Habits and Senses Before and After My Camino…

My family and friends were a little bit worried when they heard I was going to walk 800km in Southern France and Spain. I was not particularly famous for my sense of direction in my own country. I was always using navigation systems in the car.

From the moment I started walking in Saint Jean Pied de Port, my senses became more vivid. I didn’t even know nature gave me these powers. I remember while I was walking for two hours with a German pilgrim who had a map (I didn’t, by the way) and I said, ”I feel we are walking the wrong way.” He said, “No no… I’m sure I read it well. I looked up in the sky and I said, “I’m sure. The sun is facing me. That’s not good. The sun should be at our back.” When I said it I was quiet. I knew what I said was true but how is it possible I remembered this? We walked back and saw the Camino signs again. My feeling was right. Not bad for a guy famous for his absence of direction and walking without a map.

When I’m walking now I can, without thinking a lot, point you to North, South, East and West with accuracy. Amazing. Like nature triggered this hidden and important talent for survival and now that it’s activated I can use it at any time. It feels like the Camino lets you experience instincts. But if you always trust maps and navigation systems you will never experience this.

As an IT consultant, I asked on Facebook before leaving home if friends and family believed I could survive without a computer for one month. Only two said yes. They were right. I decided I didn’t want to touch a computer for all that time. I enjoyed the silence of the Camino so much. Many times I put away my smartphone. Quiet time for me. Also a good lesson from the Camino.

Life is sometimes really hard for all of us, but for different reasons. Before I walked the Camino, I never saw the struggles of other people. Now I’m able to see it faster and to anticipate it. I remember I was thinking about some personal struggles. How hard it was for me. On that day I heard a pilgrim telling me how he lost his brother while walking the Camino. It made me realize my issues are not that bad.

The most valuable lesson of the Camino is: I’m able to help people. Weird, but the most frightening thing I experienced and learned is that I had to allow people to help me. A new world opened for me. I was Ramond de Vrede. I didn’t need somebody to help me. Actually I did need it of course. That started with a good friend who supported me to walk the Camino alone. I let pilgrims into my life and they gave good insight along with open-minded and different viewpoints of my issues.

I want to thank all pilgrims, friends, and family who supported me to walk the Camino de Santiago.

Buen camino,
Ramond de Vrede