My Camino
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Part 1 - Underpants & Shampoo
Introduction | Before Leaving | Hungary to Slovenia
Before Leaving
MY EXPECTATIONS
If you watch any of those American ‘road movies’ you will see they often take the form of a mythological journey in which the travellers meet with many adventures. I knew it was time to seek more interesting adventures in my life. I couldn’t wait to start.
Do you know what István means by that? Have you ever had thoughts like that? Had a feeling like that? Have you ever acted on thoughts like that?
I had come to a sort of standstill, and I knew I had to change. I had graduated from university but I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do next. Also, like everyone, there are many things in the world around me that I don’t like but can’t change, so the next best thing to do is to change my outlook on life. You could say I wanted to shed my skin, like a snake does. I wanted to feel new and look new!
Before leaving, we often tried to imagine what the Camino would be like. I think Gábor was looking forward to inspiration for his paintings. I always had in mind the vision of a long trip that changes your way of thinking about friendship. A trip that puts human relationships to the test, shattering those that are not worth continuing and reinforcing those that can last for a lifetime, creating an indestructible bond between us.
I read some books by people who had walked their Camino and they all had different reasons for taking-up the challenge of such a physically demanding pilgrimage. For many, this 458 mile trek is tackled with the hope of finding spiritual meaning. It never really occurred to me that this experience would have religious meaning for me. I like looking at churches and cathedrals and the rituals of religious life are interesting to me but I haven’t come to any understanding about what God is.
BEFORE LEAVING
Naturally, Gábor, Csaba, Andi and I did a lot of planning before leaving.
First, we needed to get from Hungary to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, in south-western France. This is one of the traditional starting-off points for the pilgrimage. Originally we wanted to book a discount airline, but I had some problems with my Visa card - and the next day when I tried to book again, the prices had doubled! So we needed to rethink our plans. Train? Too expensive. Car? As we’re only four it’s a plausible solution... but how could I persuade my mother to let us have her car for six weeks??
Now, this might come as a surprise to you but I have known my mother for a long time. Twenty-four years is enough time to learn how to handle her. Even so, I knew it was not going to be easy. You should have seen the look she gave me when I told her where I was going and how I wanted to get there! I think you probably know that look, don’t you?
Anyway, after a lot of ‘friendly discussions’....
“My car is a Skoda. They’re not built for long distances. What will you do if it breaks down? No-one in Spain is going to know how to repair a Skoda!”
I can’t deny the logic of my mother’s objections. Skoda are now producing better cars but this model can hardly be considered a masterpiece of Czechoslovakian design. Some people have joked that they are made of cardboard with an engine powered by elastic bands. This is definitely an exaggeration but I can understand why people might think it’s true and in the back of my mind I had serious doubts about the chances of the car surviving till we got home but there was no way I was going to give my mother more fuel to add to the fire.
I had just about got my mother thinking seriously about the proposition when, as always happens, my father decided to add his views...
“What will happen if someone steals the car? How are you going to get home? You’ll be stranded in a foreign country and expecting me to come and rescue you!”
This was laughable. Who in their right mind is going to steal a prehistoric Skoda???
UNDERPANTS AND SHAMPOO
So... we’ve got the car. What else do we need to take?
Take a minute to think about the things you couldn’t survive without. Make a list of what goes into your backpack and what doesn’t. Just remember that whatever is in that backpack is going to be on your back for hour after hour, for mile after mile.
My first guidebook on the Camino was a present I got from my friend in Paris. It was written in a rather complex French. I translated most of it but couldn’t understand everything. However, it contained a list of ‘the essentials’ to take with you... which later proved to be totally stupid and unnecessary.
My mother insisted on buying me lots of new underpants and the biggest bottle of shampoo I’ve ever seen. But I won’t bore you, or embarrass myself, with her explanations about why these are essential to any successful Camino.
SUDDEN CHANGES OF PLAN.
Virtually at the last minute there was a change of plans. Andi’s boyfriend, Gergő, who I didn’t really know at the time, decided he wanted to come with us. Or did Andi decide for him? I’m not sure. Anyway, suddenly there will be five people travelling together in a small Skoda. For a moment, I thought about objecting to that but I kept quiet. I’m happy to say that Gergő turned out to be a great guy.
Sometimes when fate chucks a wobbly at you – you just have to roll with it. It’s amazing how often it turns out to be the best thing that could have happened. Has that ever happened to you?
Now – all I really wanted was to be in a real-live-road-movie... on foot!
LINKS
Part 1: Introduction | Before Leaving | Hungary to Slovenia