Conclusion

Until last year I knew nothing of the Camino de Santiago.  I can't imagine how that was the case.  It's popularity in recent years has swelled with films like the 2010 feature "The Way", directed by Emelio Estevez.  I get a sense of pop culture hearing about actors like Andrew McCarthy and Shirley McClaine who have written books chronicling their Camino experience.  Documentaries, screenplays, short stories, guides and a plethora of blogs cover the subject.  There are "Pilgrim's Stories" and the "Camino Diaries" and books with captivating titles like Jane Christmas', "What the Psychic  told the Pilgrim: A Midlife Misadventure on Spain's Camino de Santiago" and Tim Moore's, "Travels with My Donkey: One man and His Ass on a Pilgrimage to Santiago. There's so much said about the Camino. 

Olivier Schroer, a musician, who in 2004 spent two months walking the Camino and playing his violin along the way said, "There are so many Camino stories out there, thousands of them..... a thousand years of them, in fact."  In his blog he tells a story of an  Irishman he met named John.  "John was quite a jolly chap, and I could often see him hanging out and hoisting a pint with some of the other Camino travelers. We said hello off and on, but I never heard John’s story. Yesterday, I saw John again. I asked him if he would do an interview with me, and he became thoughtful, and declined the interview, but asked if I had heard his story. No, I answered.  He then told me that his sister Myra had walked the Camino twice, and that he was walking for her. She had liked it so much the first time, that she decided to do it again (many do) and so last year, she walked from St. Jean Pied de Port. She finished her Camino, went to pilgrims’ mass, spent a pleasant evening, lay down to sleep and never woke up.  A tumor she never knew she had exploded that night, ending her life. So John was walking, day for day, stage for stage, a year later..... he had his sister’s diary, and so he knew where she had been on every day. He stayed in the same refugios and would read her entries into the guest books. Now he had completed his/his sister’s trip, arriving on June 23rd, just as his sister had."  "Life really is so mysterious, and the layers peel back in such unexpected ways," said Schroer, who's Camino lore ended when he lost his battle with leukemia in 2008 at the age of 52. 

I must admit that my Camino was quite ordinary. I had no revelations and no epiphany on my walk.  But that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable, meaningful and inspirational.  The Camino is a parable of life and I consider it one of my important life experiences.  I can attest, having spent a mere six days on the trail to the powerful spirit of the Camino. People are drawn to it and disarmed.  In a sense, those who follow the yellow arrows are stripped naked and exposed, free of most of life's baggage. In our fast paced world, loaded with material things and technological wonders, I think the Camino is just as relevant as it was when pagans followed the route to the edge of the world over a thousand years ago.

I departed Galicia, Spain with much more than I came with.  I arrived home with my scalloped sea shell, a couple of stones I picked from the trail and most importantly a genuine feeling of enrichment.  It felt good, off the grid, unplugged and away from the noise of modern life.  And the Camino renewed my faith in the goodness of humanity as it provided an environment filled with kindness, caring and compassion that brings out the best in people.  I was told that the Camino will change you, but you won't know how until you resume your normal life routine.  I will find out.  I also read that the true Camino begins at it's end.  So, I will continue..... ALONG THE WAY.  Buen Camino.

 

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.       May the wind always be at your back.       May the sun shine warm upon your face,       and rains fall soft upon your cheeks.       And until we meet again,       May God hold you in the palm of His hand

                    Thanks for reading En El Camino.