convenience, or luxury on some occasions. After all this was supposed to be a holiday. Overall I averaged €37 a night on accommodation, which is pretty good. I think it justified carrying my camping gear as my tolerance for Albergues would have pushed up the cost considerably without having the camping option.

The last days in Santiago de Compostela. After the walk I had almost two days in Santiago. I’d treated myself to a good value business type hotel with full breakfast buffet. It was really nice to have a long leisurely breakfast without the thought of having to walk miles afterwards. I had arrived on a Saturday, which was a bit of a wet miserable day, although it did brighten up later, so I hadn’t spent much time in the main square watching people arrive. On the Sunday I walked up to the main square, with a view to hanging around and going to the Pilgrim Mass at noon in the cathedral. There was loads going on. I was walking towards the square at the same pace as a woman, who was wearing hi-viz jacket, carrying two torches and had muddy trainers on. I wondered what she might be doing, and as we turned into the square a big cheer went up, and it wasn’t for me! I never found out what it was, but it must have been some overnight Camino event.

It was nice and sunny, and the square was busy. I recognised a few faces and wandered around the outside of the cathedral. I came across a massive queue to get it. I’d heard that to get a seat at the 12:00 Mass, you needed to be sat by 11:30, but this was only 10:00! Not wanting to miss out I joined the queue which was stationary (and growing) at first, but then moved quickly. So I found myself in the Cathedral with over an hour and a half before the service started. It was  really nice just sitting there, after days of walking just sitting and jotting down a few thoughts was so nice. I chatted to a few people, both new and some from the Camino. An Irish lady sat next to me and instantly went into (what looked like to me) a yoga savasana. It seemed like a good idea. Later we chatted. She was learning Irish, and how great the language was. The word for Freckles is ‘Pógíní Gréine’ and translates as ‘little kisses of the sun. As I say, it was just nice sitting and chatting.

On the subject of languages, the mass was (unsurprisingly) in Spanish, but there was a good introduction in English. At the beginning, there seemed to be a summary of all the Pilgrims that had finished (yesterday?), with nationalities, which camino and starting points. I didn’t specifically hear mine, but I’m sure I was mentioned! I haven’t been to a Catholic mass for 30-35 years, but it seems not much has changed, and its in the same order (as much as I could tell). I’d forgotten about the bit when you shook everyone’s hands. Being amongst fellow pilgrims, this was really nice and done with gusto. The Bishop (?) [he wore a mitre, with a red skull cap underneath] promisingly started a sermon with some English, and then went on for ages in Spanish. I began to feel the hours on the hard pews at this point.

The rest of the day was spent chilling out, shopping and drinking beer. I met the Australian who I’d walked down from Cruz de Ferro, who was relaxing in the square, pulling beers from his rucsac. He had the same problem that I had, following the signs over the last kilometres and overshot the square to a city gate on the other side. The German guy who also walked down joined us. He had jumped the last 100km by taking a train from Ponferrada to Santiago, and walking to the coast at Finnistere and Muxia. It sounded good and helped my thinking about plans for next time. Walk from Ponferrada on the Camino de Invierno to Santiago and then onto the coast. Should be a nice 2-3 week walk.

Reflection, what did I get out of walking the Camino. This is where is gets a bit harder and gets beyond my very factual writing methods. My current style is based on a grade “E” in English Language O level (I got a “U” in literature!) and over 30 years of writing reports on flooding from sewer systems. So it’s not really my fault! That said, I’ve had really nice comments back. Including one from my Dad, who is really well read, he said “I really enjoyed your literacy style”. He went on about how it had improved but we won’t dwell on that! So I’ll  give it a go, but can’t help feeling that if you buy me a pint in the pub, you’ll get a better idea*. I think the long silences in a conversation will impart more insight than the written word!! * this is a hint!!

My overall feeling after walking for a month was an overall feeling of peace and contentment. You are in a bubble, either just on your own, with your own thoughts or walking, and spending time with others on the same wavelength. Everyone is very open and it’s easy to find people that you can relate to, almost regardless of language. It’s been over a month since I’ve been back and the feeling is still lasting. Obviously the real world isn’t so idealic, but I’m making more effort into seeking those types of people and situations. I’m definitely more relaxed, which I’m sure many people Would say is too relaxed, but I have seen the light!

One of the strangest, and upon reflection, most interesting was on the walk out of León where I lost my memory. Reading up and asking around, I think I must have got into an extended Flow State. My mind was completely blank (or blanker than usual) and it was a really good place. I do practice yoga, and it is what we are trying to achieve, but I’ve never experienced it before. Then on the next day, when my mind thought we were on the moon (I knew we weren’t), it clearly had a lasting effect.

I came back healthier. I lost 6kg and was sleeping much better than I have in years. Just being outside and doing modest exercise (just walking) all day everyday is so nice. I felt so grateful to be able to do it, and meet others, all moving a different speeds (and styles), but everyone doing the same underlying activity for so many different reasons. It is like a massive park run, but with no first place, and no last place. Just a continuous stream of pilgrims, going back before anyone can remember and carrying on for longer than you can conceive of.

Final word… just do it :)