My first long hike was from Le Puy to Figeac in 2013.
It changed me in several ways, one change was that I developed a more conscious appreciation for natural landscapes. My experience was not at all unique, so
I decided to research the connections/affinities between walkers and the places through which they walk.
The paper I wrote is linked below. It does mention but does not focus on the Camino.
http://www.fusion-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2016/11/02-Simmons.pdf
Hi Ozzie,
I have just completed reading your paper and find, for me, that, as
Lee and Ingold (2006)
described, all three modes of interaction with the environment they gleaned from walkers – ‘looking outward’ ‘reflecting inward’,and ‘embodied experience’, are all part of my Camino experience.
Looking outward was the first experience as I rose up the mountain on the first day. The road, fields, animals, birds, smells and the warmth of the Sun filled my senses. I had a hard time of it, taking 9 hours to make it to Orisson. So, reflecting inward and the battle that was just beginning began to crowd out the enjoyable moments and stimulae. However, after finishing for the day, eating and going to bed, and rising at 3 AM for a bathroom run, a culmination came into existence.
From here, if those who have heard this story care to jump to the bottom of this post, you are allowed and forgiven as I have told this story a couple of times.
In the midst of returning to my bunk, I passed a partially open window. There were a dozen of us in this one room and it was the only window, allowing fresh air in for all of us. But as soon as I passed it, I stopped, back peddled a couple of steps and gently opened the window fully, careful to make no sound or wake up anyone else.
As I stood in this large window, my senses were so wonderfully inundated with first the sight of the Full Moon rising over the mountain peaks to the East. For the eyes, this gentle light illumunated a blanket of cloud that covered the floor of the valley down below, and not a single man made light could be seen. For the ears, the sound of bells came from the sheep moving about the slopes below and the breeze wafted up to me with the scent of a million mountain pasture flowers.
There is no way that this vista, in the middle of the night, could ever be recorded in any other way, and do it justice, except in these crude words and how it has been forever written on my soul, and heart. This is why I will return this year to restart and complete the
Camino Frances, two years older and decades wiser.
In addition, however, due to a muscle injury, the introspective became intertwined with the spiritual. Constant prayer became part of the internal rhythms that got me to a place where I could rest, take stock of my situation and determine the immediate end to my first attempt. It was an emotional blow, certainly, but the wisest decision.
Throughout, a resolve welled up to return, to not give up on the Camino, or myself in being willing and eventually be able to return.
Finally, to ensure discursive walking is not left out, yes, it is also in the mix, but I must anticipate that it will be minimal, by my experience, as it is the journey, and all the experiences, the interactions, the witnessing along The Way, that will make up my Camino, always. Ultreia! Buen Camino
