Lesson Learned on the Camino de Santiago

I am a member of Toastmasters and recently gave a speech about my Camino experience. This is what I said.

As I walked 700 km across Spain and between 6 – 8 hours per day, I had a lot of time to think. I’ve been asked, “What did you learn?” My first few days home I didn’t know how to answer that question but I realize now. My #1 lesson on the Camino de Santiago – The Value of Time.

A few weeks ago we gained an hour and there probably is not a person who wasn’t happy about that. We all know that time is a commodity, a precious thing to have more of. It is so important that there are university courses offered in Time Management. We have calendars, organizers, watches, alarms and most importantly, smartphones that provide all of the above.

With all this focus on time and schedules you would think we all understand the value of time. But do we really? It’s not hard to imagine that a person, who has been given a couple of months to live, really understands the value of time. So how did walking the Camino help me to learn this?

Those who have walked before have said, “There are 3 stages of suffering to overcome while on the Camino. These stages are physical, mental, and spiritual suffering”

When I began walking from St. Jean Pied de Port on Sept 5th I was heading up the Pyrenee mountains. My body was in no way conditioned to be walking up a mountain and especially not for 25km. I was carrying 18 lbs on my back and was struggling with a pre-existing lung condition. I would see a very long steep hill ahead of me and, one step at a time, would focus on making it to the top. As I approached the top it was never the top at all; it would just be a curve and I kept going up and up and up for hours! My legs were hurting; my shoulders were aching and my heart and lungs were saying “are you trying to kill me?!” I was so consumed with my physical discomfort and effort that I was expending, that I missed most of the beauty of the Pyrenees. Every so often I would stop, sit and look about me, and it was only at those moments that I was blown away by the amazing site before me. Then I would start to walk again and focus on nothing but my own discomfort.

This period of overcoming my physical suffering lasted approximately 10 days. The second stage was one of overcoming mental suffering. The walking was almost effortless and I could no longer feel the weight on my back. The heat of the sun continued to drain my energy and threatened to burn through my skin as I walked for about 8 hours a day across the flat plains of the Meseta region. Boredom began to threaten my sanity, as I started to make rhythms with my walking poles. I began to count as my poles touched the ground. 12345678……. 12345678. Over and over again. At one point I became angry. Angry that these French people couldn’t speak English; angry when I couldn’t get wifi; angry that there was never any toilet paper or soap! There were moments when I could see the beauty and was in awe as I walked through the quaint little towns that had been there for 100s of years. But for so much of the time I was wrapped up in my annoyance and my judgments and the HEAT!

Then came the last phase of the Camino – overcoming spiritual suffering. I cannot say what day it was that I realized my mind had become empty. I simply didn’t have a thought left in it. I didn’t know what time it was, or where I’d even end up each day. Several times I didn’t even know what day it was. As I walked I began to see many beautiful things. In fact almost every little thing I saw was beautiful! I saw every wild flower along the dusty paths; I enjoyed the sheep and cows that I shared the roads with. As the days were getting shorter and I almost always started walking in the dark, I was amazed by every single sunrise.

It was during this time that I met a man who had been walking for 5 months. He was sitting at a café in a little village and had other pilgrims gathered around him. One person asked him, “What is one thing you’ve learned on your walk?” He answered, “I’ve learned the value of time. I am a rich man because I have time to be here and to be sitting in this village in Spain talking to you today. Most people will tell you that time is money but they are wrong; Time is Life.”

As I was approaching the end of my journey I thought about this. I thought about the ways I had spent time in my life, but even more so about how I had allowed my time….. or MY LIFE, to be taken over by the demands of others.

Now that I am home, my Camino continues and I have a new challenge; To live in the world with its demands and its schedules and its technology; while at the same time appreciating each minute and opening my mind and my eyes to the beauty around me. It is only when I do this that I truly understand the Value of Time.

Post Camino

I went for a walk in the rain today. After 35 rain free days in Spain it has not stopped since my return to Canada. It seems fitting somehow, so let it rain. The weather sort of fits with my mood about being back home. I love my family, my dog, my home, my life, but miss the Camino like crazy. I have Camino dreams every night where I'm just walking. I wake up and have no idea where I am and one time I thought I was in a stone room, just like the Albergue at Ribadiso. I sat up, looked around and everything in my bedroom literally looked like stone in the darkness. I've been keeping myself busy but would rather be walking and according to the local weather forecast this rain is not going to stop anytime soon. Hey now's my chance to use that expensive raincoat that I carried across Spain!

