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Growing pains

It has been 6 months since Kody and I jumped off of a plane from the Camino, packed all of our belongings in a U-Haul, and moved 10 hours south to Tallahassee, Florida. After the Camino, I was on such a high - I thought that moving to a new city, starting my career, and leaving all of my friends and family would just be a piece of cake after walking 500 miles across Spain wearing only a backpack. Who knew that that was actually the easy part? The first few weeks we were in Florida somewhat still felt like I was on the Camino. Kody and I were sleeping on one of the only pieces of furniture we brought with us, our futon, and I would wake up in the morning and for about 10 seconds wonder which Spanish city I was waking up in. I was still in my post-Camino la la land, and I have to admit that I wasn’t quite ready for what lay ahead of me.

People say the “real-world” is hard and will knock you down faster than you can see. As a wide-eyed, fresh out of college, optimistic, ready to change the world 24 year old I didn’t believe that for a second! Until, I started my first job and hated it. Realized how hard it was to make “adult” friends out of the collegiate setting. Started experiencing anxiety for the first time in my life. Is this really what adulting was? Was the paycheck really worth it? I have struggled the past 6 months, but as I begin to truly adjust to my career (in a new job that I love), a new city, and a life without homework, I have started to look at the struggles as a chance for growth.

Therefore, I have decided to start blogging random thoughts and insights to help me persevere in what I have deemed as my quarter life crisis and “growing pains”.

[thewayappears-blog]

"Before a new chapter is begun, the old one has to be finished. Stop being who you were, and change into who you are" The past five weeks I have carried my belongings on my back, met some of the most incredible people from all over the world, and walked. The Camino makes you feel the good in people and the world. I am filled up with memories and stories and ready for the next adventure ❤️ (at Camino de Santiago)

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Reunited

Yesterday we spent half of our day in Finisterre and the other half back in Santiago being reunited with our Camino family. In the morning, Kody and I walked down to the beach in Finisterre and it was so beautiful! The sky was clear and not foggy as it had been the previous day. It made us so excited for our move when we get home. We accidentally missed the first bus to Santiago so we had to spend 3 more hours in Finisterre before heading back arounf 3pm. Darn! Stuck in a beautiful coastal town on a gorgeous day, whatever would we do?! We enjoyed a great lunch at the same vegetarian restaurant from the night before and watched as a new group of pilgrims started spilling into the city on foot and by bus. We chatted with some people who had just completed the Portuguese route from Porto and exchanged stories. Two men from Wisconsin asked if we planned on completing any of the other routes, and I told them I would love to do what they did, but plan on starting my career when back home. Before leaving, one of the men stopped back by our table and gave us some wisdom. He told us to never be scared to ask for more time off work, and that it never hurts to ask for it. The least they can do is say no! Our bus ride back to Santiago took about an hour and a half. We met up with our friends at dinner and toured the cathedral afterwards. It is tradition for pilgrims arriving in Santiago to hug the statue of St. James, I have no idea why, but it was fun 😂 Today we are enjoying our last day in Santiago and attending the pilgrims mass at noon with our crew. Tonight we fly out of Santiago to Madrid and begin our long travels home!

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Tonight we made it back to Santiago and hugged St. James in the cathedral, which is traditional among pilgrims. Tomorrow we will get to attend the pilgrims mass before our travels home begin! #caminodesantiago #caminofrances #wayofstjames (at Catedral de Santiago)

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Soaking in these ocean views as long as possible before we leave tomorrow ✨ (at Finisterre)

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The end of the world

Today our journey finally felt complete as we walked up to "the end of the world" in Finisterre, Spain. We took a bus out of Santiago early this morning and got into Finisterre around lunchtime. This little city is right on the coast of Spain and used to be thought of as the end of the world before the Americas were discovered. It was very foggy when we first arrived, so we had lunch at a local vegetarian place before walking 3km up to the lighthouse and very tip of the coast. The 0,00 km marker for the Camino lies on this path. We started walking after lunch one more time with our packs, and the fog started to clear for the most beautiful views of the ocean, mountains, and cliffs. I felt that the end of our adventure was coming as I was in awe of these views. They were the prettiest we have seen in all of our five weeks in Spain. Once we got to the top, we got to see the waymarker and take some amazing pictures. There were a lot of tourists, but we found some good spots to sit and just look out at the open ocean. It literally looked like the end of the world. We didn't want to move because we knew when we started walking back down, our Camino would be finished. I will never forget today, or the way I felt. How proud I am of this body for coming this far, and going through all it's been through. The Camino is something special and though we head back to Santiago tomorrow for a few more days before our flight, today was the end of our journey. At the end of the world.

