Four years ago I published the first post on this blog. It was about how it all started, the travelling thing. It goes back almost fifteen years when I studied in Milan. Little I knew but judging from my current perspective this was the first big breakthrough of my adult life. Suddenly the map of my world grew and showed many blank places that I wanted to explore. I was lucky to work as an academic for almost ten years. I feel privileged that my job brought me to the remote location of this globe. I travelled the world and participated in a variety of scientific conferences. The more I saw, the more I wanted to see. At the same time, my passion for the travel literature grew and I started a transformation of my home office into a library. I discovered the best travel book ever written. It is The Way of the World by Nicolas Bouvier. It still is my favourite book, even though I travelled around the world, followed his footsteps in Ireland and Japan, and turned into a philosopher of travelling. Eventually, the urge to explore the world became overwhelming. I used the end of my research contract at the University of Nottingham as an excuse for focusing on travelling per se. The travelling became my job, hobby and the way of life. I never turned it into an obsession or a mindless collection of places, national parks or countries. My travels were always slow, focused on meetings with people, reading books, or just hanging around, visiting the same place more than once, often in different seasons. Off the beaten track I went. The big question of why and how people travel always intrigued me. Naturally, my research brought me to a point when I wanted sharing my experiences with others. Thus, here is the big news: the first publication of my book called “Podróżując” (On Travelling) will be soon available in Polish. I wrote it to share my philosophy of travelling. By telling a story of the journey around the world, I explained many aspects related to anthropology, cultural studies, linguistics and social relations. Above all, thanks to my Polish language teacher, I spent countless hours on raising my linguistic competencies to make sure this book is simply beautiful, clear and easy to understand. For a while, I considered publishing it with an ordinary publishing house but then I realised that this book is not only about the thoughts, not only about the content. I thought that it should be published by myself to influence the whole process, decide on every small detail so it became a beautiful object. Instead of colourful pictures, you’ll find there a series of sketches by my artist friend Natalia. The cover designed by Jarek tells you a story about the journey that turns into the way of life. I devoted to this book almost two years of my life to make sure it meets the highest standards. In order to do so, I did not submit it to any random publishing house. The time has come. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the second big news: I established a publishing house. Yeah! Hurray! Together with my beloved husband, we created an enterprise called Null&Full. The company we have owned for a couple of years promotes conscious travelling. Under one umbrella it offers guided tours in Ferrara, runs this blog and finally, publishes travel literature. Our aim is to raise awareness and promote discussion about the modern travels. In our recently established publishing house, we shall focus all our efforts on finding the best pieces ever written, pick up sketches and illustrations, work on a layout, choose the right colours, and publish them as works of art. As for now, we publish our books in Polish but we shall do our best to publish the book “On Travelling” in English too. We will keep you informed regarding the process of translation and about the date of publication. We strongly believe this is another wonderful journey that we shall share with you. Keep your fingers crossed!    

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Read the previous post. I haven’t considered Sardinia a trekking destination but when Cesare told me there are some fine paths I couldn’t resist taking with me my trekking equipment. He forgot how poorly I bare the heat and it became a serious matter in planning a one day trek from Grugua to Cala Domestica. We came with a super clever idea of taking the earliest bus of the day, which was 5:50 am. It was still dark when we walked down the street to the bus stop but during a short 20 minutes bus ride, the sun rose. The plan was straightforward: we walk as fast as we can in the morning to exploit the chill. The whole path was divided in a few parts of a very different landscapes: we started in the woods, walked down through the farm of Modigliani family, proceeded through the canyons and mine settlements to finally arrive at the beach called Cala Domestica. The final 4 km was a path along the coast with breathtaking views. Cala Domestica All went as planned. To some extent. We arrived at the beach before 10:00 am and I felt the heat has started. Not only all others were in their swimming suits which made me feel weird in long trousers and trekking shoes but also this was a very warm day. We also walked about 18 km in a very fast pace so I felt a bit tired. Perhaps a dress of Cesare made the situation slightly more interesting as he was dressed like a 19th-century entomologist. He had white long sleeve shirt, a weird hat, two backpacks and a long stick with a microphone to register the local bugs (crickets). Literally everybody was staring at us as we crossed the beach. The Coast To gain a bit of energy for the final stage, we had a cold drink at the bar. After a while, we pulled ourselves together and started