the adventurai: Europe

August 31, 2014

Rhythm

I am a cyclist and a runner--no team sports for this girl! I also love endurance activities. I'm often asked what the draw is to running or cycling for multiple hours. This is what I tell people: I fall into a rhythm, and I just can't stop.

I can obviously hear the sound of the rhythm, but I can also feel it. I feel it in my body, but I also feel it in my soul. The rhythm is familiar to me, and I love it.

During the Camino de Santiago, I would fall into a walking rhythm on a daily basis. It was slower than my cycling or my running cadence, but it slowed me down to appreciate ALL of nature, ALL of the people I was walking with, and ALL of my thoughts.

I was humbled during the last 150 miles of the Camino when my foot became injured. My right foot was really swollen and I couldn't lace up my boot. It hurt to walk on it, but I still did. None of the other pilgrims made a big deal about it, so I didn't make a big deal about it. I couldn't keep the same fun rhythmic cadence and was forced to walk at a snail's pace. I still had a rhythm to my walk though--it was just much slower and quieter and longer.

Now, I have my own rhythm, even slower than my snail's pace on the Camino. I found out that I have 4 bones in my foot and ankle with stress fractures and 2 other bones in my ankle experienced trauma. I have crutches and a walking boot, and I walk painfully slow. It's hard to carry anything without a backpack to put it in. While the crutches and the boot are physically and mentally tough, I can't help but hear that rhythm when I'm walking and let it fuel me to keep going. This is only temporary and the Camino is eternal. The injury was totally worth it.

Side note: You read that correctly. I walked the last 150 miles of the Camino with a broken foot. I'm either really impressive or stupid. I don't know which.

Before:

After:

Now:

August 22, 2014

Small Moments

It's been two weeks since I finished the Camino. As I process and sort through the whole experience, I can't help but realize that the small moments were actually the big moments.

Like that time we spent three hours in a field admiring the beauty of Galicia...

We journaled,

listened to music,

made wildflower crowns,

and invited friends to join us.

Most importantly, we lived in the moment and felt free of time constraints, free of routine, and free of hurrying to the next part of our lives.

What about that time I was rushing to catch up to my friends and came upon a herd of sheep?

They were blocking the entire path,

but I managed to get around them eventually.

I felt one with nature that day, and I was reminded to slow down and enjoy my present.

Or that time I just wanted to drink beer after a hot day's walk. Others had the same idea and a pilgrim party emerged. We sat there for hours and engaged in meaningful fellowship and interesting conversation.

If there's one thing the Camino taught me, it's to live in the moment and love the present, no matter how simple it is.

August 13, 2014

Done.

It felt anticlimactic. I didn't cry, and I wanted to. I wanted a dramatic moment of completion with tears and hugs. Instead I focused on how my feet hurt (really badly), and I needed to find a bathroom (immediately).

"It's not about the destination. It's about the journey," Stephanie (USA) said.

It's so true. I had many breakthrough moments on the journey. I cried a lot along the way. I faced my past, I forgave, and I moved on. It was huge.

Emmanuel (France) said a few days ago, "There will be pain but there doesn't have to be suffering."

Heather (USA) said a few weeks ago, "I'll take the pain in my body so I can have healing in my soul."

I felt the pain, I felt the healing, and I found the spirit of the Camino. The Camino has given me so much. I'm a better person for it.

I've said goodbyes before when I knew I would never ever see the other person again. This was different. I said my hasta luegos ("see you later's") fully knowing I will see my Camino family again.

¡Buen Camino! Forever and always.

August 8, 2014

Waiter in Spain

Jordan to the waiter in Samos:

"Translate for me, Caity! We're drunk. We like to party. We can see that you like to party. Let's party in a picture."

Miguel from Spain

"I'm not a real pilgrim. I've only walked 100 kilometers."

"Of course you're a real pilgrim. You're here."

Dorothy from Ireland

"My husband has all the best qualities of my father. He helped me realize the relationship I had with my father by telling me to ignore certain things he would say to me."

Dorothy is pictured with her daughter, Laura.

Tomer from Israel

"Why did you choose Courtney to do this project with?"

"Because she's the best person I know."

Jordan from Canada

"This is bliss. This is more perfect. Let me eat it into a smile."

Laura from the UK

"I thought you guys would be way ahead if me!"

"The Camino is funny like that."

Emmanuelle from France

"When we cry, I think it's God's way of cleansing us."

August 6, 2014

Thoughts on Camino walking

Some pilgrims say that the best way to do the Camino is to walk alone and slowly.

I disagree. Sometimes I walk fast. Sometimes I walk slow. Sometimes I walk with people. Sometimes I walk alone. Sometimes I talk. Sometimes I listen. Sometimes I sing. Sometimes I read. Sometimes I mediate. Sometimes I laugh. I think there's a time for all of it. It wouldn't be the Camino without the different outlets to experience it.

Amber from the USA

"What is the biggest thing the Camino has taught you?"

"The Camino has taught me to accept kindness from others. Like when someone offers to pay for something or when they offer to carry my bag for me. It has taught me to say, 'yes, thank you.'"

Amber is injured and bought a donkey, Francisco, to ride to Santiago. She's currently studying advanced degrees for social work and theology at seminary in Waco, Texas.

On seminary, my favorite quote from her is...

"Jesus was a rebel. He hung out with the prostitutes and pagans."

It's a small world after all

I ran into a fellow Texan on the Camino.

Let that sink in for a minute.

I ran into someone I know in a remote Spanish village.

What are the chances?!

Amber was college roommates with one of my good friends from high school/roommate in New York. She's been a kindred spirit from the moment I met her. We had a wonderful time catching up and sharing Camino stories. This is one of those magical Camino moments that happened for a reason.

Paul from the UK

"Sometimes there are passionate nights, sometimes there are angry nights, you really get a mix driving a cab."

Fancisco from Spain

"I bought him for 400€ from Spanish gypsies, and he never had his hooves properly trimmed. He doesn't have papers either."

Francisco from Spain

"Donkey time is about 10 kilometers a day."

August 4, 2014

Laura and Dorothy from Ireland

"I'm not a blogee or a blogess, I'm just going to be a blob in the morning after all of this wine."

"We're two Irish nuts!"

August 3, 2014

Barista from Spain

Instructing a customer how to squeeze their own orange juice:

"No, soft and slow like this-like you make love."

Jordan from Canada

"I've been trying to say things all day to make it on your blog."

Seen on the Camino