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Strong body, stronger mind, strongest spirit ✨This is the revelation I had after finishing my Camino. Last year, I could only have dreamed to walk up my apartment steps without getting out of breath, let alone 500 miles. This body has conquered blisters, sore feet, stiff muscles, and even bedbugs the past five weeks, but it's bounced back from so much worse. The bad days make the good days brighter and I'm thankful for my fighting spirit, even when my body and mind can't quite keep up. Life is so good y'all✌🏼🙏🏼 #caminodesantiago #ibdawareness (at Finisterre)

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From the south of France to the coast of Spain with my best friend! Today was the most beautiful day of our whole adventure. We made it to the end of the world and our journey felt complete ❤️👣 #caminodesantiago (at Cape Finisterre)

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Santiago de Compostela

WE DID IT! It seems unreal that I am sitting at our albergue staring out at the Santiago Cathedral through the fog. We made it to the city around noon today and as soon as we started walking through the streets it started raining. The weather has been perfect our entire trip, so the rain almost felt symbolic that our trip was coming to an end. We started walking faster and faster as we got into the heart of Santiago and we knew the cathedral was close. Nearing the tunnel that flows into the square of the cathedral, a man was playing bagpipes and the rain was definitely picking up. We were flying down the steps and we see an older Japanese man carrying his bicycle up the steps. There were so many people around and it was so loud, but Kody and I stopped in our tracks because we recognized the man from one of our albergues a week ago. This man had the most distinct laugh and was 70 years old cycling the Camino. His English was broken, but we spoke to him for a long time when we first met him and he had us cracking up the whole time. He told Kody, "You are young boy, I am old boy, but I have young heart". We saw him on these steps and he immediately broke into a smile in the chaos and said "OH CAMINO, HA HA HA". I will never forget this man's laugh in my whole life. By this point my emotions were high and I was laughing/crying as we approached the cathedral. We rounded the corner and immediately went to the center of the square and stood in the rain. The moment was so fast and so amazing at once, but our journey felt complete. We went on to our albergue and then stood in line for an hour and a half to receive our Compostela. It's wet and rainy in the city, but we still explored and found a tapas bar to finish off the night. 34 days, 500 miles/800 km. We did it!

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Today we walked into Santiago just as it started raining at noon. 34 days. 500 miles. I cannot find the words quite yet to sum up this incredible, challenging, & life-changing experience, so for now I'll say - Buen Camino! 👣✌🏼 (at Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

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Enjoying my favorite afternoon tea and biscuits before our last day of walking tomorrow 💕👣 #caminodesantiago (at TASTE the WAY)

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33/34

Only one more day. It seems unreal that tomorrow when we're done walking our journey will be complete. We will walk into Santiago de Compostela and see the big cathedral that awaits thousands of pilgrims that are spilling into the city. Many people see the cathedral and break down with emotion that their journey is over. It's hard to say how I will react, because I can't quite imagine the moment yet! It doesn't seem real that we have walked 500 miles on a historic pilgrimage. We met two older women from the states a couple of days ago and we asked why they were doing the Camino, and they said, "Because we can!" What an inspirational answer. Because I can. The question should not be why, but why not?! At the end of our guidebook, there is a quote from Nelson Mandela that Kody and I have been obsessing over since we read it a few weeks ago.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. "

So. What are we scared of? Let's do these things. Take a risk. Because why not?

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Day 33 of 34 - Tomorrow we will arrive in Santiago de Compostela and complete our Camino. Bittersweet emotions, but my feet are ready! 👣 #caminodesantiago (at Pedrouzo, Galicia, Spain)

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Two more days!