People ask me, "what did you learn on the Camino?". Walking for 33 days changed the way I viewed the world. In the beginning I was so focused on how difficult it was and my discomfort and on 'just getting there'. Unfortunately when I walked over the Pyrenees I don't feel that i really saw the beauty because I was too wrapped up in the pain. As time progressed I got into the rhythm of walking and my body became stronger. It never stopped being difficult to walk over 20 per day though. What changed the most was my outlook of the world as I walked. Spain is very, very beautiful and I saw amazing mountain views as well as quaint little medieval villages and peaceful rivers. I stopped being worried about my destination and getting somewhere in time to get a bed. I began to enjoy every moment. I'm trying to imagine how this will still be possible when I return to work in a few days and will be sitting at a desk. It will certainly be an opportunity to practice keeping myself in the present moment. (That was me being positive about returning to work).

I've already started looking at other Camino paths, then immediately told myself, "are you crazy? It's too hard". Time will tell. Right now I'm going to my daughter's school to speak to a bunch of 12 and 13 year olds about a career choice in IT. Maybe I'll tell them to get an education so they can get a great job so that they can walk across Spain one day! :)
Buen Camino

Santiago - continued

I've been having a fabulous time in Santiago. Last night Jutta and I shared an amazing seafood meal that made us both a bit queazy afterwards, but we had a lot of fun and it was delicious. Jutta is the most special person I have met on the Camino. She is from Germany, speaks English quite well and I think she is terrific!

Today started out quite amazing because I slept until 9:00 a.m.! Then I got ready to meet Jutta at the cathedral. This cathedral production is incredible and hard to fathom. We got there at 10:30 for the noon mass. There was already a mass in progress that had started at 10:00 and we walked into the church, prepared to grab the first available pew. It sounds crazy, but most people have to stand during the mass and seats are at a premium. Jutta and I got a seat very close to the front and were prepared to sit through yet another Spanish mass to see the incense chalice. I am not a religious person, but as part of the pilgrim tradition had to see this. And it happened..... a special moment.

After the mass our little Camino group met outside the cathedral for hugs and pictures and then we all went for lunch. Jutta and I decided that since we had come to the end of our high calorie lifestyle we should have one last hooray! We went to a special cafe and ordered more than the average person's intake of sweets for some sugar closure.

We then decided that we should have a picnic for supper and arranged to meet at 7:00 for a feast in the park of sausage, cheese, bread, and fruit. We ate and talked for a long time and ended up back at the cathedral where we sat and listened to a Celtic band. It has been a beautiful end to an amazing experience as I will leave Santiago tomorrow.

Santiago de Compostela

The emotional time at the cathedral square turned into overwhelming exhaustion. I needed to go to the pilgrims office to receive the Compostela so that I could then find a place to rest. It wasn't hard to find and there was hardly any wait. This document is all in Latin, including my name, Catharinan Junian McCoy. As I left the pilgrim office a women was standing in the street recruiting people to stay in a hotel nearby. It would be 30€ but at least I had my own room, even if the bathroom was down the hall. It's not so bad here really, very clean and I have a few out onto the street.

The next thing on the agenda was to go to the cathedral to touch the figure of the apostle St. James. this is all part of the pilgrim tradition and not to be missed. The cathedral is elaborate and one might say, "over the top". The pilgrims line up behind the apostle figure and then climb the marble stairs that lead behind him, where it it tradition to hug him or touch his cloak. If you look closely at the picture below you can see there is a man behind St James and touching him. I sat in the cathedral for some time after this, just soaking in the whole experience. And then it was time to go for a walk!

I'll be moving into a nicer room in this place for Saturday and Sunday. This old part of Santiago is very beautiful. I like to just sit in the little plaza by my new hotel, watch people go by and feed the pigeons. Every so often I see fellow pilgrims that I've met on the way and we have a chat about our experience. There are a lot of shops with loads of stuff to buy, but so far I've only purchased a pashmina for 5€ since it's turned quite cold!