walking again. The heat was vicious but despite this we had to climb up to about 70 meters above the sea level. The first part of the path was nicely marked so we walked it in no time, but then it all started. The map was inaccurate. The terrain was covered with rocks and a low vegetation full of spikes. There was no sign of the path and all we had, was our common sense and a clear bearing. We could almost see Buggerru, from where the bus should take us back home, so the only thing was to cross the rocky hills. It was a very rocky walk, up and down, up and down. Just like mountain goats we jumped from one rock to another. The bus should leave Buggerru at 12:58 but half an hour before this moment we were still in the middle of nowhere. The panorama was breathtaking and I wished to enjoy it for a couple of minutes but the heat was squeezing out water from our bodies with no mercy and so we hurried up. I felt salt covering my body and a slight attack of panic. I could not bare the though of being late for this bus and staying for another 3 hours in the town waiting for the next one. So we started running. And the final 2 km we run like hell. Downhill, right to the middle of the town to catch the bus. I was exhausted! But we managed to catch the bus, go back home and lie down for the rest of the day. The rules Although Sardinia is a demanding terrain, I would like to encourage you to pursue an adventure here. It is warm and sunny in August but with good organizational skills you will enjoy unforgettable views here. A path along the coast was truly spectacular! Also, the breeze from the sea made the final kilometers bearable despite the noon heat. If you wish to find an original, not crowded, off the beaten track, fascinating and, above all, challenging terrain, Sardinia is the right place for you. Remember about taking a huge quantity of water with you or control the map and ask locals for the sources along the path. And start as early in the morning as possible. Alternatively, visit Sardinia in shoulder season. I’m pretty sure the locals will love you for doing this. Interested in local food and cooking? This post is for you!  

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Last time I visited the Dolomites I was dying to see a marmot. I’ve read in a guidebook that the Dolomites are FULL of marmots and that some of the valleys are like their residence district. Although I saw ONE marmot I felt somehow disappointed. But the second day of my stay in Val di Fassa I called “A Day Of The Marmots”. After the first day and a short hike to Baita Pederive, the second day we picked up a longer trek: along Val Duron. The trail starts in Campitello di Fassa where we left our car. Even though this is a valley, the path took us up about 300 meters before we even arrived at the first refuge: Micheluzzi. The path was wide enough so the cars could drive up, but I expected it to be much flatter. We fully appreciated late springtime: the bottom of this valley was fresh green covered with colorful flowers and butterflies. We had a short pause in this refuge in order to decide where to go next. There are at least a few choices but ours was to go up to the refuge called Sasso Piatto at 2300 masl. We took trek number 533 and I think this was a great idea. This part of the day was all about climbing up and watching marmots because there were dozens! From Refuge Micheluzzi the path became narrow, dirt like and quite steep but every few hundred steps new panorama was showing up. The weather was perfect: it was sunny, there were few clouds and a nice wind was drying our sweaty T-shirts. I had an impression that we are the first tourists who walked this path in spring. We saw few sections of the path destroyed by the snow last winter and still not fixed. The grass all around was still very wet and some sections were like a marsh. Also, number of marmots was really impressive. I have never seen and never heard so many marmots in my life! They were everywhere! We even saw a fight of two big marmots just in front of us. They were whistling very loud and the empty valley was strengthening the echo. It was amazing to listen to it! Just like a concert for 4 of us by nature. It reminded me that there is a series of concerts called I Suoni delle Dolomiti that I always wanted to participate. The concept is pretty simple: musicians with their instruments climb up the mountains (try to imagine a contrabassist!), sit in a prepared spot and play the music. It sometimes is a trio and sometimes it is a full orchestra. I find this idea marvelous! It took us hours to arrive in the refuge because of all stops to watch and listen to the marmots, but we finally did. Refuge Sasso Piatto at 2300 masl is situated in a beautiful spot with a breathtaking panorama. It also serves delicious food and offers a nice spot for to relax. We did not spend that much time there because of the weather forecast and clouds spotted on the horizon. We decided to go back the alternative path. Track number 557 through refuge Sandro Pertini was our choice and I can tell you this: thanks God we did not go up with this path as it was very very steep! So if you ever come to Val Duron with an idea of climbing up to Sasso Piatto pick up the track number 533. Not only because it is easier but because of marmots too. The final stage of 6 hours walk was a race downhill to escape the rain. The escape did not work and at some point there was a pouring rain but it lasted a while after which the sky cleared out. We came back home very happy and this track is highly recommended to all who wishes watch marmots, beautiful panorama and get moderately tired. Third day of our holiday in the Dolomites is here!  

