From left to right: Jezzy, Mikkel, Ana, Me, Pali and Helga aka the Camino Family

Lately I have been thinking more and more about our next Camino adventure and praying that we will still be able to start our walk from St. Jean on Aug. 31st. Because we have the time and space, we have been talking about what we hope for in September, how we want to walk together but also have our own experience and remembering our last experience. You can see from yesterday that I have downloaded an app to show how far I would be on the Camino from my day to day walks and this is on my mind.

In April of 2017 I went solo on my first walk and along the way I collected these people above.  Jezzy from St. Louis, Mikkel from Denmark, Ana from Serbia living in Berlin, Pali from Hungary and Helga from Iceland. We all ended up walking “together” but all of us came solo.  They were also the people who welcomed me to my new home in Berlin.  We planned it so I would move during our one year reunion from the day we walked into Santiago.

Out of all of us, we keep in contact here and there but one of the most consistent friends I keep in contact with out of the family is Mikkel.

If you would have told me this when we ended our walk and went our separate ways, I would have been surprised. Mikkel is younger than my youngest brother and is a free spirit in the world.  His Dane qualities make him laid back but also pretty open to the world.  He and I got along well on the trail but really didn’t share deeply but we always had a good time.  One day he made sure I had a chocolate crossaint in hand so that I might snack on it later.  After Santiago when I saw him on the trail by Finisterre I screamed with joy when I saw him and we rode the ferris wheel back in Santiago near the end of our trip in celebration.

Last summer when my friend Jules was traveling to Copenhagen I texted Mikkel and asked if I could come for a few days and stay at his place so I could see him, Copenhagen and Jules. He excitedly agreed. I was super happy about it until I asked Ana…but, what will we talk about? Are we too different?

And no! We had absolutely the best time. We giggled for days and toured about.  We talked deeply and ate food.  We promised to do it again sometime.  And even though we haven’t seen each other in a while, we text often to check in.

While his travels have had to pause for this time, I know he will be back at it soon and will return to the Camino too. It changed us all and will continue to do so. I can’t wait to see what Mikkel does in the world!