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| Our first sign marker, pointing the direction to Santiago. |
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| Taking a rest on the trail. A typical day on El Camino. |
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| The family together, enjoying a cool drink and snack at a Camino town along the way. |
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| Another one of the few pictures with all of the family. In the early days at Estella, after sending extra supplies home. Lighter packs relates to happy pilgrims. |
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| One of the many memorable people we met on our journey. It was almost a daily occurrence to learn someone's life story. |
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| Another of the many churches that we stopped at to admire. |
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| Typical albergue room, this one with 18 bunks in a small space. |
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| Our only rain of the trip. Gisela showing off her new poncho. |
Now that we are back home, I've had some time to reflect on our pilgrimage. I've shared the detailed stories with a few friends and summarized versions of a typical day to many. The most common question I'm asked is what was the highlight of the trip. It's difficult question to answer since it was more the entire journey, than one special place. Arriving at Santiago wasn't the highlight as we were faced with crowds and the ending of our pilgrimage. In general, it was spending time together as a family for a few weeks.
An unexpected highlight was the inspiration that we gave to the many pilgrims that we met. Countless times, people would come up to me and say how great it was that we were doing the pilgrimage as a family and they would consider doing it with their children. One fellow pilgrim that we saw for a few days but only had a few brief conversations told me how he had talked with his adopted son and told him about us and how he wanted to walk with him the following year. The son was excited beyond words. I hadn't imagined that we were making such an impact on the other pilgrims that we barely even talked with.
Another reflection was that I felt so old being around a population of 20 - 30 year olds. The vast majority of the pilgrims, with the exception of the end, were people in their twenties, followed by 30's. The response to this observation is that I should feel young to be able to make this journey with so many young people. I do feel young, but it's still a fact I'm in my mid-forties walking with a bunch of kids who were born in the 90's, not hard at work during that decade.
Many people are drawn back to El Camino year after year, but for us, I think that we are looking for the same type of adventure, but in a different country. Each walk will be different as you will always meet new people and encounter different obstacles and have a different frame of mind. I think that some day I will go back, but for now, I'm searching for another great adventure.
As I've written before, the hyper-maturation of my daughters was incredible. They were forced into a situation of having to be self sufficient and pitch in to help their parents. In stead of sitting back waiting for Gisela and I to help them, they took the lead in terms of setting the wake up time, helping Gisela pack, helping with cooking and cleaning. Everyone was tired at the end of the walk for the day, but there was still plenty of work to do.
A common revelation for almost all walkers is how much extra stuff we carry through life and how it is actually more of a burden than a blessing. We can all simplify our lives and live with less clothes, smaller houses, fewer toys, and spend more time with other people and discover more. The pace of walking allows us to talk with others, spend time to notice small details. You spot a single flower along the trail, but in a car, unless the roadside is covered with wildflowers, you aren't going to pick up on the small beauty of a single flower. Slow down and carry less.
Although the Camino is a pilgrimage, I found it difficult to make it to a daily mass. We are now more in the habit of praying before meals as Gisela was great about reminding us to always be thankful for our food, having the health, ability and opportunity to be on the walk. Many times on the walk, I would remember the long line of invalids at Lourdes praying for a miracle from the healing waters and would thank God for allowing us to be on this walk. Going to Lourdes prior to the walk was an enlightening way to start off.
Adding it all up, we walked about 170 miles over 17 days, right on 10 miles per day, although we were happiest walking 12 miles (20km). At that distance, we were tired enough, but not completely spent. By going a full 15 miles (25km), that we did a few times, it caused us to eat lunch on the road and through us off of our schedule. The additional 3 miles had a negative impact on all of us.
As for the albergues, we enjoyed having up to 8 people in our room and less than 80 in the entire albergue. Once more than 8 people were in a room, we ended up not meeting anyone. It was the same case when the albergue was too large. It seemed that everyone would revert to small groups that they already knew. Modern facilities versus rustic was far less important to us than the size of the albergue.
No question, it was the most memorable vacation that I've ever taken, in part, because it was so different than anything else we have ever done. Now, I look forward toward doing something similar, although there is nothing else truly like El Camino. I also look forward to finding out the long term impact this has had on my kids and what there adventures will be. As a family, we have traveled extensively all over the world, so being in a foreign country was not something new for them. However, looking at a map and saying, yes I could walk there, is a now a possibility for them. For the first time, we met with young independent travelers from all around the globe.
Please send me any comments or questions. I get a lot of questions when I tell the story verbally, but few from my writing.
