The End is a New Beginning
My dedicated blogfans may be wondering exactly when my little journey here in the Czech Republic is over. I talk about the end enough, but I don’t think I have ever mentioned the exact date. June 14 is my last day of classes. At the time of writing this, that is one month, 11 days, one hour, 10 minutes and 57 seconds away. Not bad.
However, I am not coming back to the United States until July 14. This leaves me with a time period of exactly one month to simply exist in Europe. While this seems serene, I have already filled this void with quite an agenda. Let me take this time to officially announce my summer plans.
The main leg of my month long break will be spent on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Known as the Way of St. James, it is a walking pilgrimage that extends from the edge of France all the way to the other side of Spain, ending at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia where the remnants of St. James are buried. Depending on the route one chooses, it can take anywhere from two weeks to several months. I am hoping to be able to fit in about a three week trek.
Though it is traditionally a Christian journey, I’m not doing the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage for some kind of faith. If it happens to find me along the way, that would be lovely, but for the most part, I simply want to refocus my life. Reflect. Retune in to who I am. Living here in the Czech Republic working a job I hate and just trying to make it to the next day has really drained me. It has caused me to lose faith in myself and doubt everything I am. I need to rediscover who I am, as cheesy as that may sound. And really, I just need to get away from everything and everyone. Entirely.
It may sound a little scary, a lone female traveler trekking through the back roads of Spain with no companion. But it’s something I need to do. Anyway, people often seem to forget how tough I am. I am sure I will meet other travelers on the way, especially at the pilgrim pit stops and hostels strategically located along the road. But these will be friends in passing, comrades on the same journey as myself, no doubt. I can’t imagine a lingering bond.
Now that I’ve committed myself to this, it opens up a whole new world of things to do. I have to get my pilgrim credentials, arrange travel to and from France, decide the exact route I want to take, buy all the necessary backpacking equipment, and get back in shape. Just the thought of it all wraps my little ball of stress into an evenly more tightly woven knot. However, I must keep in mind that at the end of it all lays relief. The only way to untangle this mess that I have become is to press on.
