People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.

—Paulo Coelho

My albergue in Léon

Tomorrow, I begin the Camino de San Salvador and in a few days, the Primitivo, then off to Finisterre and Muxia. I am turning 60 in a few months - life certainly hasn’t turned out like I thought it would, but I am thankful for this - to walk an old road in Spain.

It seems to me, the “Camino Experience” is a bit of hyperbole we get tangled up in as we place one foot in front of the other. My experiences on two Camino Frances, and then on to Muxia and Finisterre, are different colors than those walking beside me - no one has lived the same life, have they? The first time, 2019, was with someone I thought would be beside me forever. The second time, 2022, I walked alone, to prove to myself that I was still alive inside after that relationship ended, and that I was indeed “enough.” Today, I am walking simply because I can. The people around me walk with a different heart and purpose than me, no two Caminos are alike. The landscape shifts through each person’s eyes; one sees the endless road and becomes resolute, another watches the sun set and gains hope. As for myself, I look at this rocky path and my heart leaps. I have made it here, yet again.

Ultreia et Susiea