How did this come about? Why?
I had known for a long time that I wanted to walk the Camino de Santiago. Little by little, the idea turned into a real plan. And I knew that I wanted to do it after my A-levels. I still don’t know why the idea came about. I only read Hape Kerkeling’s book while I was planning it.
Even if I don’t know exactly how I got on the Way of St. James, I know exactly why I wanted to do it: I wanted to find God. I wanted to know where he was, I wanted to meet him. That’s why I really wanted to go alone, not with any tour group, not with friends and not with my mother. I was probably afraid that I might miss some signs. And I also wanted to have to come into contact with strangers.
Preparations
Most of my preparations involved running errands (new hiking boots, a change of hiking sandals, ….). I already had a lot of things.
The travel guide I bought was very important.
In preparation, I had already read up on it beforehand and made a rough division of stages (really only roughly, as I didn’t know how many kilometers I could run per day).
I also had a pilgrim’s passport sent to me.
Then all I had to do was plan my outward and return journey: The outward journey was easy, my parents were on vacation in France and brought me to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port. I didn’t plan the return journey beforehand because I didn’t know exactly how long it would take me. I wanted to book a return flight in Santiago first.
I really didn’t do much more than that before.
Everyday life
Everyday life on the Way of St. James was basically the same for me, but different every day.
I packed my things in the morning, had a quick breakfast and set off. And then I hiked and hiked (I took several short breaks in between).
At lunchtime, I went to the next town I wanted to stay in. I usually ate lunch there first, then had a shower (sometimes the other way round) and then took a nap.
In the afternoon, I went to see the town or city and visited churches or other things.
In the evening, we had dinner and after (sometimes short, sometimes long) conversations with our respective dinner partners, we went back to bed.
Search for God/Conclusion
“We can seek God with our minds, but we can only find him with our hearts.”
I have found God with my heart. God is love. When we give love and receive love, we meet God. When we help each other and show charity, we meet God. He is in our hearts. Some encounters may be more intense than others and some we don’t even notice, but God is always there. I had a personal, intense encounter with God here on the trail when I was shown charity (see diary, day 15). I have encountered God many times before, I just didn’t realize it before. The Way of St. James was supposed to help me recognize exactly that and it fulfilled my wish.
What I also learned is that nothing happens without a reason. God wants it that way. Even bad things have a purpose. You can learn from them or perhaps be saved from other bad things, even if you don’t understand it at first.
Even if you sometimes don’t see the point or the situation seems hopeless: God is always there.
The Way of St. James will definitely see me again one day!
How the Camino has changed me
The biggest change that only I can notice or feel is certainly that I see God. That I recognize that he meets me in everyday life. That I know he is there. And that I know that he was there before, in the same situations, I just didn’t recognize him.
Perhaps I have also become even more positive than I was before. I know that bad things happen, but I also know that God doesn’t leave us alone with them.
My recommendations for the route:
- No cell phone, but a camera (small) for taking photos
- Keep a diary (I like to reread everything that has happened to me)
- take your time hiking and don’t want to complete the trail in record time
Way of St. James - Johanna's diary
Note: This is my original diary, which I wrote every day on the Way of St. James. In some places I have shortened it a little. I cannot rule out spelling and grammatical errors. Enjoy reading it!
Day 1: July 13
Hello it’s me!
I ran about 30 km today in a good 7 hours. Never had such shoulder pain as I do at the moment. If I knew what, I’d gladly take the superfluous items out of my rucksack. Now I’m looking forward to sleeping like a madwoman!
I once read that only 15% of pilgrims who start in St. Jean-Pied-de-Port actually arrive in Santiago. I bet the other 85% drop out after the first stage. If I wasn’t terribly crazy, I would do the same now. But I want to continue tomorrow morning with my new “friends”. To be honest, I don’t even know their names yet. But they know mine and have made sure that it has already been called out a few times through the mountains today.
My friends are a 46-year-old Frenchman with his son and his son’s best friend (both 14). This morning, after a tearful farewell to my family, I started hiking. Shortly afterwards I met the French and one of the nicest people I have ever met (namely the 46-year-old) asked me if I wanted to walk with them. After several kilometers in the partly pouring rain, we arrived at a bar in Huntto. There they bought me a Coke and 2 sandwiches. There I was already thinking: “if it goes any higher: then YUHU”. It continued upwards. They say that you reach your physical limits on the Way of St. James, and on day 1 I already had the feeling that I had reached my limits and had long since exceeded them.
We were over 2000m high. Everything was full of mountains and it kept raining. These three will also be my companions tomorrow. In the monastery (accommodation for the night) after mass, we had the best meal you can probably get for €10: Water and red wine (as much as you want), bread and soup (as much as you want), pasta, then a plate with 3 pork steaks and chips and a yogurt for dessert. Delicious!
Then brush your teeth and off to bed.
Day 2: July 14
Hello it’s me!
Ran about 21km today in about 7 hours (with lots of breaks). I’m currently sitting on my bunk bed in a room with 8 beds, where I’m the only female for miles around. I have already taken my 3 Frenchmen into my heart after the 2nd day. By the way, the 46-year-old’s son is called Elliot. The first name I could remember.