Tonight we are in Ribadiso, which is a super small town along the Camino. We are staying in a municipal albergue tonight that is very old but has been remodeled. I have to admit that I'm not sure what they have remodeled because it is very rustic 😂😅 With only two more days left of walking, it definitely doesn't matter and will just provide me a bed so I can be on my way tomorrow! Today felt like a long day, but I guess my feet are telling me that 32 days of walking might be crazy! We have two very short days and will make it to Santiago around lunchtime on Sunday to receive our compostela. There have been many groups joining the Camino since Sarria, so the trail has been very packed. It's hard seeing so many people with new shoes and small day packs when we have been going for over a month! We definitely feel an even tighter bond with the people we have been with since the beginning as more and more people join in. Today we also passed a city, Melide, which is where the Camino Primitivo collides with the Camino Frances on the way to Santiago. As of now our plan is to stay in Santiago one night, and then take a bus to Finisterre "the end of the world" and spend a night there as well. We will head back to Santiago on the 27th to cheer in our friends that we left behind a few days ago and attend the mass at the Cathedral with them that day. Our flight will leave out that night and we will be on to the next adventure ✈️

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Day 32 - Two more days of walking until Santiago! 760/800 km down 👣 (at Ribadiso)

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Aspirations

After walking almost 500 miles with only my most needed belongings on my back, I have had many aspirations of how I want to live my life after the Camino and upon returning home. Waking up everyday, walking, thinking, eating, enjoying nature, doing laundry - this is the most basic and simple lifestyle and I hope I can take a piece of it home with me. Obviously I will be excited to have a real towel and more than two pairs of socks, but the basic ideals are so appealing in everyday life. Enjoying good food, only having what you need in your wardrobe, being in nature, connecting to people and animals, not having silly obligations to anyone or anything, & living simply with experiences and not material possessions. Many people on the Camino are vegetarians or vegans, and after passing by farms with cows, horses, dogs, cats, pigs, and chickens I feel a strong resistance to meat. In Spain, its common to eat horses, which are seen as pets in the US. I was talking to my friend, Matt from Australia who is a vegan, and he said well can you believe some people even eat cow?! He was obviously joking, but it made me laugh and also realize that these very similar animals who both live on farms and interact with humans are no different than our dogs and cats at home. It made me sad, and let the gap of denial get much smaller. I hope to continue walking as I get home, and continue to put myself in the way of nature at least once a day. To stop worrying out things that I think I "have" to do, such as go to the gym or scroll on my phone, and sit in peace with some coffee or tea and do something I actually enjoy. This journey of my Camino has almost come to an end, but I hope to continue to live my life with as much Camino spirit as possible in the real world. ✌🏼

[thewayappears-blog]

Day 30

Today was our 30th day of walking on the Camino. We only have 4 more days to Santiago and about 58 more miles. The city of Sarria was amazing to stay in last night, and we enjoyed a nice breakfast before heading out today. The walk today to Portomarin flew by, even though we stopped a couple times for lunch and big coffees. We walked and talked with our friend Jay from Seattle, who is doing the Camino with his daughter, Chandler, who is my age. We will be arriving in Santiago with Jay and Chandler on Sunday, which is awesome because we have all been in front of or behind the other our whole Camino thus far. Jay is a minister who recently quit his job with his wife and moved to Connecticut to help his in-laws remodel their house. He is pursuing being an artist and applying to Yale for his Masters in fine arts in the fall. Chandler will continue her Spain journey by completing a semester abroad in Leon after her Camino and will graduate in the spring. They are amazing people and we love hanging out with them and their chill vibes. Tonight we are at an albergue overlooking the Rio Miño, which has ruins of two historical castles sticking out of it. We easily got rooms when we got into town around 2pm and relaxed all afternoon by hanging out on the balcony overlooking the river. Kody found a Cuban cigar and I ordered some afternoon tea - a European ritual that I am definitely bringing home with me! The past few days have been so relaxing and we are trying to soak in every moment before completing our journey. Life is good 🙏🏼