Dear Sasha,
I am back from Spain!
On February 8th I arrived in Santiago de Compostela
after walking almost 850 kms in almost 4 weeks, starting
in St. Jean Pied de Port in France at the foot of the
Pyrenees.
There is so much to tell... The inclemency of the
winter made the walk even more «special». I had cold,
snow, ice, mud, rain, everything!
There were very lonely days.
I guess I made two paths, the external and also the
internal...
My feet have a story to tell...! But also my knees,
and my back! There were sleepless nights in albergues
(kind of backpackers hostels)...Felling the backpack
day by day heavier...! There were days were there was
no desire at all to walk and there were days when it
was almost not possible due to the pains....! Pains
and tiredness were steady companions! The landscapes
were very diverse, with mountains, hills, valleys,
endless plains (in Castilla-Leon)... Some villages
were very deserted because of the winter and had not
even a bar open for eating or drinking.... At the
end of the way (Camino) I did lose a lot of weight.
Arriving in Santiago was felt like a redemption...!!!
«Pilgrims» or «walkers» I met were from the most diverse
nationalities with very different motivations, from
spiritual to sporty, or the other way around...! But
there were not many. There were days in which I did
not see any. There were some good encounters. I guess
the «Camino» is a place for encounter, although it can
be also a path of solitude.
These are some first impressions!
More is to come! I made 2500 pictures!!
Very best regards,
A...
15.02.20
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