Getting to the walk added a few first world concerns I would not have encountered if I’d stayed home. I wouldn’t have fallen asleep on the floor in Singapore and then woken to discover the departure gate had been changed, requiring a top speed race from one end of the terminal to the other (and it’s much bigger than Auckland!) I arrived just in time to walk straight through security, onto the plane and they shut the door behind me.
If I’d stayed home I wouldn’t have had the excitement of pretty significant turbulence that even required the staff to buckle up for a while. Being on a flight with people letting out involuntary gasps (and the dramatic ones squealing), with drinks spilling and the landing bouncing along the runway is up there with roller coaster rides as far as I’m concerned. Firmly on my Do Not Do This Ever Again list.
If I’d stayed home I wouldn’t have been standing in front of a sign which pointed one way to my departure gate in Istanbul and the opposite way to a short connection time security screening. Having only an hour felt tight to me, but I didn’t know if that officially constituted “short”. I took the risk and found myself with what seemed like half the folks from our totally full plane, some with only 10 minutes to make their flight, others trying to push themselves to the front of the queue, everyone emanating concern.
If I’d stayed home I wouldn’t have been one of the first at the baggage carousel…and I wouldn’t have been the last one left standing there when it stopped either. I might have made it to Madrid, but the box I packed with my hiking poles, pocket knife, nail clippers and a big bag of homemade muesli didn’t make it past Istanbul. Fingers crossed we’ll be reunited.
If I’d stayed home I wouldn’t have got to go to the Free Art Gallery today. Hmmm. Due to taking Quite Some Time to locate my box and file a report I didn’t get to go to the art gallery even though I was so close.
If I’d stayed home I wouldn’t have received a message from my empathetic son saying how he’d been feeling sad all day for me going away on my own. Any ideas on how to explain that this is a treat?
If I’d stayed home I wouldn’t have got to marvel at the mountains of northern Greece still topped with snow or the deep blue of the sea surrounding southern Italy or the patchwork of Spanish fields in every shade of green you can imagine interspersed with some bright yellow ones and newly-ploughed brown ones stretching out to the horizon which was marked by more hills still holding on to the recent snow.
If I’d stayed home I wouldn’t have got to ask the man at the information desk if I needed to buy a ticket (I had a vague recollection that you could travel for free on the train from the airport if you had a ticket for another journey, but I didn’t want to try it out and discover I was wrong!) It felt satisfying to have him answer in Spanish rather than think, “She may have asked in Spanish, but we’ll get this done much quicker if I just answer her in English”. Ditto for the security guard who came to my assistance when I must have been looking as lost as I actually was, trying to find where the train left from.
If I’d stayed home I wouldn’t have been typing this on a train speeding through the constantly changing countryside complete with castle and windmills at 2:30 in the morning NZ time two days after I’d left. Given how long it’s been, I’m feeling surprisingly chipper if you overlook the constant yawning and urge to close my eyes right now. I will certainly be ready to curl up on my bunk in five or six hours, grateful to have made it to Pamplona.
PS I fell asleep on the train and when I woke it was raining. For half a second I considered taking a taxi to the albergue, but I donned my raincoat and as I walked up the hill to the albergue church bells rang out heralding (in my head) the beginning of my walk.
solowalk 2024 