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Over and over again the travelers argue that one of the best things about traveling is living the dream that was impossible in their daily life dominated by a routine. Every now and then the routine is blamed for the general unhappiness, dullness or even depression. Selling your house and car and starting a journey is considered not only the best antidote for this sickness but, most of the time, as an act of courage. But if you think for a while this proves to be far from healthy logic and, for sure, from the human knowledge on behavior and learning. It made me think, why travelers hate routine so much and here are few thoughts on this issue out of my own experience as a long term traveler. A Routine In most cases, the routine involves boring regular job from 9:00 to 17:00, followed by a conclusion that people who perform their duties on an everyday basis are tired, burnt out and unhappy. A routine emphasizes doing the same things every day with no pleasure out of it. And writers are very quick in judging how unhappy these people are and how terribly they are wasting their time. Quite skillfully writers and bloggers follow this logic to a smooth discovery: you should change it! I wholeheartedly agree with the need for a change but with what I’m having difficulties to agree on is that travels make it for you. Before I’ll go further in the discussing the illusion of this belief, let me stop for a while and show you how the routine is good for you. Every possible guide on healthy lifestyle argues about healthy sleep habits, proper diet, physical activities and healthy relationships. If you feel that you are missing something in your life, if you feel down, if you realized that your current status is not something you dreamed about, you can change it. Anytime, really. And there is no need to sell everything and travel. On the contrary: travel will make all of the above more difficult to introduce a change into your life. Mission impossible To make a real difference in your life, like building any healthy habit, you need time, patience and recurrence. Out of the three, the last one is a decisive factor if the process of improvement is successful. Philosophy of zen argues that you need as many as 21 days of repeated action to turn it into a habit.  Three weeks is a long time. And if you change your hotel or even country twice during that time you effort of changing things looks like mission impossible. Thus, people prefer to believe that instead of a regular effort and recurrence of their actions there is an alternative solution. A travel comes handy. Preferably one year long and round the world. It definitely brakes the routine, but it is much less successful in helping you keeping good habits, personal growth, and a meaningful life. An Illusion What happens if you travel continuously for months or years? First thing is that you cut the ties that connected you with the place you lived in and people you lived with. Sure, you keep telling stories about the city you come from to all people you meet along the way and you are trying to keep your family and friends informed about travels but let’s face it: it is different. And you might feel quite happy about it until you realize you belong neither here nor there. Some people need years to realize that a lifestyle focused on continuous travel makes you very distant from ‘normal’ people and their ‘boring’ lives. And it is true for both: people you left at home and also exotic and new people you meet when you travel. And some day you simply realize that even those who are left at home have changed and that there is nothing to talk about with them. Perhaps you experience it when you go home for couple of weeks and after only a few days, when the emotions cool down, apart of telling fantastic stories there is not much left out of the things you had in common. The best is the enemy of the good You may say that everything has a price to pay and particular difficulties referred to long term traveling is no different. True. But have you really thought about it before you decided that full time traveling is what solves all your problems? A routine gives you a sense of stability, security, and continuity. All conditions that you need for your personal development. I’m not saying that travels make personal development impossible, but I’m arguing it makes it harder. “I like challenges” – you may say. Perhaps you do. If so, why don’t you try to work on yourself first, in your every day and “boring” life and travel when all your serious problems were sorted out. Personal development, becoming a better person and having a positive attitude towards the world and the people is important. Start before you go.  