Saturday noon:
I went to the pilgrims mass today at the cathedral. Sometimes they light a large incense chalice that you can see hanging in this picture, but today they didn't and now I will need to go back tomorrow because everyone says they will on Sunday. Church twice in one weekend? Amazing I know! I was sitting close to the incredible pipes of the organ that you see in the picture below.

Day 33 - Santa Irene to Santiago - 24 km

I knew as soon as my feet hit the floor this morning that I would be going to Santiago. They were not feeling sore anymore and I was full of excitement to reach my destination. After a great breakfast of toast with jam, Melba toast with cheese, orange juice and cafe con leche, I set out in the dark. I hadn't taken out my headlamp so it was a bit tricky going through the woods. I've tried to capture the darkness in the picture, therefore it's pretty much just a picture of nothing :) As I walked along I just about jumped out of my skin when a booming voice came at me from the right side of the path. It was a stupid motion detected billboard from an Albergue up ahead, welcoming me to the Camino. This thing is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen.

I felt so full of energy that I was walking much faster than my usual pace. I was even passing the tourist pilgrims, who now had blisters and tendinitis from going too fast. In my excitement I neglected to stop after a couple of hours and to take off my boots. After about 12 km my left calf started to cramp up so I slowed down. But the cramping only got worse the more I walked so I finally took off my boots for a rest and a stretch. By now the pain was not going away and I'd acquired a bit of a limp. It was nothing too major though and the limp made me more authentic walking into Santiago with dozens of other pilgrims who all had limps too! In this picture is Capilla San Rogue at Lavacolla, about 10 km from Santiago.

Just before the walk into the city many pilgrims were gathered outside this quaint little church, Capilla San Marcos, for a final rest. I found it amusing that right outside the church there was a concession stand selling beer and pop and playing Adele 'Rolling in the Deep'.

It took about an hour and a half to walk into and through the city from San Marcos. These golden scallop shells in the sidewalk marked the way. It was one of the weirdest experiences and I don't think I'll ever forget it. Walking through the streets of the busy city with my backpack and poles, dodging traffic, moving off the walkways before groups of school children pushed me onto the street. No old men waiting in the streets to point the direction with their canes. No old women blowing kisses and saying Buen Camino. Everyone rushing and nobody paying any attention at all to those darn pilgrims who don't pay attention to the street signs. These people must get so sick of pilgrims getting in their way. For a minute I was thinking, "hey, I just walked across this whole country to be here", and there I was, just another person in the way. Very humbling experience really.

Eventually the busy city became the old city and a sense that I was getting closer to the church. As I turned down a street I could hear bagpipes. They were being played by this fellow for change and I stopped to give him some because the beautiful sound sure intensified the amazing experience of walking into the cathedral square.

I stood for some time, just looking at the cathedral more in awe that I'd made it there than in the church itself. I became quite choked up and did not try to hold back the tears. After subtracting bus distance I have walked 700 km across Spain. Now that is something.

Day 32 - Ribadiso to Santa Irene - 20 km

I really must be ready to go home because last night I laid awake thinking about cleaning my laundry room. I've had a mental block about cleaning the laundry room for a long time. So maybe that is one of the reasons that I'm here? One thing for sure, there won't be anymore yellow arrows to tell me which way to go so I'll need to start making grownup decisions again. And here's something I've learned on the Camino; Roosters do not just cocka doodle doo in the morning!

For the past 3 days I have been walking the Camino with 48 seventeen year olds and 4 teachers on a high school trip. They're healthy great kids; in other words very loud and boisterous with raging hormones. I've made several attempts to get on a different time schedule, but have not been able to shake them. Today I had the opportunity to speak with the English teacher (who doesn't know much English because he asked me how to translate the words 'Buen Camino') and he told me where their destination was for tonight. My feet have been pretty sore after my long walks the past couple of days so I decided to change my schedule and stopped at the town 3 km before my Spanish teenage friends. Whatever it takes for a little serenity :)

I'm pretty happy about my new plan because this means I'll only walk 14 km tomorrow and then 10 km on Saturday morning into Santiago. This will be a great wind down from the long days of walking. I'm staying at a very nice little Albergue tonight that only holds 15 people. They're making me fish for dinner while I sit there in a cafe doing my little update. Mmmmm, guess I'll have to start cooking again soon won't I?