My shoulder pain is enormous and I have the fattest blister ever on my left foot. We didn’t notice anything of the “blatant” sun that is supposed to shine on the way today…
Rather the opposite: pouring rain.
We went through the Pyrenees again today, up and down. But we were able to take plenty of long breaks because we started so early this morning. We were woken up at the pilgrims’ hostel at 6am by loud shouting. We had breakfast at 7am and then set off straight away. By the way: it was still dark outside.
Our first stop was in a bar with a glass of cold cola. I wanted to buy the four of us drinks today, but my pilgrim dad (that’s what I’ll call the 46-year-old from now on) wouldn’t let me.
At some point, we took a late breakfast break. In the “Bar Juan” we got a Coke and half a baguette with salami (delicious). Once again, my pilgrim dad took care of this. During the walk, my shoulder pain was unbearable at times. Surprisingly, my feet were fine. Today we met more pilgrims than yesterday, including several Germans. The 2nd day is already the purest torture. But the 2nd day also has its first side effects. I’ve already been thinking. About what exactly…I don’t know. There’s almost no better way to say “good night” than Elliot’s best friend: from his bed he just whispered “jo-ana?” in his French accent, and when I looked at him and asked “Yes?”, he beamed at me and waved and said “Good night”.
Your words in God’s ear: Good night!
Day 3: July 15
Hello it’s me!
Ran about 22km today in about 6 hours. I really got some color in my face because the sun came out today! Luckily it wasn’t too hot either. Perfect, actually. Actually. If it wasn’t for the shoulder pain. It even made me forget about the blisters on my feet. These blisters have just made me decide that I’m going to run in my sandals tomorrow.
By the way, there is new information about my companions: my pilgrim dad is called Francois and Elliot’s friend is called Julien. We walked together again today and had a lot of fun. Francois proved his willingness to help again today by making the pain of several pilgrims more bearable. This man really is a phenomenon. By the way, me and the phenomenon are moving on alone from tomorrow because Elliot and Julien were picked up by Elliot’s mom today.
Julien had previously swapped rucksacks with me at Francois’ suggestion. Francois thought that my shoulder pain was because my rucksack was too big for me. So now I have Julien’s rucksack. It feels like heaven on earth and I am infinitely grateful to him. Today’s pilgrim hostel in Pamplona is huge, but clean, beautiful and modern.
Francois knows that I am searching for God and pointed out the following to me: today he said that God is actually everywhere where people help other people. And that is also the reason for his willingness to help. He said that people help because of God. Even though the word was not used in his English explanation, I knew that he meant charity.
I cried for the first time today. No idea why.
Day 4: June 16
Hello it’s me!
Ran 24km today (felt a lot more, but good) in about 6 1/2 hours.
My feet are burning and my left leg hurts like anything. I can hardly move it at all. That’s why I had to take so many breaks today. I had to say goodbye to Francois today because his feet were no longer cooperating. After a very short night (it was incredibly loud), we got up at 6am this morning and he said he had to stop. Then he wanted to give it a go, so we had a quick breakfast and off we went.
It was very hot today and you could see from all the pilgrims that the heat didn’t make walking any easier. About halfway through, Francois was no longer able to walk. He gave me an ointment as a parting gift, gave me his contact details and tried to explain to me for the 100th time what could happen if I got involved with the wrong people.
So I went on alone.
The sandals I wore instead of hiking boots worked wonders. If it wasn’t for the pain in my left leg, I might have found walking really easy. When I get back to Cologne, I’ll thank the sales clerk who sold me the sandals.
But now: NACHTI!
Day 5: July 17
Hello it’s me!
I managed a whole 7.1 km. And my leg was a real pain today. I wonder when this pain will finally go away. It was also pretty hot again today.
Due to my breaks after what felt like every 100m, I mostly walked alone. There’s practically nothing in the village I’m in at the moment. You can actually see the whole village in 2 minutes because it’s so small. Once I got here, I treated myself to an ice cream in the only “store” I saw here. I’m now lying in my bed in the hostel. Hope the pain is gone tomorrow.
Day 6: July 18
Hello it’s me!
The pain in my left leg hasn’t gone away, of course. Nevertheless, I continued running.
In Viana, I had breakfast in the small village square and walked through the town. Most of the stores were still closed and the hostel even more so, my tour of the town was also over, so after a brief hesitation (because of my leg) I decided to walk on to Logrono. 10km is not much, but with my leg it is.
To distract myself from the pain, I sang the latest Helene Fischer album up and down in front of me while running.
Fortunately, the route was relatively flat. Finally arrived in Logrono and after a nap and a shower, I had a look at the cathedral and the town. Went to the pharmacy for my thigh and they tried to sell me Voltaren again, but that didn’t help. The woman then gave me a spray. I hope that helps! I like Logrono. Beautiful city center with very nice shopping arcades.
By the way, my bed neighbors are 2 funny guys from Bulgaria!
