TRAVEL MEMOIRS
Walking Camino Porto — I Was Lost and Happy About It
I rescued myself on Camino de Santiago over and over again
My October trip to Portugal to walk a few hundred miles, a cool autumn adventure, backfired. I walked under a heat dome in Portugal. I kept walking, some days close to collapsing. In every experience, there is a lesson. I was reminded being lost is not such a bad thing. While I’ve been lost many times in my life, both emotionally and geographically, this time was different.
I was on a victory tour, but had a nagging doubt I was too old. I worked at ignoring it. I’m a distance walker. I don’t sit in cold hotels and enjoy an occasional swim in a pool. Nor do I go on fancy cruises and come back ten pounds heavier.
To me, those activities aren’t my style. I like being alone in nature, surviving days and days of 15-mile walks and challenging my body and mind.
Because of all this, I was eager to return to my beloved Camino de Santiago, especially after the most horrific two years.
COVID, cancer, and wildfires came to my doorstep and refused to leave
In 2020, COVID kept me home. No adventures for me. I’m fine alone, so suffered less than others…
