It’s been almost a month since I walked down the main streets of Santiago De Compestella. Passing the tourists watching, as all the smelly pilgrims finish their last kilometre of 830km. I can still hear the bagpipes (In Spain? Yeah, they’re typical of the north of Spain, gaita) echoing through the final entrance. The sweet sweet taste of a specialty coffee upon our entrance to the city, and the final 10km walking in.

I don’t recall ever experiencing such a poetry of thoughts as I did in those last 10 kilometres. The wind whispering memories as a reminder to never forget what I had experienced, what I’d seen and who I’d met. I could say I was floating, but my body ached and so did my heart. I relished every last step, every thought, every Hola, every smile and every ounce of pain I felt in my feet and knees as it was all coming to an end. I think I’ll forever look back to those last moments as pure happiness, an ecstatic vision of what life could possibly feel like.

A letter of saviour that I wouldn’t lead a life of endless darkness.

Upon landing into England to start this entire Europe trip, Mark and I were met with freezing weather, expensive accomodation, and for myself an underwhelming sense of direction. After Mark needed to fly home early due to an emergency, I was left to fully face my lack of direction, and forced to make a rapid decision. Not the easiest thing for someone who can’t make up their mind haha.

I’d become aware of the Camino De Santiago a few years back when I was last in Europe. A friend had finished it, and raved on about the life altering experience she had endured. It seemed to pop into mind quite soon after brainstorming on challenges/locations to travel to. After some short research, I decided to walk the Frances. The most popular but simplest to work out logistically with 4 days of planning hahaha.

Some of the Italians that I ran into pretty much every day. These guys were absolute legends! Plenty more photos and stories of them to come.

The following month changed my life in a way that no other experience had.

I’ll forever be grateful for the people I met, food I ate, and places I saw.

If you ever feel like sorting your life out, go for a walk..

After making my way down to the south of France, I arrived at the start point of the Frances. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is a small, and very cute town at the foot of the Pyrenees mountains. The final train from Bayonne was small, but full to the brim of keen hikers, kitted up from head to toe, raring to hit the long road ahead. I felt this overwhelming excitement brewing inside of me. I found a seat, and sat across from a lovely couple, Madonna and Mark, who also happened to be Aussie. We chatted most of the way about life and past experiences, and what to expect on the road ahead.

I remember sitting on the train, eavesdropping to others stories about what they know about the Camino, why they’re doing it, where they’re from and what they expect from it. I vividly remember thinking to myself, “this experience would change me to a deeper level than I could imagine”. It felt almost cringeworthy to think that. That I had to walk over 1000km across Spain to make a change in my life, not that I explicitly needed a ‘change’. It’s one of those things, that along the way you see small signs of change, but only really experience the intense reflection upon finishing, and enduring the emotion in the subsequent months.

When I arrived to SJPdP I wasn’t really prepared. When talking to people, I quickly became aware that this wasn’t something people just decided to do 4 days prior. Some had been planning for months, and some, for years… Researching, attending walking groups, watching movies and YouTube videos. I’ve always been a last minute person, but this was to a different level, and honestly I felt grateful that I was living a life that allowed me to just start something like this at any given time. I bought some extra items of gear from town that I needed, and packed my bag on the bench out the back of the Albergue I was staying at, the night before I would wake up at sunrise.