June 17: Half Way

We walked into Sahagun today, halfway through the Camino Francés. That’s about 394km from St Jean. Last night, we stopped at Legidos, which is halfway from Ronscevalles (380km). We took the obligatory snaps at the halfway point and advised our cohort (Peter, Mary, Randy, Michelle) that they could get their “halfway certificate” in town if they so choose (they all declined, with their eyes on the prize of the full camino).

This has been a very different exoerience, reflecting the “bougification” of the camino perhaps, but also, wonderful (for us) to walk with other, recently retired couples, from an Anglo background, well-educated and walking because this was something they felt it was “time” to do.

Peter and Mary have been pushing themselves to go the full distance (despite gout and a terrible array of blisters). They are now recovering into their second wind and really starting to gain confidence in their abilities. To be fair, Mary said she wanted/needed to do a second one before the end of Day 1, so they were always unbowed. Randy and Michelle were “challenged” to do the whole walk by one of their sons. They always appear strong and confident, and are clearly settling even further in with every stage completed, ready for the rest of the walk.

By contrast, Carey and I, who went through the “slough” a month ago and are now walking on muscle memory, are starting to fail. Carey’s pristine “baby feet” have a blister on his left heal and my orthopaedic inserts have finally started to cause chaffing along my instep. We are strong and having fun, but Carey is overtly counting down the last 50+ kms into Leon. He is ready for the pampering of the boat. I have almost 2 million steps, Carey – 1.8m. We are at 1,377km in total, and 1,195km on the camino itself.

I recognise that we will have walked our plan, but I also experience the camino as the best way of living. I am sad/anxious to have just a few days left. That’s why we have another walk booked already. I need to know we will be back soon.

I feel my most authentic self here. Yesterday, I felt confident enough to “unleash” on Peter and Mary: how I’m musing on Camus and listening to my brain in dialogue with the landscape… I petered off with “it’s noisy in here – and not all of it comes out of my mouth”, which allowed Carey to defuse the situation with a joke. Still, I “let my freak flag fly” on camino. If nothing else, people can literally walk away. This is one of the few places where I do not filter myself. My spirit (and my creativity) soars as a result. This is a measure of my wariness, not of my home friends. Life has taught me to self-censor where you know you have to live with the consequences of who you are. I am very grateful for the camaraderie of this particular experience.

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Inspired by our 2024 Camino Francais, Karen has a periodic podcast called "I sent you a bloody boat", personal thoughts on faith by a person who believes in thinking. Also, known as "The Reluctant Christian". You can listen to it on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts at: