Some of you may know that at the start of April we decided to undertake a week long “go, no go” trial Camino in Germany. We set out from Rothenburg ob der Tauber and over the course of the next 8 days we walked 140km/92 miles to Esslingen. The idea was to test ourselves and our gear and decided if we were ready to undertake the longer more challenging Camino de Santiago.
The experience was wonderful, we learnt a lot through the exercise and I know it will stand to us on our upcoming adventure. We learnt about traveling light, about the benefits of a slow and steady pace and how taking frequent breaks can add miles you might not have been able for, to your legs at the end of the day. We learnt to stop and smell the roses and benefitted from the kindness of strangers when we arrived at our accommodation for the night tired, wet and cold from a day walking in the rain.
Having said all that, I am in the middle of reading a beautiful book given to me as a recent Birthday gift from a dear friend, called “Walk in a Relaxed Manner – Life Lessons from the Camino” by Joyce Rupp and now I thinking my German Camino experience was Camino Lite and there are challenges ahead I haven’t even begun to appreciate. Only time will tell.