Day 31 - Palas de Rei to Ribadiso - 27 km

It was another long day of walking (yes I know I don't have a lot of new material, but that's what I do, I just walk). I'm not sure if I'm getting better at this, or if I'm on the home stretch now and motivated to get to Santiago. I never thought I'd say I'm tired of walking, but I'm saying it now. "I'm tired of walking." I'm really ready to go home now. I miss my bed. I miss not wondering if I'll have soap and toilet paper. I miss not having to wear ear plugs. I miss my washer and dryer. Call me shallow, but I miss assuming that everyone I meet will likely speak English. And of course I miss my family and my dog, Daisy. Ok enough of this boo hooing. I'll be in Santiago in two days! I'm sure the arrival there will be amazing.

I left Palas de Rei at 7:30 a.m. and in the dark of course. Had loads of fun searching for those yellow arrows with the help of a few others. Old men on the streets LOVE it when you ask them where the Camino is. They will give directions for every turn within 5 km and I don't understand a thing, I just need the 1st point to get headed the right way. But there's usually not an old man to be found at 7:30 a.m. The really nice thing about today was the cool autumn-like weather that lasted at least until noon and then the temp shot up to 29 C.

I had been told that one of the towns I passed through today named Melide is famous for its octopus. Sure enough as soon as I turned onto the main street there was this guy, standing in the window of a restaurant, handing out chunks of the eight-legged creature to whomever would take it. It was a great marketing strategy because once you tried it you had to have more! I've had octopus before and always known it to be tough, but this was delicious.

Today we passed several rivers and twice I removed my boots and soaked my feet in the freezing cold water. This is one of best tricks I've found that gives extra, blister-free milage. With all this eating and soaking of the feet, I didn't arrive to Ribadiso until 5:00 p.m. This is a pretty cool looking place as it's a replica of the original refugee for pilgrims 100s of years ago, but with updated facilities of course. NOT so updated that I don't have to go outside to the toilets though! My bed for tonight is the top bunk in the loft. So when nature calls in the middle of the night I'll have to climb down from the bed, put my shoes and sweater on, climb down the stairs from the loft, go outside, walk to the toilets and hope there's still toilet paper. Now do you understand why I miss my bed so much?

Day 30 - Portomarin to Palas de Rei - 28 km

This is the furthest I've walked in one day and it took me 10 hours to get here. You would wonder how it could take so long to walk 28 km but, besides being on the turtle express up-hill all the way, I take a lot of breaks for boot removal and for eating high carb food. I left the Municipal Albergue at 7:00 after a so-so night's sleep in a small room with 39 other people. Soon I was entering a steep uphill path in a forest and it was very dark. For your amusement here is a picture of what a pilgrim (me) walking in the dark looks like.

Part of the reason it took me so long was that I had stopped for the day about 10 km earlier. I had paid 5€, had some lunch and a shower and then felt great again. I thought, "why stop now?" and left that Albergue for a new destination.

I had a real internal struggle with this latest group of touristpilgrims today. I was getting so annoyed with them being there, messing up my peaceful pilgrimage as they walked on their little 'holiday'. Many of them are with a tour group so don't carry backpacks, wear bermuda shorts and carry binoculars. There are school groups and others that have picnics delivered by vans that are following them. This woman's husband carries the stuff because she needs to work on her tan. And my personal favorite, this 'pilgrim' below.

Then to make matters worse, I began feeling very guilty about being such a judgmental grump and wondering what kind a 'spiritual' pilgrim would I had become. Turns out most of them who had been walking since St. Jean felt the same way as I overheard quite a few discussing it. As I walked on I finally figured out why i disliked these people being around. It's not 'them' that disturb me, it's what they represent. The Camino is almost over. Soon I will be back to the usual daily race and commercialism that can't seem to be avoided. I don't want it to be over, but on the other hand, I'm getting tired of walking.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to have a new outlook on these touristpilgrims. There's nothing wrong with having a week away from the office, lose an inch or two and maybe get atonement for your sins at the same time! Here's me embracing a little bit if Camino commercialism.