Night!
Day 7: July 19
Hello it’s me!
I ran 12.4km today despite my leg…I’m just wondering how I managed that.
The route today was very nice, it went along a large avenue through a park and forest and past a large lake. I ran a bit with a Dutchman today and a long part of the route with an Englishman who lives in Frankfurt and spoke good German. At some point we split up because I couldn’t keep up with him on my leg. The drinking fountains along the way are really worth their weight in gold in the heat!
At some point I came to a wooden hut where Marcelino was sitting. He was mentioned in my guidebook, in which he also signed. He sits there all day, talks to the pilgrims, hands out stamps and gives away small snacks. A real attraction. There was also a young Italian man with Marcelino who treated me as if I was the girl he had been looking for all his life and had now found. I thought he was funny. Unfortunately, we couldn’t really understand each other…too bad…otherwise we would probably have become the new dream couple 😉
When we arrived in Navarette, we went to the hostel run by Michael, a German who received guests here. Very nice here!
This is where I met Werner. His story is incredible: he started in Stuttgart in April, walked to Santiago and is currently on his way back on his 101st (!!) stage!
There are also 2 nice girls from Italy who are also in my room! Their names are Alessandra and Elena and they took me with them to the “City”. We also have 2 boys in our room, but none of us know where they come from. Elena is interested in the one with the long hair. We were just discussing how she could best approach him. Elena asked them directly if they wanted to have dinner with us. And they said yes!
Incidentally, the two of them are from Denmark, as we now know. It was one of the funniest evenings on the Camino so far.
The hostel had great food, delicious wine and nice people. The 2 Danes, Alessandra, Elena and I sat next to 2 Americans, Werner and 3 other Germans. They all talked about their country and culture.
Day 8: July 20
Hello it’s me!
Ran 17.3km today despite the leg. Apart from the pain (which is either getting a little smaller or I’m slowly getting used to it), it went surprisingly well today. I took a lot of short breaks again, but I was running at a very brisk pace. Perhaps this was also due to the fact that there was no sun today! I was able to leave my hat in my rucksack all day! It was still hot, but less so than usual.
When I arrived here, my feet were of course still burning. I like Najera. It’s a small town with lots of large sports facilities and a river with several beautiful little bridges. My afternoon nap was quite long and I’m going to go to bed early. I’m really exhausted.
Good night!
Day 9: July 21
Hello it’s me!
Walked 22.8km today. The pain was completely back today. But did I already say that my shoulder pain is 100% gone and that I don’t notice anything of my blisters anymore? Running could be really relaxing.
There was a lot of uphill and downhill today. A really strenuous stage! But I met up with the Italian again. We tried again, but we just couldn’t understand each other. Then I met Johanna (Hehe) from near Frankfurt and a friend of hers from Austria. They had read an entry from a Johanna from Cologne in a church guestbook a few days earlier and thought it was really funny to meet me now. What was also funny today was the following:
A group of women hikers from Spain were really enjoying themselves today, singing and joking around the whole way. When there was a huge area of straw next to our field path, they dropped into the straw and invited every pilgrim who came by to take a break in the straw too. At one point there were easily 20 pilgrims lying around in the straw. Then we called out “straw” to each pilgrim in their own language and everyone threw straw into the air. There were people from Spain, France, Korea and Germany. An entertaining break.
Then we went on. There was a moment on the way today when I wanted nothing more than a cold Kölsch!
Unfortunately, it’s completely impossible to get that here. The hostel today is similar to the one from the first night, a huge one and about 210 people fit in here. Of course, I’ve just been to the famous church here in Santo Domingo with the rooster inside.
Day 10: July 22
Hello it`s me!
My feet are experiencing the highest level of pain so far. Ran 23km today. I have now found a rhythm for running with the thigh pain. Works reasonably well.
I really like the hostel here: the beds are comfortable and the bathrooms smell of iced tea. There’s even a pool, but once again there’s no sun and it’s actually more cold than warm. I did a lot of thinking again today while hiking. You get thoughts here that could never arise in everyday life. That’s incredibly great. Everyday life here actually looks like this: Get up, hike, sleep, shower, eat and sleep again.
I’m doing the latter now too!
Day 11: July 23
Hello it’s me!
After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to take a break for 1 or maybe even 2 days to give my thigh a chance to “recover”. So today I took the bus for a short distance and am now in Burgos. Beautiful cathedral!!! At least from the outside…inside it’s not outstanding. And hopefully things will be better tomorrow.
I currently have exactly 110 mosquito bites! Most of them on my arms. Everything is actually full there. I think that’s a personal record! But now it’s time to sleep.
Day 12: July 24
Hello it’s me!
I ran 22.1km today. And lo and behold! My leg no longer hurts!!! Okay…maybe a little, but I’ll leave that aside.
The sun is back too! And how! And the mosquito bites are still there too. And how! They itch like crazy. But everything else is fine.
