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?