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My mind is still on my recent travel around the world. I was reading my notes again, thinking of writing the first chapter of the book and watching the pictures I took. It will take me a while to fully understand and define all results of this long-term travel, but this should not prevent further traveling. It is a funny feeling to think about the previous travel while going on another one but there is nothing I can do about it. Why? Because… Tbex is coming! That’s right! Only a few months have passed since the last conference in Athens but tomorrow morning I’m traveling to Barcelona and to Lloret de Mar. This time, however, I’m participating the event as a speaker which make the whole experience quite different. I’ll be one of the forty bloggers invited to share their knowledge, experience and expertise on blogging and traveling. I’m going to discuss an interesting issue of blogging in English when it is not your first language and how this influence building a community around your blog. I co-present with two outstanding ladies: Pola Henderson and Lanora Mueller. It should be possible to watch the presentation afterward and I’ll keep you posted on where it is (if you’re interested in this issue, of course). Italy, where else? Just when I get back from Spain, I’m heading south to Ferrara. It is like a routine, isn’t it? This time I am particularly excited because not only I’m running cooking classes for the Americans but I’m meeting my Canadian friends! Justin and Lauren that you are familiar with through an interview I made few years ago will be my guests in Ferrara. It should be FUN! The Dolomites There is no way I’m going to survive this year without any mountain trekking! Last year was pretty rich in trekking activities but since I started traveling around the world, not so much. So I’m quite determined to stay for a week in the Dolomites with my best friends and just get immersed in the pure beauty of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. But the most interesting travel I’ll pursue this year, is the 2-week stay in Sardegna. Sardegna It is fascinating for a variety of reasons: first, because this is an island and if you are reading this blog long enough, you know I like islands, lighthouses, and rocky terrains. Second, because it is my first time there, which always rises emotions. Third, because Sardegna is a truly fascinating place, which merges so many traditions. Fourth, because it is not excessively popular tourist destination which guarantees silence and solitude, and lastly because I’m going there with my friend who has been visiting the island for the last 30 years. It altogether guarantees a memorable time and surely fantastic content I will share with you as soon as I’m back. So here are my travel plans for next couple of months. I had to turn down few other opportunities, including a press trip to Prague, but I believe I made the right choice. I’m leaving myself a couple of weeks free from traveling, just to stay at home, enjoy my friends and family company, and perhaps get to write the book. What are your travel plans for this summer? Write in the comments.  

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The real journey is a serious matter. If you wish to experience the world through all you senses you need to leave your comfort zone behind and be prepared for the challenges you have never faced before. I am traveling for years now, and traveling is both: a breathtaking experience and a very difficult process at the same time. The real journey gets to you and it changes you. This is important to keep a good balance between the new and old things, to keep track of the events and make the most of your journey. I find my travels powerful and fulfilling for many reasons, one of which is a constant update of the way I see the world. And my way of doing it is through writing. Since I remember, I have been always writing down some thoughts on accidentally found napkins, chewing gum wrappings, maps, folders and postcards. And it was never enough space to write everything I wanted. It eventually became annoying to my friends as my postcards were unreadable! The need for a travel notebook became pressing. I remember the first time I bought a typical travel notebook. This was at the Venice (Italy) airport and I was taking a plane to Boston (USA), with a short stop in Zurich (Switzerland), to visit Nova Scotia (Canada). I saw it in a bookstore and it got me from the first sight. It was six years ago and since then the pile of notebooks on my desk has been steadily growing. To Capture a Moment Taking pictures is one thing. Remembering your journey is quite another. Although I am taking hundreds of photos and making some short clips it should never substitute the real memories. I agree that some beautiful spots are impossible to describe, but the pictures taken have a nasty side effect: when you watch it hundred times they slowly take place of the way you remembered things. I went to the Swedish part of Lapland once and took my notebook with me making notes every day, running a sort of travel diary. Despite taking 800 pictures in 10 days the most precious thing was still the content of my notebook. When I read it after three months since I got back from Lapland I was surprised how quick I was forgetting things. Short stories or funny words- it all brings your memories back. To Keep Track of the Journey If you travel once a year it is easy to remember places visited, people met and things seen. If you drive 25,000 km in four months it is much less so. It’s not that I record every second of my travels. Rather, I capture the memorable events so I could get back to them when I needed. Writing things down make it possible to re-enter your experience after years have passed. The written word, more than a simple picture, brings you back to a situation described in every detail. Details impossible to capture in a photo but so much more important! To Evaluate My Experiences Having a habit of writing down the events of the day allows you to think about them again. Often, when days are packed with places and people you can’t follow them in a real time. The journey forces you to stay attached to a present rather than consider the general issues. Writing things down is a good opportunity to cope with emotions and reflections accumulated during the day. When doing notes it happens to me that I realize I wish to meet someone again or visit