Camino (1)

In the spring 2016 I walked El Camino de Santiago from east to west, from Saint-Jean-Pied-de Port in France to the very end of the world - Fisterra, Spain. I walked through the breathtaking Spanish countryside, together with a few of the millions of people from all over the world who've trodden the same path over the centuries. I've journeyed not only with them, but with their stories: the Italian lover Adrianno with his wife and two mistress, Thomas the American and his evil mother, Fabian and his precision of Swiss watches, the long-suffering Giovanni, American Bill struggling with diabetes, Englishman David on a misguided quest to reclaim his youth, and the moving story of Eve from Germany, who conquored El Camino with her three-year-old son in tow. I've walked with Americans who came to St. James' Way after seeing the pilgrimage of Martin Sheen in the American drama The Way. In the beginning they didn't know where Slovenia was. By the end, they knew their soon-to-be first lady was from the country with love in its name. I found out that we all struggle through life as best we can; that we are looking for an inner balance, happiness. I found out that our stories are similar, and intertwined; that we are all one, and love is in all of us. I found out that life is indeed suffering. But I also discovered that it is first and foremost a blessing.