8 days ago I set off from Sarria with a small group of other women, ranging from 41 years (the baby of the group) to 80 plus years. That’s a lot of life experience right there. None of us think we are particularly brave or wise but collectively we have experienced much and we know ‘stuff’.
The first few days were physically challenging for me as I expect they were for others. We didn’t talk about that much but rather chatted to each other, getting to know each other and sharing little bits about our lives and perhaps even less about our aspirations. My mind was jumping all over the place, with memories of things not thought about for a long time, emerging to taunt me with the ‘what if’s’. I know the secret is to let them arise then ebb away. Nothing I⁹ think now will change what has passed and nor should it. Our experiences are what shape us and what we might think is the answer now would not have been right before.
I have read that on the Camino you form bonds unlike what might be normal as we go about our everyday lives and I can see that is a real possibility. As the days unfold we seem to be more in sync with each other, understanding when someone needs a ‘are you okay?’, or ‘can I help you with that?’ It feels good.

The past couple of days I have walked a lot on my own. My mind has quietened and the internal dialogue is less. There is something comforting in knowing that all I need to do is walk, put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Nothing else matters and if I keep moving forward I will eventually reach my destination, not a bad metaphor for life in general.

I have been listening to music sometimes and that too evokes memories and adds a lightness to my walking.
As we get closer to Santiago there are more people on the path, some rushing to get there quickly, but I am content to continue at the pace dictated by what I signed up to and that is to arrive in Santiago on day 11.
For a short time yesterday, it was so quiet that I was sure I could hear the blood coursing through my veins. I know I could hear my heart beating, and there was no little voice reminding me of things past or forcing me to think about what I will be doing next.
I said at the start of my journey that I didn’t know what called me to the Camino. Perhaps it was to silence my mind and learn to live in the moment. If that was it, then I couldn’t have chosen a better place to do just that.
I feel as though I could just keep on walking, so perhaps that is what I will do after Santiago.