the same place twice. The advantage of daily writing is that it is sometimes possible to do it while you’re still there, rather than regretting this after getting back home. To Get Involved This might be weird, but people tend to start a conversation about my writing. It happened few times that other travelers were interested in my making notes and they started to ask questions about it which- obviously- often turned out to be an interesting exchange of our travel experiences. This is also true for keeping in touch after you get back home: having addresses written down in a place where you won’t lost them is crucial. I’m still in touch with a bunch of people met when I travelled here and there. No need to write embarrassing things about losing somebody’s card BEFORE I started using a travel notebook. To Escape Well, there are some difficult moments when you travel, no doubt about it. Even if they don’t happen often it is still important to have your own mode to deal with unpleasant aspects of travelling. If the new place is overwhelming, is shouting at you with vivid colors and unbearable noise you can always turn to writing. It distracts your attention from annoying person or event and helps you to calm down when things get nasty. I’m not saying that writing resolves every travel problem but in my case it helped me too many times to not appreciate it. To Write My Own Story My notebook is my own version of my story. And it gives me enormous pleasure to watch somebody reading it. My closest friends enjoy this privilege and I totally love the moment when they read something funny I wrote the day before and suddenly they laugh. And I get rewarded for the effort I made when I travelled and wrote everything down. Because their smile is priceless.  

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My journey around the world is over. I returned home safe and sound. It will take me a while to bring you all amazing adventures I had, to share pictures and videos so let me just share some highlights of this journey. Slow travel Telling the truth, this was the best part of the whole plan: do it slowly, so as a result I stayed more than 2 weeks in the same place, with the exception of Hong Kong. It worked really well. Two weeks is enough to get friendly with people around, get your bearings, enjoy your stay, figure out how public transportation works, and, most of all, experience how people live in remote locations visited. I don’t know whether this would work for everybody, but I would argue that staying in the same place for longer than few days is beneficial to a general well-being and increases the quality of the journey. Small amusement Each journey, even if the most cost-effective, call for the small amusement along the way. It is really useless to travel around the world and limit yourself just to sleep and eat cheaply. Limiting yourself to the basic needs make the whole adventure stressful, money focused and, after a while, monotonous. Although my trip wasn’t neither budget nor luxury I balanced all my needs on an everyday basis. And from time to time I spoil myself with an evening at the cinema, sweets at Moomins’ Cafe and other things that I really like. It not only made my journey pleasant but also allowed me to experience the way people do things in places I visited. I often tried to capture their way of spending free time and relaxing and it worked pretty well. Meeting people This was one of the most rewarding experiences along the way: meeting people and listening to their stories. I am deeply satisfied with all new friends I met. It is always helpful to know the language so the most difficult and challenging country was Japan, as I don’t speak Japanese. But even there I met two Italian girls and one Japanese guy who were willing to share their stories with me. Keeping my habits This was a real struggle: keeping my jogging routine. I took running shoes and gear with me which was a sacrifice itself because it occupied literally half of my luggage. I tried to stick to jogging at least 3 times a week, but I must admit I didn’t make it. I run a lot on Rarotonga and Auckland, plus I cycled a lot but I was not able to run as much as I wanted nor needed. It was way too cold in Japan and way to hilly in New Zealand, but I was able to run little less than 100 km in these 3 months. After my return home I’m running every second day and feel much better. Sustainable travel I think that many of my colleagues from the blogging community pursue a lifestyle that is unsustainable in a long term perspective. After a year or two of traveling many of them are struggling with obesity, insomnia, being tired or even exhausted all the time. There are many reasons for that and traveling as an activity is really demanding. If someone is telling you it is effortless he or she is lying, because it is not. On the contrary: far from it! And although I think my way of traveling is still missing a bit of care for myself I consider it way above the average bloggers’ journey. Traveling is surprisingly similar to everyday life and if you don’t make an effort to do jogging or eat healthy food the travel will not make it for you. Best things Many people ask me: What was the best about this journey? And is it hard to reply in one phrase, but if you asked me what I consider the best element of this journey I would say: return home. Seriously! The moment I entered my house was the moment of true happiness. Does this make me a lousy traveler? On the contrary, I think. I’m having now time for digesting all information, emotions, impressions, tastes, smells, meetings, smiles, well literally everything I experienced. I need to stay with this for a while to fully appreciate it and enjoy all of my adventures. So although I’ll travel a bit next few months I’m going to focus on telling the stories that I brought with me. OK, true, second best thing about this journey was a stay in Kyoto with a book by Nicolas Bouvier in my hand. This is my favorite way of traveling: reading a book about the place I’m in. Truly fabulous experience! And highly recommended too. This long journey showed me how important it is to have a home. Surprise Last, but now least, I was writing a diary for the whole journey and it looks like a lot of materials to deal with but I’m really hoping to work on it and publish it as a book. I will keep you posted when I have more details. For now, please read my posts from a travel around the world and keep your fingers crossed!  

