I started my camino journey from St.Jean-pied-de-port at the base of the Pyrenees in France 6 days ago. And I'm broken. It's a 780 odd km pilgrimage on foot to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and I see new faces everyday. A beautiful experience to meet like-minded travelers all with the same goal, but I can't lie and say it hasn't been testing. And they all say the first 10 days are the worst. I've already learnt in this short time that I packed too much; I hold onto too much; I am stronger than I thought I was; my shoes give me blisters; I have much to learn still; nothing beats a morning sunrise in the mountains; it's better not to try a bush pee on a thorny slope. I've learnt to resist the urge to smother snoring men in the pilgrim dormitories; how to make a tortilla and to ask for a glass of wine in Spanish; that France is hellishly more expensive than Spain but that the flies are more persistent here; that there's merit in a siesta; that strangers have so many interesting stories. As hard as this is, I have so much more to learn still.
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