Day 29 - Barbadelo to Portomarin - 20 km

I've never set an alarm in an Albergue. I've never had to because eventually someone either makes enough noise or the light goes on. This morning I woke up at 8:00 and the room was empty, with probably the last person gone about an hour earlier. That was some kind of deep sleep combined with great earplugs! Sleep is great, but setting out so late in the morning means a more difficult walk in the heat later on. As I had my morning coffee 'hoards' of pilgrims began passing by.

The solitude of the past couple of weeks is over. Dozens of new pilgrims who want to walk the last 100 km to achieve the Compostela start everyday from Sarria. It is quite a different experience to be walking with them. They are all clean and fresh looking and full of energy to reach their destination (at least for their 1st couple of days!). I walk my usual turtle pace as groups pass by me; no actually I think I might even be slower now. I see them and think about how my mind has changed from that 1st week until now. I'm not saying that I'm the great wise one now, although I know it must sound like it, but I do know that I'm much more aware of the beauty that surrounds me as I saunter down the path. Here is a cafe that I stopped at this morning with a few of the new peligrinos.

I arrived at Portomarin at about 2:00 p.m. It was VERY hot and the town seemed so crowded with pilgrims everywhere. I finally entered a municipal Albergue that is really sort of horrible, but in the 'heat' of the moment one doesn't think about how nice a place is. It was only after I had laid out my sleeping bag in the sort of smelly, crowded room and taken my shower, that I thought, "I shouldn't have stayed here". I went out into the town as soon as I could and found Paddy, George and Jutta. They had found a slightly better place but we were just happy to be among friends and went for a great dinner and many laughs. I will reach Santiago in 5 more days.

Day 28 - Samos to Barbadelo - 20 km

I had a very peaceful sleep last night considering I was sharing a room with about 50 other people. My expectations of what I would consider necessities of life are getting lower all the time. I walked passed the immense monastery in the dark this morning, which I'm told was built between the 9th and 15th centuries, and searched for the familiar yellow arrows to get myself headed out of town in the right direction.

The 1st half of today's walk was along a peaceful river path up and down hills and past one ancient farm house after another. George from Rhode Island took this picture of me beside the old farm equipment. I can count the Americans I've met on one hand and I feel privileged to have met George. He will be joined by his wife in the next couple of days and they will finish the Camino together.

In the village of Aguiada I stopped at a cafe where several Peligrinos were gathered. They were talking to one particular Dutch fellow who I had seen before and for whom I had formed an opinion that he was a bit of a kook. He was sort of wild looking and usually had a silly grin on his face. Today I discovered that he has been walking for 5 months from Amsterdam. Someone asked him, "what is one thing you have learned". He said, "that I must live for this day and can't predict what will happen tomorrow. I am a rich man because I have time to walk and can sit here now in this village in Spain. Others say that time is money but they are wrong. Time is life". I thought about what he said as I walked.

I don't know what time it was when I reached Sarria because I have stopped caring about the time as I walk. Sarria is the starting point for many Pilgrims who would like to receive the Compostela. It is a touch commercial and one can buy Camino stuff everywhere. Every major city has their own unique way of marking the Camino path. In the picture above you see the path marker for Sarria. The symbolism of the scallop shell is that all roads lead to Santiago. When I reached the centre of Sarria I was not too impressed with these 65 steps. (yes I counted them).

I walked on from Sarria to Barbadelo where I met up with new and old Camino friends at this very beautiful Albergue. I share a room with only 7 others and it is extremely clean and comfy. During dinner with George, Paddy and Jutta I was sharing with them the Dutch walker's words of wisdom when George said, "Catherine, I'll tell you what I've learned on the Camino. The longer I'm here, the better women's calf muscles get." We all had a laugh about George's Camino philosophy and proceeded to discuss other inappropriate topics such as men walking around in their underwear in the Albergues. Not one of my favorite sights!

Day 27 - Fonfria to Samos - 25 km

It's not light enough to walk in the mornings now until about 8:00 a.m. I woke up with the usual lights flashing and kerfuffle of people speaking in other languages. Some mornings I take this all in with a positive peligrino spirit. This was not one of those mornings. I am failing to understand why people want to wake up so early when they either have to wait for daylight or walk in the dark. I got up with the rest of them and walked out the door light a crazy person in the dark. I mean it was REALLY dark! I was wearing my headlamp and I'm sure quite a sight as I headed down the road. I had decided to take the main road instead of the Camino path because I knew that this morning involved a very steep decline which is hard on the knees. Almost an hour went by before I removed the headlamp and sat down at the side of the mountain road. It was incredibly quiet except for the birds and I felt quite in awe that I was sitting by the side of a mountain road in Galacia, Spain watching the sunrise.

