Media (26)
A very long push toward Santiago.
July 15: walking with Catherine, with the idea of reaching Santiago directly by skipping an intermediate stage.
That day Catherine and I walked a huge amount, and at some point we decided to keep going and skip a stage to arrive directly in Santiago. In the end we covered just under 50 km: an enormous distance, but with a kind of happiness that is hard to explain.
During all those hours there were also small discussions caused by fatigue, which is normal when you are on the move for so long. But each time we cleared things up quickly, and the ending was positive: we arrived exhausted, but happy.
On the same day I also received very heavy news about Andrius: he had fainted while walking alone and ended up in a hospital in Santiago, in a mental health ward, after a night without sleep and without enough medication. In the following days he wrote to me that he would return to Lithuania to seek help.
*Hearing from him again in the following years, it was a relief to learn he had recovered: he had come through a very hard period in which he was extremely low in spirits, was doing well, later also got engaged, and resumed contact with his son. Hearing all this made me proud of him and of the huge recovery he managed to achieve.*
Heavy stride, empty legs, but that mental drive that keeps you going when you realize the finish is really close.
When you share such an extreme stage, kilometers matter, but the ability to clarify things quickly and keep moving in the same direction matters even more.
If reading this diary makes you feel the Camino might be calling you, but you still need to clarify a few things, start with the free guide.
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