Just had a conversation with a German girl that really made me think. She has already had a personal encounter with God and has just told me about it. I won’t go into any more detail here. Just this much: she encountered God when she was in a very bad way and totally desperate. Maybe I won’t meet God here on the way because I’m doing well. It’s definitely worth considering. I’m still hoping for a personal encounter, but I would definitely have a plausible explanation now if it doesn’t happen…
Tonight I had dinner with a lovely older couple from Canada (Bryan and Martha) and a 17-year-old girl from Colombia. We had an incredible amount of fun. Bryan walked the path last year for the same reason I did. He found God in his heart. The girl is walking the path to find herself. When I told her I wanted to find God, she said, “Maybe that’s the same thing…”
Another very thought-provoking conversation. Today I learned a lot about the search for God. I’ll continue tomorrow.
Good night!
Day 13: July 25
Hello it’s me!
Ahh! 32.3km run today! And I’m not even hurting right now. Immediately after the run I had foot pain and a bit of shoulder pain, but right now everything is great.
I started alone at 6am. I wasn’t alone for long because I was soon joined by Marianne. This is the young German woman who slept under me last night and with whom I had a good chat yesterday. She is now my new friend!
We walked together all day today, took a break and ate together and are now lying next to each other in the new hostel. Without her, I would GARANTIELY not have walked this far today.
We talked all day and really had a lot of fun. I like her! She’s 27, by the way, and a very positive person. I don’t think we were really looking for each other, but luckily we found each other.
Today was the hottest day on the Camino so far, I think. Mainly because most of the time there wasn’t a single tree to provide shade. So you were all the happier when you could buy a cold drink somewhere or find a fountain. My mosquito bites have increased again. And the old ones got bigger again. But it works.
GOOD NIGHT
Day 14: July 26
Hello it’s me!
Ran 29km today! Even though we walked so much yesterday and even though it was super hot again today!
The part from Burgos to Leon (I was told today) is the worst on the whole route! You walk for an incredibly long time (several kilometers) without seeing a tree that provides shade. Marianne and I set off at about 7am today (although the alarm clock went off at 5:30am). We walked a lot today with Emma (24 years old) from Paris. We’ll definitely meet up with her again tomorrow. She’s really nice and communicative. What Marianne and I noticed today: there are far fewer pilgrims on the road since yesterday and that may well be (as Emma said) because many are skipping the stretch between Burgos and Leon. Not us!
Marianne and I get on really well and are lying next to each other in the hostel, which is only occupied by two other pilgrims. It’s still incredibly hot. We’re about to pop my blister. Okay, Marianne punctures it. By the way, once again nothing really hurts! I think my body has got used to walking! Everything is fine!
Night
Day 15: July 27
Hello it’s me!
First things first: God met me in a certain way today!!!
All in all, it’s been a very, very crazy day today and Marianne and I are totally tired (it’s only 8:30pm). We didn’t have time for a nap because of all the chaos that was going on here today. That’s why it’s going to be shorter today, even though there’s so much to “tell”.
So much for now: I’m lying here in bed right now, wearing nothing but clothes, not a single item of which belongs to me.
But one thing at a time: Marianne and I set off after getting up and you could already tell in the morning that it was going to be another very hot day.
Apart from that, the hike was the same as ever: we both had a lot of fun. Marianne loves telling stories and I love listening to her, because with every story from her life she wants to give me something for my life. I’ve already learned an incredible amount from her.
Today we had THE (so they say) toughest stretch of the Camino ahead of us, because it was a whole 18 km through the meseta, without a village, a well or shade.
Then the chaos started at the hostel 🙂
We met Verena (late 50s) from Austria there and had a chat with her. Everything was still quite normal, but we soon realized that this woman was not normal 🙂
Marianne suspected that my mosquito bites, which were only on my arms and feet, were not mosquito bites but so-called “bedbugs”.
We were using Marianne’s cell phone to google what bedbugs are when Verena found out.
Marianne and I had already planned to wash all my clothes, including my sleeping bag, in the washing machine so that we could destroy them if there were any bedbugs left. However, we thought it was more likely that the bedbugs were only in one bed and I didn’t have any in my clothes because I hadn’t had any new bites for 4-5 days.
Well, in any case, Verena noticed the bedbugs and from then on it was all too late. After looking at my feet, she was 100% sure that it was bedbugs and said I had to wash all my clothes (in the washing machine), otherwise I’d spread it around and other pilgrims would get the bedbugs too. Marianne explained to her that the bedbugs had been gone for a long time anyway
because there were no new bites and that we wanted to put everything in the washing machine straight away, but that there was another load in the washing machine.
Verena panicked and wanted to know (almost angrily) why I hadn’t told the hostel when I noticed the bites, as they would know what to do. Marianne and I tried to explain to her several times that I had never heard of them (bedbugs) in my life and thought they were mosquito bites. She didn’t get it at all and she also didn’t understand that the washing machine was in operation.
