The End of the World

Oboz Ambassador Fern finishes up her pilgrimage through Europe and sends her final reflections. Congrats Fern!

“Good greetings to you!
Here I sit in Finnesterre, my final destination for the Camino. It has been a long but wonderful past two months covering 2000km across France and Spain, 57 days of surprises, trails, errors, excitement, and meeting many interesting and amazing people from all across the world. Here the trail opens people up, you pass people and say hello, where perhaps at home you´d just keep on walking by. We´re all walking the same way, and at times I fell into stride with other pilgrims, sharing the trail and learning of who they are. It is amazing how much you can learn of a person just by walking with them. You don´t have to ask their name, nor what they do for a living, instead, almost instantly, you fall deeper into the conversation asking things like ¨how do you feel?¨or ¨why are you doing this?¨ there is no hesitation out here to be bold….in a way the camino teaches you to reach out to your neighbor and take the time to learn of them.
My final weeks on the camino were both the loveliest and the hardest. Hard not in the sense of terrain, but hard knowing that the distance to the end was drawing near. So much wanting the last days to last forever, taking in each moment. But also hard because there are SO MANY PEOPLE! By 2pm in the afternoon, the trail is virtually empty, except for the crazy long-distance pilgrims. We tolerate the heat, and find fountains along the way celebrating the cool refreshing water before carrying on. This is the life. Nothing else matters. At night, when at last arriving to the albergue, shoes come off, and it is as though the feet smile to get some air and can stretch out, wiggling in the last hours of the day. You eat with other pilgrims, sharing experiences of the day, or of the other folks we have met. Almost instantly, when your head hits the pillow, you fall into a deep sleep, sometimes being awoken by someone else in the room snoring…or someones, but otherwise, a long day takes it right out of you. Then true to the day, at 5am, someone stirs, a plastic bag is scrunched, and soon, you are back on your feet, blinking in the first morning moments, eating a breakfast and commencing. This I shall come to miss. The routine and rhythm. Each day yes, starts and finishes like the last, but it is never the same.
Yesterday I arrived in Finnesterre. What an incredible moment to first see the ocean and then to stand in front of it, look out and see the whole world drop away from sight as ocean turns to sky. Though I walked alone the past two days, I met a few friends I had made along the way, and we made the final journey up to Cap Finnesterre to watch the sun set. It was a beautiful way to put an end to my camino. As it grew dark, we sat by the ocean, listening to the peace. Each of us brought a piece of clothing we wore along the trail. As is tradition for many pilgrims, we set our clothes on fire, and said a small word to celebrate the distances we had come. How strange it was to wake up this morning, knowing that I wouldn´t be walking far. Knowing that in the evening I would be on a new adventure, slowly making my way back to London, and then home. It´s a different camino now. A personal camino back into society. Where I will again have to learn and adjust to a new routine and rhythm, and take my experience and reflect on all that has come to pass.
fern”