These Holy Bones: Vol. 2-Episode 5: Encountering Yourself on the Camino de Santiago

In this episode, Simon, a young Italian, speaks about his desire to encounter himself on the Camino Frances. Simon suggests walking without distractions--no music, no conversations--just the sound of your feet on the path and the thoughts in your head. I enjoyed speaking with Simon, and I think you will enjoy his youthful enthusiasm and idealism. Buen Camino!

Transcript

These Holy Bones: Encountering Yourself on the Camino de Santiago

Host: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to another episode of These Holy Bones. A podcast about the ancient pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago, where the bones of St. James are interred beneath the high altar. I'm your host, Robert Nerney. This episode is being sponsored by Ocean Magic Surf and Skateboard Superstore in Jupiter, Florida.

Host:  Whether you're dropping in on your first wave or you're a seasoned shred. Ocean Magic has everything you need from high performance surfboards and skate decks to premium wetsuits, beach wear, and all the gear in between. Skaters, ocean Magic has trucks, wheels, bearings, complete setups, and all the latest brands.

Host: Surfers check out Ocean Magic's, epic selection from Fire Wire lost O'Neill, and more. Heading to the beach, grab stylish swimwear, sun protection, and flip flops all in one [00:01:00] spot. Ocean. Ocean Magic's has expert staff to help you pick out your surfing and skating needs, so you'll get advice from people who know what they're talking about.

Host: Swing by Ocean Magic and Jupiter, just minutes from the water, ocean magic, surf, and skate. Florida's home for all things surf. Skate and stoke, check it out. 

Host: Today was an interesting day. There were, it's about eight miles without services, so we had to just, you know, pack in the water and, uh, at the end I, I did, uh, I did run out of water, and I wasn't very comfortable, but I'm speaking with Simon from Italy and we met in the albergue--actually this is a very crowded albergue. It has a nice swimming pool, so Simon, welcome. And thank you for saying yes to the podcast. 

Simon: Thank you for being here. I'm Simon. I'm 22 years old and I am doing this Camino just for myself. Just myself. I am, I started on July 28th. So that's one of the most important things that I think in this Camino, especially for me. And yeah, that's it. 

Host: And where did you start? What city? 

Simon: I started in Pamplona. So I took, um, flight from Bologna where I live in Italy to Madrid and then another flight from Madrid to Pamplona.

Host: And what's the time from your home to Madrid? 

Simon: I'd say like two hours maybe. Yeah. Okay. Very good. And, uh, I slept the night in the airport of Madrid. Okay. Because the flight was cheaper. I saved the cash for the flight in order to spend it on the food. Right, absolutely. Because it's very, very good. So, yes. Yeah. 

Host: What did you think of Pamplona?

Simon: Uh, so I spent the first [00:03:00] day in Pamplona actually. So I visited the city and I started to walk the next day.

Host: And you went up the hill of pardon? 

Simon: No, actually I didn't go there. No, no, I just visited the city. Um, it, it was cool. It was cool actually, 'cause, um, the only, the only reason why I knew Pamplona was due to the bulls, you know, there. The celebration they do in San Farminis. Yeah, exactly. See in July and yeah, I'd say actually every city here is very, very beautiful.

Simon: I don’t know why just most of them are very traditional and that maybe something we are losing in the big city, like Madrid and Barcelona, maybe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think the more, less is the city and better and more 

Host: How did you decide on making the pilgrimage saying, oh, I'm definitely going to do [00:04:00] this. Like, who promoted that? 

Simon: Yeah. Um, so the first time I heard about the Camino was thanks to a friend of mine that I met in university. This friend of mine did the Camino last year, and when we met again in September, he described to me about the whole thing. He did his experience and I say to him, oh, I want to do it. And that's why I'm here. Excellent. Basically, thanks to the, to this friend of mine. 

Host: Why did he do it? 

Simon: He just wanted to do something before starting to work because he basically told me, well, if I start to have a job, I will have no time to do a trip like the Camino. He didn't tell me a deep reason why. He was just enthusiastic about it. 

Host: Where did he start? 

Simon: He started in San Jean. He did all the Camino to Santiago. Yeah. He didn't make it to Finnisterre, but yeah.

Host: I've never made it there either. Maybe this year, but I will have to wait and see if that happens. Now, in your pack, tell me the three most important items that you have in your pack. 

Simon: Oh, well, I think underwear. Okay. Not important. Power bank. And, uh, I'd say the phone. Yeah, the phone. 

Host: That's okay. All right. Did you bring anything to read? Do you read on the Camino? 

Simon: I have a book, but.I didn't read actually until now. It's, uh, Stephen King's book. But yeah, because I thought maybe I should take a book, maybe in the spare time when I’m just chilling in the albergue. But no, I prefer just sitting here doing nothing. I like doing nothing. 

Host: Right. You walk all day. It's really nice to relax at the end of the day.

Simon: And today we have the pool here, so, very nice.  

Host: Tell me Simon, about the Meseta. I've done a number of Caminos and my favorite section is the Meseta, you know, for lots of reasons. And people are like, what? Are you crazy? I'm like, yeah, I am crazy. But tell me what you've experienced so far from Burgos to here. 

Simon: So, before starting the Camino, I knew that this would be the worst part of the walk. 

Host: Oh, you knew that?

Simon: Yeah. Okay. And I had 20 days to do the Camino because I will stop in Leon.

Simon: Actually, I will not get into Santiago. I have 20 days--I had to choose maybe if I wanted to do the Frances or the Norte. So, I said, well, I will do this. I want to do this especially because it's one of the worst--worst like mentally challenging things here. And that's a cool thing. Because it's a good thing doing difficult things. It helps you overcome your fears and makes you grow as a human. 

Host: Right, right. I'm still working on that at 62. Yeah. So, it doesn't end. You grow for your entire life. It doesn't end. 

Simon: It's a journey. 

Host: But that's a very good, uh, that's a good reason to do it. And has it been difficult? 

Simon: Yeah, I'd say that. Walking with people. Absolutely. Okay. So if you do, if you do this by yourself, it'll be way, way, way more difficult because you cannot distract yourself from yourself. That's the most difficult thing. I'm doing. this Camino without music. I try to just walk--just listen to my feet. Like face your fears. And if you distract yourself with music, maybe that doesn't help you reach your goal of getting to know yourself better. 

Host: That's awesome. That's deep. Yeah. Yeah. That's deep stuff. 

Simon: I think so. But I think most of us want to go deep.

Host: So, you go back home to Italy and you're hanging out and you're having a beer with a friend, and he asks you if you think he should walk the Camino. What do you tell him?

Simon: That's a cool question, because as I told you before, I decided to do this Camino by myself. But actually when I first heard about this Camino from my friend of mine, I asked some of my friends if they wanted to do it with me. And so, the first idea was to do the Camino with someone. But when they answered me, no, I don't want to do that. Uh, just no time. Fuck you. Can I say that? I'll do it myself. So, yeah. Yeah. That's the thing. Yeah, I think I will tell them that this was a really good experience.

Host: Let me ask you this: on the road, do you ever feel like, okay, maybe this is spiritual, there's something out here, or do you ever feel like it's more than just, it's, it's definitely not a vacation.

Simon: I'd say that this is not a normal vacation. Basic vacation. No, no, absolutely not. That's definitely not normal vacation, and that's why, that's one of the reasons why. It's so good because it's something you’ve never done. It's something you will never do if you don't.

Host: Well, I'll tell you what, you seem a lot older than 20. You have a very mature way about you. 

Simon: Oh, thank you. 

Host: I really appreciate you coming on the podcast. Yeah. [00:14:00] And Buen Camino.