Marianne and I waited in the hostel garden, chilling, while Verena suddenly got up and went to the hostel’s hospitalero lady. They were talking something in Spanish and Verena was pointing at me the whole time. In the end, it was like this: Verena told the hospitalero lady that I had bedbugs and she really pushed the wave. She really acted as if I had a plague or something like that 🙂
All my clothes (including shoes, rain jacket and sleeping bag) were sprayed with some chemicals and then soaked for 2 hours and put in the washing machine. The rest of my things (the items) were also sprayed and my bed was sprayed too. My rucksack was completely cleaned out and sprayed and then put in a black bin bag and placed in the sun so that the heat would build up and the alleged bedbugs would die. All this was done by the really incredibly nice hospitalero lady. And not because she believed that the bedbugs were still there, but actually just to calm this furious Verena down. She didn’t understand Verena’s excitement either. Well….
Because EVERYTHING of mine had been washed, I naturally had nothing to wear. Marianne gave me one of her T-shirts, but all her pants were still wet from the wash, so I couldn’t take any of them. The hospitalero lady then gave me a pair of pants from the lost and found. I, Johanna, would of course have just put the trousers on, but the lady was kind enough to wash and disinfect them thoroughly herself.
So I had something to wear again. I actually found the whole thing quite funny. After our evening meal, my laundry at the hostel was far from finished. The hospitalero lady was replaced by her colleague, who was now responsible for the laundry. A very nice young man (Marianne and I baptized him “Enrique”). We apologized to the lady once again for all the effort, but she just said that it was a matter of course and said goodbye to both of us with kisses right and left and a hug. When she was gone, I said to Marianne: “Wow, how incredibly nice is this woman?” And Marianne said to me: “Johanna, maybe that was an encounter with God.” And I knew Marianne was right. 🙂
All my clothes were supposed to dry overnight and I was given a blanket.
NIGHT!
Day 16: July 28
Hello it’s me!
Marianne and I got up at 5:00 am today and hiked 23.6 km. My clothes dried overnight and are cleaner than ever 🙂
It was incredibly hot today. We had breakfast at our first stop in the first village. At the next village, Marianne and I lay down under a tree in the shade on the grass and slept for half an hour. We were both incredibly tired because we hadn’t been able to take a nap yesterday due to Verena’s bedbug stress. When we arrived, we checked into a large hostel. It was in a loft and was different from the others.
It was so incredibly hot that Marianne and I decided to sleep without sleeping bags.
Night
Day 17: July 29
Hello it’s me!
Oh man! Marianne and I are totally exhausted!
Last night was the worst on the road so far. We have never slept so little! You couldn’t sleep at all in this hostel. It was so incredibly warm all night and the air was so bad in the whole room. Dead tired, we then set off. At the beginning we were still in a surprisingly good mood and had a lot of fun again. We’ve often said that it was probably a sign from God that we’d both found each other. I’m incredibly happy about that and totally grateful. We’re totally on the same wavelength. She just said that she would have loved to have me as her little sister. 🙂
And in the restaurant she had just explained to the woman that I was her sister at heart.
Well, in any case, the path was still pleasant at the beginning. Later it got worse and worse! My leg started to hurt again and so did Marianne’s legs because of the sun allergy. Towards the end it really became a torture. Even though we were so tired. And of course the sun added to it.
We arrived at the hostel relatively early and even treated ourselves to a double room today. This was partly because we wanted to go to bed straight after arriving and partly because we wanted to go to bed early tonight so that we could get up at 3 or 4 am. We want to go hiking at night. We’re both really excited and looking forward to it. So: arrived at the hostel, double room, showered, bought lunch at the supermarket, ate here in the meadow, then slept, then chilled, did laundry, went back to the supermarket to get food for tomorrow, then to the restaurant and now to get ready for bed and then SLEEP!
Day 18: July 30
Hello it’s me!
We ran 25km today. And got up at 4:00 a.m. this night!
At the beginning we really walked in the STOCKDARK. That was pretty funny, but also a bit scary. But we looked out for each other. We had to be really careful not to miss the yellow arrows in the dark. Luckily we both had flashlights. What was really beautiful was the starry sky. At some point, of course, it got light and the sun came out. But we didn’t get into the midday heat (that was the plan) because we were back at the hostel by 12:00. Then we spent the whole day chilling, going to the supermarket and so on.
The not so nice thing: the bedbugs are back!
For both of us! Marianne has her arms full and I have my legs full! And there are also an incredible number of ants in today’s hostel, which crawl around on us all the time and have already bitten Marianne. It really gets on your nerves! Marianne and I have already noticed: Everyone warns you about blisters and the like beforehand and in reality you have completely different problems 🙂
I do have blisters, but I don’t even notice them. And everyone here on the Camino has different pains. But for everyone, the pain is just a tiny little part in contrast to the big positive part here. All the experiences and co. As Hape Kerkeling already wrote: “This path is hard and full of pain.”. We’ve just had dinner and talked to a nice family from England and a woman from France. Unfortunately, this is our last evening together, because Marianne is finishing the trail tomorrow in Leon and flying home for work. She wants to come back at some point and walk the rest. I already know that I’m going to miss her immensely. I feel like I’ve known her forever and that I know her whole life story and she knows mine. We will definitely keep in touch. Just sisterly hearts.
