My Camino

Messages of encouragement I received before leaving

2010-05-28T12:43:00.000+01:00

May 1st -

I have every faith in you! U have already succeeded even before you take your first step. :) have a ball! :)

Gretta via SMS

Did I tell you that I am proud of you :)

Pratheesh via SMS

May 2nd

Hey Hun. I hope you have an amazing time doing the walk. Best of luck with it and we are ALL very proud of you xxxxxx be careful

Roisin via SMS

May 3rd

Bon voyage my friend :) may the road rise up to meet you! Big hug when i see you soon. I'll be watching your blog ;)

Gretta via SMS

I don't think you can underestimate the power of such simple messages from friends and love ones. Just to know someone is encouraging and supporting you, that they are thinking of you.

May 3rd - Gate 112, Dublin Airport (Dublin-Biarritz Flight)

2010-05-28T12:22:00.000+01:00

I'm sitting here waiting for my flight to Biarritz. A long-awaited journey begins and now that I am here I am filled with fear. God I'm scared! I am about to embark on a trip of a lifetime, about to begin my long walk: 800 kilometres of the Way of Saint James - El Camino de Santiago. Am I mad? Yes, definitely! I think that goes without saying. And yes I am very afraid. But I'm also very excited...

Later..

I'm on the plane now. This is being written in my old training diary from last year. My number for for my last race is tucked away at the front. Last training entry: 22nd July. How my life has changed since then.

Updates

2010-05-06T14:52:00.000+01:00

I will be udateing the facebook page everyday and doing retrospective postings from my journal. Much more to come :)

Five months in Leaky Boat - Ben Kozel

2010-05-03T07:32:00.001+01:00

I read this book a few years back. It documents the journey of 4 guys rowing the course of the Yenisei River, where it rises in Mongolia on through the Russian countryside, with a severe time-limit as they can only travel during the short cold Siberian winter. They encounter many adventures along the way such as cap-sizing in freezing fast-flowing water, crossing Lake Baikal, so large that it has its own weather systems, and meeting great people along the way. One of the most interesting parts of this book was the way the group dynamics worked, or didn't. A lesson to all, to choose your fellow adventurers well.

Preparation, dream-sharing and inspirations

2010-05-02T00:18:00.001+01:00

Friday I booked my flight to Biarritz and first night's accommodation. I set about organising my stuff and seeing what extra things I needed to buy. With a pot of Barry's tea for inspiration I set about writing lists of things to buy and borrow. I suppose these preparations should really have been frantic but really they were not.

Today dawned and P and I set off to the city to pick up some of the items I required. We had intended to walk to the city but as April showers were in full swing P decided to drive. Its a pleasant walk from our place through Sundays Well but P is not much inclined to the walk to the city. As we drove in, it struck me, that in a few short days I would have no choice but to walk through the rain to reach my destination.

Would I say that the reality of what I have committed to is dawning on me? No, I think I am fully aware of how hard it is going to be. Part of me feels that I am finally following through on something I had vaguely committed to. Sometimes I think we are too afraid to voice our dreams for fear of rejection, for fear that someone will tell us we are stupid to dream such fanciful dreams. Maybe it is something stamped out in childhood. You tell people that you want to be a model or an astronaut and they respond negatively, citing valid reasons why you can not achieve your dream. So maybe you are more cautious with who you share your hopes with, until eventually you come to a point where you never voice them out-loud again. And that is a tragedy.

Two views of dream-sharing resonate with me. One is the idea that if you say them out-loud then you are committing to them. You are staking your flag down saying this is the dream I want to be tied to. Maybe part of the problem here is that people have memories and even if your desires change their memories stay intact. I certainly know that sinking feeling when someone reminds me of some "mad" idea I had years back. The slight roll of their eyes and you make a mental note to keep your mouth shut next time. The second idea is that by sharing your dream you may be in fact diluting it and making it less. If you expend so much energy describing your dream well then maybe you will run out of steam before you even begin to take you first step on the road to fulfilling your dream.

A few years ago a friend of mine shared his dream with me and others. He had decided he was going to cycle around the world when he finished university. I, for my part, was amused by the thought, thinking it was a pipe-dream that had little chance of becoming a reality. Something discussed after a few pints of Beamish in the college bar. I'm sure he must have seen the look in people's eyes, that disbelieving look, the doubts. Yet he kept on with it. When everyone was discussing Master's courses he was adamant he would cycling the world. This May 15th, he will be completing the last leg of his journey, retuning after 18 months of circumnavigating world. Ferghal O'Nuallain's example of what can be achieved is an inspiration to me. So many times during the planning and discussions he could have given up, he could have let the doubts and the doubters get him down, but he persevered. He made his dream a reality and in the process inspired others, including me, to take on new adventures. Check out his and Simon Evan's site here http://revolutioncycle.ie

About Me

2010-04-30T14:50:00.002+01:00

Hi my name is Orla and this is my blog about my experience doing the Camino de Santiago.

In 2001 I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. This is an auto-immune disease which effects the large intestine mainly but also has knock on effects on the rest of a person's health. It has periods of activity and remission. Following my diagnosis I had a period of high disease activity which left me unable to work or attend college. People often ask how people cope with long term illness. I coped by becoming an armchair traveller. I read guidebooks, travelogues and books written by non-English speaking authors (translated into English, of course). I just lived with hope, that one day I would be better and I would embark on one of my many dream journeys.

At some stage during this time I stumbled upon the Camino. It captured my imagination. It had so much to offer; steeped in history, amazing scenery through a country that has interested me for years. It also had the un-attainability

factor. There I was unable to do much beyond basic daily tasks and here was an exercise in physical hardship and endurance. So yes I was hooked, and started planing my trip straight-away.

Then life took a different course, as it does. What's that much bandied about saying - " Life is what happens while you are making plans". So I got better and other dreams became realities. I got older, travelled to far flung places with a tiny rucksack, lived abroad in Spain and Australia. And all the time the Camino was there, beckoning.

Then in October 2009 I became sick again after 5 years of remission. All bets were off and my life, which had taken on that roller-coaster effect came to a very decided stand-still. No work, no college and a return to the dreaded half-life of long-term illness. This time I became totally house-bound. Nothing really prepares you for this. Being dependant on others for basic sustenance, being at the mercy of an impersonal medical system, feeling your hard-fought independence and dignity being gradually eroded. And how did I get through? By being an armchair traveller again. By letting my dreams of a better future carry me through the hard times, by repeating to myself - This too shall pass.

I decided that I wanted to do the Camino. I was still way too sick to go but I just said - "May, I'll go in May". In late March I started to feel really bad. I hurt everywhere and my symptoms went "postal". The pain became so bad that I walked into A&E in CUH one Saturday and was admitted straight away. I got amazing medical care and within a week was discharged feeling better than I had felt in months. I improved hugely over the next few weeks with help of steroids. Then I decided to take the bull by the horns and go on my Camino.

What shall follow shall be my travelogue. I hope you enjoy it and it encourages you to attempt something you have always wanted to do.