I recently returned from the Camino de Santiago. The best part of travel is the experience of the new or the old that is fresh to the traveler. It can awaken inspiration and dust off those feelings of nostalgia, giving way to rejuvenation of mind body and soul. There is a danger of facing discontentment with our own lives by experiencing the great cultures and places of the world. Discontent should be supplanted with industry and action. What usually happens is preparation and planning for travel allows the interruption of the structure and routine of our lives. Bills, pets, security, work, plants, family, and friends all have this preparation and accommodation that has to take place before you can even leave town. Then the planning and expenditures to transport yourself to a another place. Flying or driving require additional steps to arrive in a new or different place. The experience of travel has obstacles. We endure the hurdles and expenses to step away from routine. Sometimes it is for rest and relaxation, perhaps in a familiar location, or it is some place new that takes us out of familiar routines with different food, languages, people, architecture, and customs. As an artist, I need to observe the familiar more closely and the new like a child. Memory is reinforced by repetition. The oak trees of City Park are familiar. I have traversed the paths with dogs on daily walks for the last 30 years that I have lived in Mid City. The colors change with shifts in light and changes in the seasons. I bask in the smells and sounds, and I delight in the many birds. I try to look with fresh eyes each day. But familiarity can breed complacency and oblivious acceptance. Travel, for me, awakens the synapses with new stimulation. To me it is worth the barriers of cost, preparation, and the hassle of getting there, and the need for reacclimation upon return. For the Camino de Santiago, there was additional preparation. There was historical and spiritual preparation on top of all the usual stuff that is required to leave town. I also needed gear like good shoes, a pack, a 2 season sleeping bag, trekking polls, an all weather jacket, and a variety of balms and salves. I will discuss the actual trip in future posts. I also had to prepare physically, increasing my daily steps and stretching. Journaling before during and after helped me to process my emotions and check my anxiety before it took hold. Fear of the unknown can easily spiral. Research in guidebooks and online also helped with the planning process as well as on the trip. After 7 weeks abroad and like a shadow, I quietly slipped back into town last week from my trek across Spain. I was on nursing a knee injury before I left, I had to pace myself around 7-8 miles a day. Still, I managed an average of 17,000 steps a day through the natural trails, small towns, and cities that are part of the French Way. I started in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Crossed the foothills of the Pyrenees, along the ancient path to Santiago de Compostela. I also, walked the section along the west coast of Spain from Finisterre to Muxia. I skipped some spots to allow more time in the cities, and because my pace was slow, and to rest my knee. I will be posting some pictures and comments as soon as I can process it all. It is story of contrasts: nostalgia and innovation, nature and technology, beautiful and sublime, solitude and interactions. My goal was to press a reset button and somehow align the body, mind, and spirit. Though I am home now, I feel like I have only just started that journey. As experience shifts into memory, hopefully I can process and share the meaning of this pilgrimage.
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