What walking 100KM SOLO taught me

I NEEDED TO BE ALONE. Time alone was not something I’d had in large doses for the previous 14 years – marriage, two children and a business meant I was at the beck and call of others who needed me physically, mentally and emotionally. What I wanted was release from the demands of daily life, from answering to clients, kids and family. I craved, and wanted, me.

I decided to do something I’d been wanting to do for years: walk the Camino, or at least a part of it. For me, walking might be monotonous, but it’s never boring. It’s a feast of smells, textures and colours. It’s the variation in the pressure my feet impose on the ground; it’s the earth, the grass and the gravel. It’s the heat of the sun that bears down on me in summer, and the slicing wind of winter that feels like ants crawling