Day 0

As I sit on the plane about to depart for London England, I am calm. For the first time in weeks I can think about this trip clearly. For the past months, I have been preparing to hike the El Camino de Santiago, a 500 mile pilgrimage through northern Spain. I'll admit, most of that preparation included simply reminding myself I should be packing or hiking to prepare my gear and body for this journey. 48 hours ago I was having a panic attack and crying to my dad saying I couldn't do it. But Friday afternoon, I got onto the flight from Minneapolis Minnesota to Washington DC. At the very least, I would get to see my wonderful boyfriend Nate so I toughened up and boarded the plane, unsure if the next time I got into a plane would be to Spain or back home to Minnesota. Sad and defeated. But here I am. Sitting on a late international flight with 8 other college students and 2 leaders. 

I'm not sure what persuaded me to sign up for this trip. Last fall, my roommate was signing up to go on a study abroad trip to the Netherlands and so I looked into other trips available on my colleges website. The Camino pilgrimage jumped out at me. Perhaps because of the movie I had watched with my parents years ago called The Way of a man who hiked the Camino. Perhaps because one of my favorite authors Paulo Coelho had written a book about the pilgrimage. For whatever reasons I was determined to go. The application was due in 3 days so I called my parents and notified them it was something I wanted to do and then applied. By the next morning, I had been approved and had to submit passport information for the trip. 

For months, it was a distant memory. Of course I thought of it but I figured I had time to prepare. As it grew nearer, I realized I could not and would not be prepared. After all, I never had time to hike 15 miles in a day as would be expected from me for this pilgrimage. The most hiking I've done in my life time was a 5 day backpacking trip through the boundary waters between Minnesota and acanda. And although I survived, it couldn't possibly compare to hiking through the mountains in Spain with a 20 pound backpack. I went on a few hikes, the longest being 6 miles every couple days for the weeks leading up to my departure. And I work at a park back home which I hoped would prepare me for walking; carrying a heavy pack, and of course the heat. 

My pack is about 20 pounds. A decent weight for living out of it for 7 weeks. Included is:

Sleeping bag

Sleeping pad

Pillow

Rain jacket

Fleece

3 shorts

3 shirts

3 pairs of socks

Nike sneakers

Keens

Crocs

Medicine

Sunscreen

Bug spray

Clothes pins

Toiletries

Toilet paper

The majority of my pack is basic. Things that most websites would recommend a person brings on their trip to any backpacking trip. The one special thing that my backpack contained was a note from nate and a necklace from my parents. I asked nate to write me a letter in case I ever needed encouragement when he was unavailable. As pathetic as it sounds, he is the person who calms me more than anyone else. I haven't opened it yet so I can only imagine what it says. I don't plan on reading it until I am in a low point. And as I said before, I'm doing okay so far although still on the ground in Virginia on the airplane. The necklace from my parents was a gift I received this morning. It shows a a delicate tree and a heart on the ground underneath it. As if saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" and also reference to "family tree". 

I won't pretend I'm a unique case. Perhaps my experience will be similar to many others. Whatever the next 49 days bring me, they will be mine. I cannot promise myself they will be good or this will be the trip of a lifetime. Many people have told me this will be the best trip of my life. I can't say for sure either way. However, the fact that I made it onto this plane is a miracle in and of itself.