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I always wanted to travel around the world. It was very close last year when I traveled to New Zealand and back. But this year I am literally traveling around the world. The journey starts this Saturday in Paris and will end in February 2015. I am beyond excited to share this news with you and I am anxiously looking forward to this journey. Travel around the world should be epic. Not only because of places you visit but for two very particular reasons: you always go in one direction (west, in my case), and you cross The International Date Line only once. In my case I’ll cross it flying from Rarotonga on Cook Island to Auckland in New Zealand. Dream Since the lecture of Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne my imagination was dominated by a thought that one day I will travel around the world. Not necessarily in 80 days nor as a result of a bet. But reading the adventures of Phileas Fogg I was pretty sure I will share his travel. This was a powerful reading and I still like this book very much (especially because I have a very old edition that my Dad got in a primary school). Although books are really important in this story there is much more than that! Slow I always do my best to travel slow. I never count countries, national parks or UNESCO world heritage sites visited. I often go to the same place more than once. I enjoy seeing the same place in every possible season.   Slow immersion in places is my thing. And this is the project for this journey too: at least 2 weeks in every location. I stretched my stay in New Zealand to 5 weeks so I could join the summer and outstanding landscapes. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies movie premiere is also in my schedule just as a visit in Matamata filming location that I missed last time. Countries and languages I prefer traveling to countries that I think I am able to understand. Starting with the language end ending with the local celebrations. You may say: how limited your image of the world is! But I see it quite differently. Most of all I appreciate when I am able to contact ordinary people, discuss issues important to them and simply feel like at home. Tradition and celebrations – equally important – are hard to understand without the previous background. And I am not satisfied with superficial “Awww, that’s cute!”. Thus, I am not lying to myself that I can fully appreciate India or Tanzania because I can’t. There is no way I can feel close to the people and their everyday life so  I chose to visit the countries I know about in advance even if it comes for a price. Books My favorite way of traveling is reading a book first and visiting a place afterwards. The world described by somebody in the past is precious. And reading books makes my travel multidimensional. I can compare how things has changed which always fascinates me. After all, comparative education field of research was my job for years! Old habits die hard. Through books about places I visit  I can feel the place with all my senses. I can stretch my perception and imagination. I can fully appreciate of what I see. I can see the history behind objects, monuments and buildings. I can try to understand the present through the past. Now, I’m not saying I am always perfect and I am always successful but at least I am trying very hard to see not only what is visible for the eye. I often carry a book with me about a place I visit and this time it is Nicolas Bouvier masterpiece:  The Japanese Chronicles. Yes, I will go to Japan, I will walk around Tokyo and Kyoto and Nara and will be reading HIS book at the very same time. What else I could ever wanted? I hope to bring you all the places visited as close as possible. Through the social media channels you can follow my journey and share my adventures. See the map below to know the itinerary and stay tuned for more! [UPDATE] …and here is the first post after I got back home!  

