JK: She resolved, like you said, this is toxic, Paris can’t be like this for me, I’m going to cum only when I’m happy. I just couldn’t bear to think of her holding that suitcase and thinking, what do I do now? And the shock of that and the dizzy, sick feeling she must have felt.
THE: After the break, we heard from a listener about the physical challenges that they handicapped for the sake of traveling. If you have stories of your own to share, especially if you have one about a mother-daughter trip you’ve taken, voicemail your story via email to women travelers on cntraveler.com.
JK: The physical challenges, that’s something we often get our guests talking about, and we can indirectly go through that experience with them. I think for Tracy, going on the Camino to Santiago de Compostela is a journey that I know a lot of people have done. And they have taken it in different ways. Some of my friends have cycled all the way. Some I have done the short five day versions. I have done the 30 day version. Most of them have gone in groups. I mean, it’s amazing that she went off on her own.
Tracy: I am a 54 year old mother of two who owns a vitamin supplement company and lives in a quiet suburb of New Jersey. Despite being in good health and fairly fit and living a relatively peaceful life, she suffered from horrible anxiety and panic attacks. To make matters worse, last year I was hit by one tragedy after another including the death of my best friend, my usual way of moving to feel better is to pick a place in the world and go, but I really needed something to like that. he shook me a bit and slapped me across the face as if i woke up to get rid of this lingering anxiety and didn’t want to resort to medication. I decided to do the Camino de Santiago in Galicia, Spain, for seven days in a row, which is 100 kilometers, but to do it in December during the coldest and rainiest time of the year, and I decided to do it alone.
But doing a little prep work for this adventure, I entered this strange realm of Facebook groups and hiking groups and sites dedicated to everything from what to eat on the Camino, what shoes to wear, what bag to take, what, where to pee. . And all the advice I got failed miserably, uh, in December conditions. Um, shoes and clothing were recommended for summer hikes, and forget about baths. There was nothing open, there were no places to eat, um, a tree or a bush was what you had. And let me tell you, being a 54 year old woman still on her period and two layers of pants on, it’s not fun. (laughs).
But I never saw a single soul on the road for two whole days. And when I finally did, we nodded and moved on, perhaps out of respect for silence and emptiness. I just want to say that the most important part of this journey was that the fear of taking the first step overwhelmed me, but I was captivated. I am not a very religious person. But there is something quite primordial and sacred about walking alone in the rain and wind that leads down a beaten path where so many have been before but where none but you stood.
