SOME TEACHINGS.

 In Blog

IN HIS OWN WORDS.

The Camino de Santiago «teaches how happiness can be achieved through simple things’». Two months ago, a 25-year-old  man (Andrea Attard) returned from a 32-day hike along one of the most famous and known pilgrimage routes in Europe: The Camino de Santiago. The most popular Camino pilgrimage route is the Camino Frances, which starts at St Jean Pied de Port in France. The journey had its ups and downs, but Andrea’s experience shows that the Camino de Santiago can change your life in ways you would not expect.

This is just one of the thousands of testimonials that prove how The Camino can change one’s life…

Why did you choose to travel the Camino de Santiago?

I wanted to do something different. Usually when I plan a holiday, I want everything to be totally organised. This time I wanted to do something completely out of my comfort zone. I mean I work at a bank so I’m used to a simple routine.

I wanted to go on a hike or a backpacking trip, so I started researching backpacking trips and the Camino de Santiago was one of the top trips in Europe so I began doing some research about it. I came across a book entitled The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho and there was also a film called The Way. It was this film that inspired me: I knew that I had to make this journey, it was a done deal. So I started planning to book my leave to get the most out of it and that’s how it all started.

I needed about 42 days leave, which was hard to get. I booked a one-way flight to Toulouse and then travelled by train to San Jean Pied de Port, which is the longest route to Santiago de Compostela – if you’re going to do something, do it properly!

What sort of journey was it – a spiritual one, a religious one…?

I would say it was more a spiritual journey – and you do meet a lot nuns and priests – so you feel surrounded by religion – but the people I met and the friends I made tended to be on more of a spiritual journey than a religious one.

How long did the journey take you and can you describe a typical day?

In total, it took me 32 days, walking around 25 kilometres a day; the most I did in a day was 42 kilometres. I actually started the journey on my birthday.

You start walking at about six in the morning and you arrive at your destination at around three or four in the afternoon. The walking gives you so much time to reflect and you start becoming more connected to nature.

You say you became connected to nature, what experiences did you have with your surroundings?

On my first day, I was walking up the Pyrenees and, compared to Malta which is flat, it’s wonderful. The wildlife, for example, is incredible. The birds you see in Malta are no larger than pigeons and on my first day of walking I saw these humongous birds, vultures – I’ve never seen birds so large. And suddenly from just one bird, I was seeing four or five all catching up with each other and you realise something’s wrong, something’s going on. Five minutes later there was a huge thunderstorm. This kept happening, so I knew every time a big thunderstorm was approaching. So you start being connected to nature, which is so different to how we are today – constantly on our phones or social media.

What type of environment and terrain did you encounter?

I had all the elements: thunderstorms, clouds, rain, sun, heat. Over the month it wasn’t just the weather that changed but also the terrain, which went from flat to rocky to mountainous then gravel and streets – you had everything.

Did you make the journey alone?

Yes, I did the walk solo. It was scary, crossing Spain alone, and yet it gives you the opportunity to meet and speak to new people from all sorts of backgrounds. And, being alone, I wanted to talk to people.

Who did you meet on the way?

The number of stories I heard and people I met was phenomenal. For example, there was an old German couple who had been married for 30 years and the reason they had actually come on the Camino was because they were intending to file for a divorce and the Camino was the last thing they wanted to do before they actually separated – so they could see if there was still something there. It was emotional for the gentleman to speak about it, he was very open. I don’t know what happened in the end, and I never will.

It was just interesting to hear why people were doing this walk. While some were doing it for self-improvement or sport, there were others who had more important reasons.

On the Camino, people are people – you don’t look at status. Everyone is dressed the same, looks the same. All we were doing was walking – you can’t differentiate between one person and another. And it’s so much easier, because you’re not divided by class or social standing and connecting with people is so much easier.

What was your favourite of all the places you went to?

La Faba, which was a tiny, tiny place with only 35 inhabitants. You find it after a mountain covered in trees and when you reach the top you finally see the trail you have just walked. We spent the rest of the day there with a bottle of wine, friends and music – just relaxing. It really was beautiful and peaceful.

Did you feel like a pilgrim on the journey?

Yes, I did. You wake up in the morning, get dressed, you walk and once you arrive at your destination you have a shower, wash and dry your clothes, have something to eat and prepare your things for the next morning. It becomes such a routine, and while I thought I was getting out of a routine, I was actually in a different routine which is part of the pilgrimage, because I wasn’t wearing any fancy clothes, I ate what I found around me and with people who were new to me.

My blisters constantly reminded me that it was a pilgrimage. My feet were covered in blisters and most of the discussions I had were along the lines of ‘how did you manage to heal that blister?’ and you’re looking at each other’s blisters and sprained ankles and strained knees. Strangely, at times the pain felt good and you knew you’re working hard. Your body starts adjusting to it and sometimes one pain covers up another one. I had unfortunately committed the rookie error of not breaking in my brand new shoes properly. It wasn’t even the blisters that were the problem; I badly hurt my ankle and couldn’t walk. This was on the seventh day and I was going to give up and call it quits. Then suddenly an old injury in my knee, which I had got four years ago playing football, came up again. The pain in my knee was so excruciating that I wasn’t even feeling my ankle anymore, so I kept on walking.

What was the hardest part of the walk?

The desert – that was definitely the hardest part of all. You’re walking kilometre after kilometre, there isn’t much water, there are no trees, no animals – nothing, just you and your shadow. At one point I completely ran out of water, I became dangerously dehydrated and eventually I came upon a stream. I didn’t know if it was clean water or not but I drank it because I didn’t have a choice.

What did the Camino teach you?

The Camino gives you a chance to step back from reality and see how simple life can be. As humans, we can survive on very little and if the Camino taught me anything, it taught me that real happiness can be found in the simplest of things, and not in expensive or luxurious things. They can give you satisfaction but the Camino gave me happiness – plain and simple.

I can’t say I was expecting anything because I went with no expectations. I didn’t have a place to sleep or stay, just a one-way flight so I had zero expectations. I wasn’t expecting it to be the most amazing experience of my life – or the hardest – and yet it managed to be both.

What I learnt from the Camino is still ongoing. While you learn a lot on this journey, the learning truly starts when it finishes. It represents life and I was told this by a lady I met on the Camino who explained how the whole journey represents life. When you start, you start in France in the Pyrenees, and at this point you’re new, just like when you are born and just a child, you’re exploring this new area; you’re falling over and seeing everything around you in awe and it’s as if you’re seeing it for the first time. Then you move on to your youth, when you start making friends and connections.

Eventually you reach the Massetta, the desert, and it’s simply a depressing time – three or four days of seeing the same thing. Here you’re at your midlife crisis stage. You start thinking about your life – whether you’ve made the right choices life and if you’ve achieved what you wanted to achieve. You wish you were anywhere but here. After you get over the misery, you start seeing some positivity as you reach the greenery and when you finally reach your destination at Santiago de Compostela you reflect on the people you’ve met and the beautiful experiences you’ve had. It just like life, you look back at what you’ve learnt.

I loved waking up in the morning and not knowing what was going to happen: every day was a rush of excitement and a challenge. It also taught me that everything is in your head – I had to talk to myself and tell myself to get up and keep going.

When I reflect upon it, it really was a love-love relationship. I feel that I’ve changed and grown inside because I see things differently but it’s an ongoing process and I’m still learning from the experience.

I can honestly say I would do the Camino again.

Would you do it too?


By The Independent.com
Image: The Independent.com

 

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