An Alternative Universe
Returned pilgrims are often asked to describe their experience of walking the Camino de Santiago. Answering is not that easy! Firstly the inquirer is usually dumbfounded that you had walked 800 kilometres, the act being beyond their comprehension. So one can easily be replying from a hardly credible position.
What then does one say to try and normalize the event? How to describe a series of paradoxical factors in play during your journey, to a sceptic? The short answer is that any reply will sell the experience short. Perhaps saying the Camino was a life changing experience due to the welcoming nature of the Spanish, the comradery of fellow walkers and the beauty of the landscape will suffice.
Omitting all the magical stuff like synchronicities and coincidences is probably best. Save that for the “converted.” To add grist to the mill how will you manage the reaction when it is announced that you are returning to Camino!!
Buen Camino Philip
Image: 13th Century Fuente de Los Moros (Fountain of the Moors), Camino Frances. Photograph taken from the steps inside the fountain.
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