The things we learned on el camino...

Generally when people tell you about the places they've been, they tell you about the beautiful scenery, the wonderful people, the great food, the cheap booze,the incredible four star resort they stayed in...this is not one of those stories. I had just broken up with my boyfriend, my friend had just broken up with hers. We were on one of our weekly quests to use up as many coupons from the current entertainment book as possible. Then genius struck. "Let's walk across Spain", she said. To which I replied "sure." And just like that the decision was made. There were things we would need of course, plain tickets, backpacks, a plan... We decided we would start in Madrid, after all, we only had ten days, and that seemed like as good a place to start as any. From there we took the train to Leone, and thus began our journey. We got off the train, and we walked, and we walked, and we walked. We ate, we drank, we slept in ridiculous places, but most of all, we walked. We walked all the way to Santiago de Compestella. We collected stamps, we made friends, we got up before the sun rose and chose a direction based on nothing but feeling, we followed seashells, peed in bushes, ate more bocadillos than a human ever should, and, we walked. We walked in silence, we walked and talked, we walked and sang, we walked in tears, we walked. And this is what we learned: Everything always works out. Sometimes, not having a plan is the best plan. People are willing to help, if we are willing to let them. Trust and Faith go a long way. Your speed is good speed. It's OK to eat bread. Just be nice! Sometimes it's all you need. Sometimes you just need someone to hold your hand. Wobbly bits-we all got 'em! We are truly thankful for google, or as we like to call it, the orcal. My travel buddy is my Spanish HERO! How much we miss yoga. And the most important thing we learned, other than shitty shoes lead to a broken foot, is mascara is NOT mandatory!