I hadn't had breakfast and was hungry when I reached Triacastela 3 hours later where I was able to get cafe con leche and a croissant. After spending my last 3 € I found a bank machine in the town. The walk today was extremely beautiful and more enjoyable physically than the extreme mountain trails of yesterday.

I walked all day along the Oribio River and through very very old little villages where everything is made of stone. I believe most of the pilgrims took an alternate shorter route to Sarria today because I rarely saw anyone else on the Camino. I walked by many cows and had to be continually on guard about where I stepped! Cow pies in the road appear to be a normal and socially acceptable thing here.

I arrived at Somas at 2:00, but the monastery where I am staying tonight did not open until 3:00. A friend had told me this morning that he'd seen Benji leaving with a couple of French girls at 6:30 and there he was, across the road from the monastery here in Samos. We had a little visit and I'll have to see about getting him some food later.

News flash! I went to vespers and mass tonight for the first time since on the Camino. Since I'm staying at the monastery there's a bit of peer pressure. I liked the chanting and the organ music. Only 19 monks live in this huge monastery. I'll be in Santiago by this time next week. My plan is to spend a couple of days there and to attend the spectacular pilgrim mass on Sunday, before flying from Santiago to Paris on the 10th.

Day 26 - Herrerias to Fonfria - 22 km

Today was the day to climb the mountain to O'Cebreiro. Since walking uphill for several hours is never easy, I sent my bag ahead to an Albergue of a reasonable distance and started my walk. When I stopped for breakfast I realized that I only had 10€ left! I asked the owner of the cafe when I would reach the next bank and he told there would not be one until Triacastela which was 32 km away. This would be a difficult day, particularly since I was walking primarily on mountain paths. I resigned myself to the fact that I would need to walk 32 km and continued on.

The start of my assent was not as difficult as I had anticipated and I found out later this was because I had missed the mountain path and had taken the road. The road was further but with less incline and very enjoyable. After a few km I met a dog in the middle of nowhere. This dog was clearly not a stray but a well cared for hound that wore a bell and a large identification tag. He was very happy to see me and began walking beside me. I'm sorry that I don't have a picture of him but I knew this dog had a home and I was really trying to ignore him. He walked with me for several km until finally a taxi drove by and I flagged him down, pointing to the dog. The taxi driver was great and was able to return the dog to his owner. At the farming village of Laguna de Castilla I found this particular house interesting. The bottom floor is the barn and the home is above the barn. This is what I call being one with nature. It was at this town that I got onto the pilgrim mountain path and the really hard work began.

I reached O'Cebreiro by noon after much huffing and puffing and thought, "this is it, I've reached the top of the mountain and will start going down now". I, along with about 50 other pilgrims, would like to file a complaint because we did not know that we were only about half way up the mountain. We kept anticipating a decline but only went up and up and up. Here is a picture of a cool bathroom in O'Cebreiro because I am very much into bathrooms, in case you hadn't noticed by now.

Earlier in the day I had been talking with a group of pilgrims about out destination for the day. I mentioned my money dilemma and that I would be traveling to Triacastela for the bank machine. A couple of hours out of O'Cebreiro I stopped under a tree to cool off. One of the pilgrims I had spoken with earlier was sitting across the road. We said, "Hola" and then he said, "an amazing thing happened today". I laughed and said, "I have seen many amazing things, tell me about yours". He walked across the road and pulled a 20€ bill out of the wall. He said, "I found this money and now you'll be able to stop at Fonfria". I suggested that he was a very good lier and thanked him, offering to pay him back when I reached Triacastela. He would not hear of it and walked away. Thank you Paddy, because by the time I reached Fonfria I was very ready to stop!

And now for the absolute best part of today! I reached the Albergue at Fonfria and had my shower, did my laundry, same old, same old. Then, took the laundry out to dry and who was there? Benji! He'd been on the Camino with other pilgrims for the past 2 days and I got to see him again. :)