Now we chill out in the garden and do some research on bedbugs. Then we go to sleep.
Good night!
Day 19: July 31
Hello it’s me!
All in all, today was a sad day because Marianne is now gone. But a lot happened to us before that:
We slept a little longer today because we only had to walk another 10km after Leon. It was the last 10km that Marianne and I walked together. I already miss her incredibly. I mean, we were together 24 hours a day for a whole week. You miss something all of a sudden.
When we arrived in Leon today, we first looked for a hostel where I could sleep tonight, which had this anti-insect spray for bedbugs and was prepared to rid all our things of the bedbugs. When we were “rejected” at the first 2 hostels, we treated ourselves to a proper breakfast. It was a real luxury meal with the so-called “churros” with chocolate. Our bedbugs were forgotten for half an hour 🙂 In the third hostel, we could hardly believe it, they actually wanted to help us! Yay! Not only did they want to, they could. I got my room for the night and Marianne and I unpacked our rucksacks completely and took everything off. We were already familiar with the procedure 🙂
The nice man then sprayed all our clothes + rucksacks and then everything went into big black bin bags. He said that as soon as the stuff had soaked in, he would put it in the washing machine and then in the dryer so that everything was ready in time for Marianne’s departure. Luckily we were already there at around 12:00 and the hostel was still empty, so nobody noticed the “plague” 🙂
A cleaning lady kindly gave us 2 towels so we could shower one after the other and get rid of the bedbugs. Then we lay in the room and had to wait. I actually found it quite funny. I don’t think I got any new stitches either, but Marianne had got it just as bad as I had a few days earlier. Instead, I had some kind of rash in the hollow of my arm that we both didn’t know what to do with. The good thing was that Marianne’s leg rash (probably the sun allergy) had improved. Well, so we lay there wrapped up in our towels 🙂
Relatively quickly, there was a knock at the door and the man came back with our cleaned things.
Dressed, Marianne then packed her rucksack. I left my things at the hostel and then we set off through Leon. After the tour and a small snack, it was time to say goodbye at the bus station. Marianne took the bus to Madrid and from there took the plane to Germany. I started crying again on the Camino, only this time I knew exactly why: because Marianne was leaving. I found it really sad and so did she. But we would visit each other and see each other again, we sisters at heart. So Marianne drove off. Afterwards, I walked around Leon, looked at the cathedral and did some shopping. Afterwards in the hostel I wrote postcards. Incidentally, I wrote on my postcards that I had already walked 490 km and had completed more than half of it and had met God. So my desire to find God has already been fulfilled. Everything I wanted. I can actually go home again, but of course I’m still going to run the rest!
Day 20: August 1
Hello it’s me!
Did my personal best today and ran 33.2km! Ahh! My feet hurt like never before when I arrived at the hostel.
Now I’m reasonably well again. My rash in the “hollows of my arms” has improved thanks to a cortisone cream that Marianne gave me.
But I have caught new blisters. 🙂
Otherwise everything was fine. The hostel is really nice. Of course, I really miss Marianne and it was strange to walk without her today. Now it’s time to sleep after the exhausting day.
Night
Day 21: August 2
Hello it’s me!
I “only” walked 18km today. But I really wanted to stay in Astorga because the city is supposed to be so beautiful and my first impression confirms that.
I didn’t leave until 8:00 this morning.
I ended up in a big hostel, but everything is great and the rooms are only 10 beds big.
Here in the hostel, they offered “treatments” for the feet today. Students from the university here are doing their internship in the hostel. My blisters on my feet were treated extensively. I now have big white plasters all over them. But the student was quite happy with how I had treated the blisters so far. I’m supposed to take the plasters off tomorrow. Let’s see what good it has done. Astorga is really beautiful and has a great city center.
But now it’s off to bed!
Day 22: August 3
Hello it’s me!
Hiked 26.6 km today. And today it was uphill again, and not a little. Foncebadon is a small village in the middle of a mountain. A bit strange here. You get the impression that the village consists exclusively of pilgrims’ hostels. Hape Kerkeling called it a “ghost town”.
As before yesterday’s treatment, my blisters don’t hurt, but I still think it was good to have an expert take a look.
Despite new friends along the way: I still miss Marianne incredibly!
Especially because right now a woman is putting all her clothes in a big black garbage bag..that smells like BEDBUGS! Hey! And I thought Marianne and I were the only ones who could get these critters 🙂
Tomorrow we go to the highest point of the whole Camino! Adios!
Day 23: August 4
Hello it’s me!
Ran 28 km today. My feet hurt a lot today because it was all downhill for so many kilometers. That was also very hard on the knees.
