Day 1, June 19th 2017

Why this blog? Is it not enough to have walked the Camino Santiago de Compostela and just return home? What does happen 'after' the Camino? What lessons does the Camino offer? As I walked my daily 10km route in Halifax, these questions formulated as I felt my now, lightweight backpack on my shoulders, and listened …

Home! It’s More Than Just a Place to ‘Hang your Hat’

I've thought about this for a long time. I've discussed it with pilgrims on the Camino. I talked about it with expat friends and colleagues where I worked in China and India and I reflected upon it when I relocated back 'home' to Halifax. It has followed me now for many years, 19 to be …

Day 31: Stop! Take Off the Blinders!

If you are like me, a journey propels you forward. It's a motivating impetus, one step leads to another, and one day excites you to get  up for the next. It's exhilarating! Do you ever feel like you can't get off? The feeling like it is a moving escalator, that once you step foot on …

Day 30, 5 Top Reasons Why a Goal is Important…if things are getting tough.

I made a promise to myself. On 'Day 1', I said that I would take this personal 'Camino' journey to the end of 36 days, the exact number of days it took me to complete the Camino Santiago de Compostela. The Camino journeys start strong and euphoric. As the days go by, the travel morphs …

Day 23, Accepting the Good!

Acceptance of challenges is an attitude. I try to overcome things that are sometimes difficult, I try hard to find creative ways to deal with adversity, and yes, I  also try to look at how to improve myself, whether it is physical, intellectual or spiritually. I guess if this is my way of life, then …

Day 21, The ‘high point’ …The Iron Cross, The Soul of the Camino.

It was cold, very cold. The air was biting our cheeks, which we made sure was the only visible part of our body left open to the elements, as we left the warmth of the Albergue that morning.  We had our headlamps on to cut through the night which still lingered on the dark, gravel …

Day 19th & 20th. Pain…Life having fun with you…OUCH!

Pain. We all have felt it. Pain IS pain,  it doesn't really matter if it last for 5 sec or 2 hours, it still hurts, it still is uncomfortable and we still wish it away...as fast as possible! Right? I don't like or want to feel pain. Nobody does, I am assuming.  Is self-flagellation, which …

Day 17 & 18… The Treasure Hunt for Personal Space.

We all dream of having time to ourselves. We think about what we would do if we had "the time". We visualize our lives with "time" built in as a default, and what it must be like to live a life where we have more time. Is "time" another word for personal space? Time for …

Day 16, No Turning Back!

Walking. I always resisted walking. It was too slow, it was not rigorous enough, it was boring! All that changed on the Camino. I have a new respect for walking now, one that has changed my attitude and life style. Initially, I was only going to walk 11 days on the Camino, but as luck …

Day 15, Running a Marathon is easier than walking the Camino!

Running a marathon is all about the training and preparation before the event. I know. I ran 2 marathons. I was diligent about the training schedule, kept a healthy diet, got 7-8 hrs of sleep each night, ran the slow, easy long runs once a week along with a medium run, Fartlet/ interval runs and …

Day 14, The Journey with the World

Being Canadian, makes you look at immigrants differently.  We are all sons and daughters of immigrants here, who crossed seas and land to make a new home. Yes, this is also true for other countries, but first immigrants who landed on Canadian shores, sought out this country and either bought passage or entered overland.  Even …