Setting off on the Camino de Santiago prior to my 30th birthday.

Why the Camino?

I made a rambling youtube video on why.

It was a very last minute spur of the moment trip. I decided just last week l that I wanted to do something special for my 30th birthday. I had to move around a few on-calls, change my rota and submit my annual leave last minute as well as cancel some previous annual leave I took. But I felt like I had to do this.

I wanted some way to remember transitioning to a different stage, different phase of life. It’s important to have these rituals or moments where you move from one state to another. It’s important to delineate them. It’s why we have birthdays, marriages even funerals.

I also wanted an excuse to have a new creative writing project. I was inspired by Craig Mod. Craig takes these long solo walks all over the world, but mainly across Japan. He walks in silence for 6-7-8 hours a day, taking photos of the people and the environment along the way. No phone. No social media. No internet. No news.

He records his observations by dictation. By the end of the day, his mind is overflowing with ideas. He creates these beautiful photobooks as an output from all of his walking.

To me, absorption and happiness are synonymous. The quality of your attention determines the quality of your life. It’s only by immersing yourself deeply in the world, being profoundly bored and undistracted can you ever truly pay attention. This is the quality I wanted to cultivate.

I’m not sure what I’ll make. A vlog. A photobook. Writing. Poetry. I’m unsure of what form it will take, but I know I just want to create. I also find that when I’m in that state of ‘boredom’ and un-distractedness, I feel compelled to create.

Packing

Kevin Kelly says :

Your enjoyment of travel is inversely proportional to the size of your luggage

I didn’t listen to this. I packed my giant Macbook, Ricoh GRiii, DJI Osmo Pocket. I did go fairly light on the clothes though (3-4 T shirts, 2 trousers, 1 fleece). But then I did bring a book too, chargers, battery pack etc.

Many take the Camino as a pilgrimage. It’s about travelling light, physically but also mentally. I feel like I already feel quite light in general. The purpose of this trip is to create - and the tools matter in that respect.

I was half tempted to buy a new mirrorless camera after selling my Fujifilm. I even looked at a Leica (hey you only turn 30 once), but I decided that I didn’t want to end up with early onset arthritis from the weight of my bag. I decided on the Ricoh GRiii and the DJI Osmo Pocket.

Pre-booking

Craig Mod recommends to meticulously plan the route and logistics beforehand so you don’t have to think about any of that. I’ve prebooked all the hotels along the way and documented the exact route I’ll be taking.

I also wanted to follow a set of rules.

Rules

1. 6-7-8 hours of walking in silence
2. Challenge : Get a portrait before 10am every day
3. Record your observations as you walk - video, photos, writing, audio
4. At the end of the days, process by creating something (anything). A blog post, a video, photos.
5. No internet. No social media. No phone. No music. No podcasts.
6. Remember to reapply sunscreen. I know we can’t prevent the inevitable march of entropy and heat death of the universe, but I want to have great skin