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It caught my attention, I must say. Reading a post on the camino which try to convince a reader why it sucks was really interesting. Until I walked The Way of St. James myself. After I walked it and experience how it really is the author of the post I’m talking about lost his credibility. And here is why. Francis His post starts as follows: “Camino (…) is the most overrated long distance trail in the world. Millions have walked its path, and most gush about how great it is. It’s time to expose El Camino de Santiago’s ugly underbelly.” Source: Francis Tapon Blog. I think that the author’s main disappointment is due to his lack of knowledge before he decided to walk The Way. Or perhaps it is due to his selectivity in thinking about The Way. On the one hand he was aware of the particular heritage of a Christian pilgrimage, and on the other he expected a wild and off the beaten track trails in the middle of nowhere. Well, you can’t have both. Even the first phrase on UNESCO site about this trail says about its popularity the has started in the Middle Ages. More than a million of pilgrims walked the camino every year in the past which comparing with over 200,000 today sounds really busy to me. Why anyone would expect a solitude along such path? But leaving the general reflection let’s focus on the details and 10 points which Francis found most frustrating. My reply in 10 points Francis prepared a list of 10 most annoying things 1 and 2. Only about 1% of El Camino is a narrow (1-meter wide) dirt trail. About half the time you’re on a paved road or on a dirt path right next to a paved road. NOT TRUE. I would say that the last 311 km is fifty-fifty. Yes, there are some long sections on paved road but it surely is not the major part of the camino. 3. Because you’re on a paved road so often, by the end of the day your feet may feel like they’ve been put through a meat tenderizer. Well, I’m not sure about a meat tenderizer but I definitely felt pain of my feet. In my case, however, it was due to highly uncomfortable shoes. Enough to say I had to complete the camino in sandals because it was more comfortable than the shoes I had (psst! never ever buy the Berghaus trekking shoes for a camino). 4. About 95% of the time, car traffic is within earshot. NOT TRUE. While some of the sections lead through city centers and noisy streets it is not 95%. I experienced numerous moments of total silence, I’ve heard birds singing and rain drops hitting the trees. There are many sites of extreme beauty and peace along the camino. Also, if some of the sections are walked in very early morning (6:00 – 8:00 a.m.) you will experience an extreme comfort regarding lack of noise. 5. Amenities distract from any spiritual mission you may have. NOT TRUE. This is the most unfair point Francis made. The amenities available along The Way makes it comfortable and careless. Thanks to the commercial activity along the camino you can be sure you will find a place to sleep and eat. Spiritual mission is up to you. If you chose to focus on your interior and spiritual needs you can do it EVERYWHERE. Even in the middle of the crowd. You can pray, say the rosary, meditate, whatever suits you. But YOU need to decide to do it. And blaming the crowd for a noise is unfair. If someone knows that he or she needs a total silence for spiritual exercises I would recommend the one run by the Jesuits. Exercitia spiritualia by Ignatius of Loyola is just perfect for them!  6. The scenery is monotonous. NOT TRUE. In fact: far from it. Last 311 km I walked were full of small towns, fields, hills, mountains, cities, villages, forests (including eucalyptus which I found pretty exotic), small streams, well pretty much everything. Doing the same thing everyday (walking) might be monotonous but the scenery is not. 7. It’s a skin cancer magnet. PERHAPS it is but not more than elsewhere. Giving the example of New Zealand where after 1 hour of biking in the sun I got my skin burnt Spain looks rather friendly. True: I walked the camino in september/october which was wise if you checked the climate and temperatures in advance. I would never do it in the middle of the summer, though. 8. Unfriendly commercialism. NOT TRUE. Many of the albergue (accommodation for pilgrims) owners were friendly, cooperative and caring (including phone calls to get my luggage transported once, or giving some advices re the route). There were also less talkative people, who were not interested in my wellbeing at all. But this is just like everywhere else. The problem I found frustrating was the lack of English language skills. Fortunately speaking Italian was good enough to communicate. But I agree that spanish people should make an effort to learn some English. 9. It’s a cacophony of sounds. PARTIALLY TRUE. I would say that the worst noise was in the night in common dormitories. Snoring is the plague of the camino. It can be partially solved with earplugs but from time to time I was staying in smaller = more expensive rooms to avoid the noise, just to make sure I will sleep well. 10. It’s hard to take a piss. EMBARRASSING I find it so embarrassing that Francis visited a foreign country where – as he admitted – there was plenty of bars, cafes and hotels and he couldn’t wait until the next bathroom to use it. This is a real disgrace. I really find it hard to believe that anyone would make such thing an accusation for any one else but himself. Summary Surprisingly: I would agree with Francis. If you limited the camino to a long distance trekking trail, despite its particularity, you will probably be disappointed. And I think this is the beauty of it!...

