The Day Before & Goals

I have arrived in Bari, it's official: I'm starting my walk tomorrow. 

Italy is amazing as always. Sunny weather, 25 degrees, friendly, lively people everywhere. I have been in Italy over 12 times but yet I still feel culture shocked. It's always strange being in a country where you don't speak the language. 

                               Bari old town

After leaving my relatively dodgy hostel, having been kicked out by the cleaning lady, I thought I'll go out and discover the city. I realised I took my own advice to travel light too seriously and I only packed two shirts, both were for the walk; I had no pyjama top. So, I went out and got two tops, a hat and some biscuits, water. While wandering the beautiful narrow streets of Bari, I realised today is a good day to reflect on my aims with this Camino. Why I am doing this walk, what do I want to get out of it and what are my expectations.

The reason for the Camino

The idea of doing a Camino came to me while having a very difficult - if not the most difficult - time of my life. Without oversharing, I felt like I needed time to reconnect with myself. And since my life now is in a lot of ambiguity, I wanted something that's certain and something I can plan towards. Since I love nature and hikes, this felt like the perfect thing to do for myself. Something that will challenge me but will allow me to reflect on things and have time to myself without the usual distractions. 

My goals and expectations

I expect a great deal of pain 😂 Blisters in shapes and sizes I've never seen before. I expect to be really exhausted most days and - I really hope this won't happen - but I'll likely get lost a few times. However, I also expect a deep level of peace and tranquility when all I'll hear for hours are the wind and the birds. You know that happy feeling of sitting down after walking a lot? And the first time eating after a big work out? I can't wait for those moments. I'm hoping to meet a lot of people from different paths of life and learn from them. I hope by the end of the walk in a week's time, I'll have learnt new things about myself and feel that life is limitless. And I hope my Italian gets better 😄

That's it for today. I'm going to enjoy my day on the beach and get some Italian pizza in the evening, so that I have all the energy to start my walk early tomorrow morning. 

               My heaven - seaside and cherries