''The universe wanted it for me''-

how the camino changed her life

It is Monday morning and I am walking through Los Canos de Meca (Spain) to my favorite coffee shop to work. I decide not to take the shortest route on the road, but to walk along the beach. On the way I see a gray camper van, my eyes are drawn to a sticker on the side, I come closer and see that it is a sign of the Camino de Santiago, the shell! Spontaneously I knock on the door and a moment later the Italian Ilaria Pazienza (37 years old) sticks her head out of the door, she is just making coffee! I point to the shell on her van and ask if she has walked the Camino. She tells me enthusiastically that she has indeed walked the Camino and even has a Camino tattoo on her leg! I suggest scheduling an interview and a few weeks later we meet in El Palmar, a village further away. During a holiday in Colombia, Ilaria realized that things had to change in her life. She was no longer happy. Working every day in an office from 9 to 5 in a city with too little sun did her no good. When her relationship of 12 years ended and she was no longer allowed to work online after Corona, she decided to quit her job and walk - walk to Santiago de Compostela. She went on her journey completely unprepared. The fact that she had left everything behind made her very anxious at first, what would she do next? She also had to learn to make choices for herself again after such a long relationship. In a small village just before Burgos she got stranded with a lot of blisters. The fear that she could not walk any further struck and she was afraid of losing her Camino family and being left alone. She sat in a bar with tears in her eyes. A pilgrim she knew from along the way noticed that she was going through it and took care of her and assured her that they would do it together, however slowly, step by step. When she arrived in Santiago she still had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, but through the Camino she realized that she could do anything she wanted. She learned that she didn't have to have all the answers right away, it brought a kind of peace and calm. Life is a process, 'the way' and she can enjoy that, no more stress. She bought a camper van and left for Spain with her dog.