Tomorrow is officially day one of our pilgrimage! I’m so nervous yet excited! Someone said we’re going to be walking 14 miles, which sounds like a lot, but I guess with how much ground we have to cover in six days we need to do as much as we can. I feel prepared and determined to test myself considering I have read tons of journals written by other pilgrims who have done the entire Camino, so we’ll see how it goes. It’s going to be so great finally experiencing everything I have been reading about. I’m going to have to start finding pilgrims to interview for the ethnography portion of this class which I’m really looking forward to. The stories I’m going to hear are bound to be inspiring and interesting, maybe convincing enough to come back and do the entire six week journey. I can’t wait to get started!
Today marks the first of our actual walk to Santiago de Compostela in our beloved España. Embarking in pairs we started our journey at 6:15 am to the little town of Portomartin which is where we will rest for the night. The walk was challenging going uphill to downhill then everything in between we kept on treading on without a missing a beat. Along the way we saw horses, donkeys, cows, goats and many dogs that we could not help to stop and pet! However it was the scenery that was truly engrained in our hearts. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the view this morning!
We are walking the Camino. I'm really excited because this is what we have been learning about all along. I'm excited to see the path that people have been walking for centuries and to take part in it myself. I am also really excited to meet other pilgrims along the way and get to know more about what it is like to go on a modern pilgrimage. The next few days are sure to be tough, but I'm certain we are all going to learn so much during our travels as we get closer and closer to Santiago. I have seen many beautiful pictures of what the cathedral looks like in Santiago and I can't wait to experience for myself what it is like to walk up to it after all of our learning and travels.