A letter to my Camino family

A letter to my friends, 27th February 2017.

Dear Martine, Don, Davide, Janne, Rick, Magda, Abdal, Mila, Yolande, Tano, Manon, Ines, Rasmus, Susanna and Sueon (in the order I met you),

We haven't met yet.

Most of you are planning to start a journey very soon, one of you is continuing a journey which began in Le Puy many, many kilometres ago.

You'll be arriving into St Jean Pied de Port, or a little further down the way, very soon. You think you'll be undertaking this journey alone (or maybe just with your dad, daughter or cousin).

You are wrong.

There are some people you need to keep an eye out for...

A Dutch girl with an easy smile, an American who likes to laugh, an Italian lost in thought, another Dutch girl who lights up when music plays, her dad who will discover the joy of living in community, a Polish girl who is a master in the kitchen, a Scottish guy who gives the best hugs, two Spanish cousins who bring joy to every day, a farmer who is always happy to peel the potatoes, a French girl who is small but strong, her best friend who always brings the party, a Viking who loves sparkling wine, a Canadian who has love pouring out of her, a Korean who naps in the face of adversity and an English girl, who loves to write and is always the last the be ready.

Over the coming days, these people will become your family, and you won't be able to comprehend now what this will mean to you.

You're on this journey for a reason. You've come here for space to think, to have an experience, to challenge yourself, but really you have no idea what you've let yourself in for.

The only advice I can offer at this stage is to have an open heart...and to cream your feet before you go to bed.

It's going to be tough, in ways you can't imagine now, but it'll be so, so worth it.

The only thing I can promise you, is that you'll find your best self on this journey and whoever that person is, they will be embraced and loved by the little family you'll find yourself a part of.

Let me tell you now; you're stronger than you think you are, you're kinder than you think you are; you've handled more pain in your life than you realise up to now and maybe on this journey you'll be reminded of some of the battles you've fought along the way.

Whether they were won or lost, the Camino has a way of reminding you about the past, slowly revealing the things that are holding you back and allowing you to leave these old hurts on the trail behind you.

Whoever you are now, this is not who you'll be in the end.

So get some rest, you'll need it.

Embrace each day, savour the incredible moments which are coming your way and prepare for the journey of your life.

And thanks, in advance, for everything.

Buen Camino x