I went on Camino in July 2006 having just completed my BSc in Psychology. Why did I decide to do it? I had only vaguely heard about the Camino but the idea of walking took seed when a friend walked the Camino the previous September arriving in Santiago on his 50th birthday where he met up with non-walking family and friends. I thought it was a great way to mark an event and having investigated, decided that I would walk the 500 miles from St Jean de Pied de Port to Santiago over 5 weeks. It seemed so right, such a perfect thing to do. I would've completed my studies, and had the time to do it as I was going to continue with an MSc in the September, but more importantly had also just separated from my husband of 23 years and was going to have to sell the family home and move on when I finished my degree. The walk would perhaps give me the space to think, consider and make decisions about my future. So the plan was that 1 week after my final exam I would nip off to France, walk 500 miles over 5 weeks, meet up with my sister, Gill, son Stuart and his friend John, walk the Camino to Finisterre, then hire a car and drive back across northern Spain to Santander for a 2 week break in a caravan in Noja. Phew! But ......... I missed one exam so had to go for a resit which meant I could not do the 5 week walk just the last 70 miles. I would still get a Compostela (it still qualified as a pilgrimage) but I was sorry not to be able to spend 5 weeks walking which was the appeal for me. We didn't walk to Finisterre, instead I thought it would be more enjoyable to repeat the last 3 days of the Camino Frances as the camaraderie with the fellow peregrinos was fantastic. Everything else went ahead as planned!
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