When we set off this morning, Foncebadon lived up to its title of “ghost town”. It was still pitch dark and mega foggy. You could see about 10 meters away. And it was cold! It was actually cold all day today! And it even rained. By the way, today we went to the Cruz de Ferro, where every pilgrim can lay a stone. Of course I did that too. My rucksack is now a few grams lighter 🙂
I walked a bit with Alex from the Cruz de Ferro today. We got to know each other today. We had a nice chat and what I found extremely interesting: Alex isn’t walking the trail because of God, he doesn’t actually know why he’s walking the trail. He simply had the desire and was called, so to speak. He is a believer, but he used to be more of a “believer on the road” and has lost sight of God, so to speak. And as I said, he is not walking the path because of God. BUT: along the way, he has come closer to God again and has rediscovered his faith (which has actually always been there). Very exciting! The hostel today is huge and I’ve just come from the pilgrims’ mass. One of the monks said something really exciting: he asked us how many kilometers the Camino is and therefore how many kilometers we have to find Jesus. Everyone said that the Camino is about 800 km long. And then the monk said: “The actual Camino is not even one meter long. Because it goes from the head (mind) to the heart. Then he said that we should ask ourselves: “Who am I?” and “Who is Jesus?”. The answer is: “We are Jesus.” Words to think about…
Good night!
Day 24: August 5
Hello it’s me!
I ran 25 km today in no less than 5 hours! With breaks! And with uphill! I don’t know why I was running so fast today 🙂
My “hostel” today is an old monastery, which is huge and you have to be careful not to get lost! I’m in a room for two with a Spanish woman who snores INCREDIBLY LOUDLY, as I discovered during my afternoon nap. I think the village here is pretty nice and everything feels so personal. The only pain I have today is in my legs when I go down the stairs. All good. Tomorrow is the dangerous lorry route, but there is also supposed to be an alternative route, the so-called “Camino Duro”, which is supposed to be particularly tough and super steep. I still haven’t decided which route I’m going to take. I’ll do it spontaneously.
Now it’s time to sleep.
Day 25: August 6
Hello it’s me!
AHHH! I think today was the day I sweated the most!
I would even go so far as to say that I don’t know what was more strenuous: the Pyrenees or today. I walked the “Camino Duro” today. Duro stands for “hard”. A total understatement. It was really bad. But I’ll write more tomorrow, because I’ve had a few glasses of wine.
So the next day has arrived and I can continue writing. By the way, I drank the glasses of wine with Pascal yesterday. I met him a few days ago, a nice Belgian, 35, a teacher of religion and French. But first to the route: as I said = incredibly hard. I was completely exhausted yesterday.
It was there that I thought for the first time: “What the hell am I doing here?”
After Mass, Pascal and I cooked some pasta and ate it, and drank quite a bit of wine to go with it 🙂
We really had a lot of fun.
We really talked about God and the world (in English, of course). We talked about love, alcohol and life and really had a lot of fun.
At some point Alex and another friend joined us (it was his birthday) and we drank more wine. At some point we went to bed 🙂
Day 26: August 7
Hello it’s me!
Today was another steep climb and I have the feeling that today was the hottest day EVER! The bad thing is: with every step you take uphill, you know that you have to take the same step downhill again. And that’s at least as bad!
A saying that came to mind while I was running today: “There are good days and there are bad days”. But from now on I am of the opinion that this is not true. Because on every day that could be bad, you are alive. And every day that you live is a good day! 🙂
Pascal is back in the same hostel as me today and now just calls me “Sweety” 🙂 The guy is so awesome and mega funny!
Night!
Day 27: August 8
Hello it’s me!
“Only” ran 20 km today. My leg pain is back, but I’m still fine. There was no sun again today and we were actually running in fog the whole time. The time went by pretty quickly. You really notice that you’re getting closer and closer to Santiago. There are so many pilgrims on the road now. Much more than the weeks before. If everything goes well, I’ll reach Santiago in 5 days…I can’t believe it. Sarria is not so nice, but fortunately the hostel is.
I can definitely sleep well here 🙂
Day 28: August 9
Hello it’s me!
Ran 22 km today. My body said I could have run more, but I decided to stick to my plan. Luckily: because I really like Portomarin! One of the prettiest little towns so far. With a beautiful lake, lovely bridge, beautiful little church and nice alleyways. I also like the hostel. I’m about to have dinner with my new French friend. He invited me over for lunch today and cooked for me. We’ve just been shopping.
Let’s see what kind of food the Frenchman conjures up now. The wine, the wine….
I’ll continue writing tomorrow….
So now: The Frenchman thought he could show me how to cook. We got a 20-year-old Korean, who lives in the USA and speaks perfect English, to join us and the three of us cooked together. It was great fun. Afterwards we ate our work with delicious wine and very nice conversation.
It was definitely a nice evening. The Frenchman (28 years old) told me about his encounter with God on the Camino. A really nice story: one day while hiking on the Camino, the Frenchman thought he would make bouquets of flowers. Just like that. To beautify the path and as a gift for other pilgrims. So he tied small bouquets of flowers together while walking and laid them on the path. He was spotted unnoticed by a local. When he later reached his destination village, which was the local’s home village, checked into the hostel and walked through the village, the local met him. The local said to him: “Ahh you are the pilgrim who made the bouquets, you must be a good person! Come!”. And he invited the Frenchman to his home. He introduced him to his wife and son and invited him to a real feast. He chose the best wine for him and laid out a huge table. It turned out to be a really nice evening.