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Have you ever went on a pilgrimage? A single thought about it can make you laugh as most of our contemporary conceptions of religion and faith are far from what made people to pilgrimage few hundreds years ago. However, the statistics do not lie: since 10 years a number of pilgrims walking the Way of St. James in Spain (Camino de Santiago or simply camino) steadily increases. And you probably wonder why. Do you find overwhelmed with technology? Are you constantly online? And even if you decided to go offline you can’t resist the temptation to switch your phone on? I have this too. Most people, especially in travel industry, tell you that a travel to an exotic place will cheer you up. A holiday package ‘all inclusive’ usually follows this advice. While changing a place of stay in helpful in a short term perspective it will never resolve your serious problems with relationships, work or health. Or let me put it this way: If any sort of travel can help you to deal with problems you experience everyday it would be a pilgrimage. And there are reasons why people have decided to join a pilgrimage for hundreds of years. Pilgrimage Today I am not saying that one pilgrimage will resolve all your problems. In fact, it probably won’t. Pilgrimage will definitely not deal with serious illness or a nervous breakdown (i.e. depression, anxiety, unresolved conflicts, etc.) but what I know is that pilgrimage is a chance to create space for your spirit to stretch. And you really need it from time to time. This will not resolve any of your problems but it might create time and space you need to figure out where to find help or what to do next. There is a chance that a pilgrimage will change your life. After all, grace is given in a most mysterious ways. If you never try, you will never know. Most people don’t know about it but the spirit of pilgrimage is still very much alive nowadays. And I am not talking about buses full of tourists left in front of the chief attractions of the European pilgrimage centers. I am talking about an authentic experience of a long walk with your backpack. About everyday fight with your own weaknesses. About The Way focused on improving yourself, and most of all giving space to your own spirit to grow. You might have never thought about pilgrimage but here is the thing: I would like to share my own reasons why I walk camino this year. Getting Back to Our Roots Pilgrimage is appreciated in every major religion. Then it must be something really important in it! UNESCO proclaimed Camino to be a World Heritage Site. And for some this is enough reason to walk it. But there are many other reasons too. Thanksgiving or penance, demonstration of devotion or gaining a divine aid – there are as many motivations as people who walk it. But there is one common ground for all motivations: a pilgrim KNOWS that he or she has spiritual needs. This sounds trivial but the whole contemporary world tries to convince us that we don’t. That a human can be limited to their needs created by marketing and PR industry. Well, here is the news: EVERYONE has spiritual needs and it is up to you how you deal with them. Camino: On My Way To St. James The feeling you realize that the very path you are currently walking has been walked for over six centuries is pretty awesome. It brings you closer to your roots, if you are a European or you are connected to the western civilization somehow. It also makes you feel a piece of the gigantic puzzle of the universe being in the right place at the right time. Time flies, reality changes, people are growing old but The Way has been there for centuries. It makes me feel I belong to my cultural and religious circle and that I continue a longstanding tradition. Space Most of all, a pilgrimage, which in my case means a total offline status for more than 2 weeks, is an effort to create a space. Space for my spiritual grow, for prayer, for getting back to the basic things. And it shows me every day that there is SO little that I need.  To be happy and fulfilled and in harmony with the world. I am christian catholic which makes this pilgrimage a religious experience to me. But I would like to encourage you to think about it too, even though you do not consider yourself christian. Too often we get overwhelmed with our everyday lives. Too often we find ourselves in difficulties to cope with it. And sometimes it is good to take care of yourself. With true care and compassion. Instead of buying yourself a new gadget take yourself SERIOUSLY this time. Go offline. Leave your phone switched off. Talk to people. Enjoy every day and every place you visit. Don’t get deceived that time spent offline is a luxury you can’t afford. That’s a lie. You deserve to stop running. If only for two weeks. Results There is no way that undertaken effort will leave you untouched. The result depends on you how you will treat yourself, your faith and people you meet along the way. This is not my first pilgrimage so I know that of many benefits I’ll gain peace in my heart. Challenging little things like pain of tired feet or heavy backpack will set me free. Because above all a pilgrimage is a liberating experience. It sets you free from misconceptions on you poor condition, on your needs and your fear. It puts everything back in the right perspective. Brings back proper proportions to your life. And it allows you to distinguish things that you consider necessary from those that really are. So, I’m leaving tonight to Madrid, I go by bus to Leon in the north of Spain and continue The Way on foot. Walking little over 300 km to arrive to Santiago is my target. See you in two weeks when I get back home and...

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