When the Frenchman, completely overwhelmed by the hospitality, was back at the hostel, the local showed up and gave him a gift. A simple little horse woven from straw. Nothing special, but now something very special for the Frenchman. He told me that this horse is now one of the most valuable things he owns. The Frenchman was on the verge of tears because he didn’t know what was happening to him. He had only made bouquets of flowers. The fascinating thing about the story: the Frenchman does NOT speak Spanish, the local can ONLY speak Spanish, but despite this, the Frenchman says he understood every word.
I found the story really beautiful, especially because the Frenchman associated the encounter with the local man with God. Afterwards he told me that God always meets us when we experience kindness and love and give and are nice to each other. Wow! And that I would find God there. I told him that I had already found God right there, because Francois had already said the same thing. Really great stories like that!
Our meal was also great and after eating together and washing up we went to bed.
Day 29: August 10
Hello it’s me!
Walked about 25 km today. My leg pain was actually unbearable from kilometer 22 onwards, but I made it anyway 🙂 There are now real crowds of people on the paths and the hostels are getting fuller and fuller. Luckily I still managed to get a place. I’ve already been to 3, all of which were already full, even though I was one of the first. Maybe I’ll have to make a reservation tomorrow. It was unbelievably windy today and freezing cold in places! Unbelievable! While running I met Antonio from Los Angeles and we ran together for quite a while.
When we arrived in the village, we first went to the small church. Really SMALL. There you could take sayings with you in your own language and I found the perfect saying that fits everything I learned about God here and, above all, where I found it: “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.” (1st Epistle of John, 4, 16).
Tomorrow will be quite exhausting again.
So sleep now. Night!
Day 30: August 11
Hello it’s me!
Ran further than planned today. A total of 30.1 km. Then I’ll have to run a little less tomorrow. I’ll be in Santiago the day after tomorrow! And with me what feels like 1000 other pilgrims. It’s so crowded. It was quite windy again this morning, but the sun eventually came out. When I changed my pants, it was in some run-down bus stop in the middle of the forest (no idea why there’s a bus stop there…). In any case, the plastic walls of this bus stop were completely scribbled over and painted by pilgrims. As I was putting my shoes back on, my eyes fell on 4 words. It said: “Love is the answer”. It didn’t say which question. But I knew it just the same. To my question: Who is God?
I’m quite sure that it was intentional that I change my pants at this exact stop and that I see this exact lettering. My feet only hurt half as much when I think about it 🙂
Night
Day 31: August 12
Hello it’s me!
Walked 19.6 km today. As announced yesterday, a little less. I also walked quite comfortably because most of the hostels don’t open until 12:00 or 13:00 according to the trip planner. And got an early start. After a very pleasant night, I got out of bed at 5:30am today. At 6:00 a.m. I was already in a so-called “churreria”. They make churros there. So delicious.
Together with an orange juice, that was my breakfast today. Then I started running. It was quite pleasant today. When I arrived here, most of the hostels were still closed. One, where I am now staying, was already open and I am absolutely thrilled. One of the best hostels on the whole route. Totally clean, nice people, everything very relaxed, good beds (you were allowed to choose your own), 2 floors, terrace and the shower is a dream! Best shower so far! And I can definitely sleep well in this bed tonight…and then hike one last time tomorrow. And then I’ll have really made it.
Wow! Good night!
Day 32: August 13
Hello it’s me!
AHHHH! I’m here!
Limping and overjoyed, I actually reached my destination this morning at around 11am. After 800 km I arrived in Santiago! BÄÄÄMS!
I started on July 13 and arrived on August 13. I have now been hiking for exactly 1 month. 32 days to be precise. The time has gone by sooo quickly now. WOW. Walking today went quite well. Until the point when it was exactly 7 km to Santiago. Then the leg pain was completely back. And it stayed until Santiago (hence the “limping”). But now I’m fine again 🙂
When I saw the cathedral, I knew for sure that I had reached my destination. Yay! Of course, I wasn’t alone… I felt like there were thousands of other people standing on the cathedral forecourt. Really full! And all over the city center! Then I went for a bite to eat. I wasn’t worried about finding a bed because I thought there would be plenty of hostels here. That was a small mistake. In the end, I think I got the last bed ever 🙂 It was definitely the last one in my hostel 🙂 I had a quick shower in the hostel and then headed back into the city center! You could almost walk around here for days, I think 🙂 I picked up my certificates at the pilgrims’ office and of course visited the cathedral. It’s definitely more beautiful from the inside than from the outside. Then you had to queue up again to see the tomb of St. James the Apostle. I did and was even allowed to put my arms over the shoulders of the figure of Santiago behind the main altar. Then we went down a flight of stairs to the real tomb of St. James. This was the REAL destination of the Way of St. James. At the tourist office, I asked how I could possibly get back to Cologne at some point 🙂
Let’s see, it will work out. First I’m off to Fisterra to watch the sunrise and sunset. And of course to a pilgrim mass. But my “travel diary” ends here.
So ADIOS!
