The Lessons Learned

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The time I spent on the Camino de Santiago has been a blessed experience that has profoundly reshaped my life in a meaningful way and has taught me a great deal about myself. On the journey I became increasingly aware of my limitations, frailty, and unworthiness before God. Yet, at the same time, I was reminded of how much I matter to God and how much I am loved more than I ever deserve.

My life in Toronto is very hectic. Often times, I feel that psychologically I am always in rush-hour traffic. I am engaged in numerous activities and volunteer work and, as a result, I usually have many requests for my services from various sources that I often have to rely on God to refuel my energy.

Many people have the impression that an integral part of having a "good life" is having much time for leisure. But one of the things that I've come to understand on the Camino is that life's goal is not leisure but happiness. There are and there have been countless very happy people who hardly had any time for leisure (in its popular meaning): suffice to mention Mother Theresa. And there are and there have been many countless unhappy people completely bored with all the leisure time at their disposal.

What truly matters for real happiness is not less work but our inner attitude. Viktor Frankl inspired countless people with his books and lectures on The Search for Meaning. People in love are most happy and have boundless energies because there is meaning and purpose in all they do.

I have come to disvowed the widespread idea that less work and more "time off" is the standard way for being psychologically balanced. Hard work has never been bad for anyone as long as one does not go beyond one's normal stress endurance.

People can live very satisfyng lives while working hard on end without tiring themselves. What counts most is simply to approach any task with a calm inner attitude, in peaceful, confident union with God, who is the infinite source of boundless energy on the natural and supernatural planes.

Day 14 – Santiago de Compostela

It was still dark outside when we left Arca O Pino at 6:45 a.m. The path we had to travel was through the forest so it was very difficult to see where we were going. I just hoped that we wouldn’t take the wrong turn because we were not able to clearly see the arrows.

When we arrived at the first stop in Monte de Gozo and I stayed behind because I had to look for a certain priest named father Jose to deliver a special document from a friend of mine in Toronto. I told Steffan and Axel I will just meet them at the Cathedral in Compostela and they continued on the path.

I searched for the priest but he was not there. By that time it was already 11:13 a.m. and so I had to rushed to get to Compostela because the pilgrim mass would begin at 12:00 p.m. and I wanted to make it on time. With God’s help, I walked 5 km with my heavy backpack in 45 minutes. I arrived at the Cathedral just on time and it was packed with pilgrims and tourists. I quickly found a spot on the side and placed my heavy bag on the floor.

A nun step forward and began to sing beautifully in Latin. The song she sung was “Holy God we Praise thy Name” and immediately upon hearing the soft melody of her voice something powerful stirred up inside me and ignited my soul. In my mind I saw flashes of the all the wonderful people I encountered, the genuine conversations I had, the warm smiles of strangers and pilgrims along the road, and everything began to surface all at once including the hardship and pain I endured along the way. It was exceedingly intense for I have just reached the culminating point of my journey. I tried incredibly hard to fight it but I could not. I was overwhelmed with emotion that tears began to gently stream from my eyes as I fixated my gaze on the altar. At that precise moment I was given a taste of supernatural joy and I realized the necessary suffering on the journey served to bring me closer to God.

“The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science.”.

-- Albert Einstein

Day 13 – Arca O Pino

We left the Albergue at 7:20 a.m. and headed towards Arco O Pino. It was only a 22km walk but for some reason I was not able to go at my normal speed. The large blister on my left foot had partly to do with it.

There wasn’t much to do at Arco O Pino. A lot of the pilgrim were excited in hopeful anticipation because tomorrow would be final stretch to Compostela. I didn’t know how I would feel when I arrive or what to expect but somehow, I felt more at peace and I was ready to arrive.

Day 12 –- Ribadiso de Baixo

We left Palas de Rei early in the morning at 6:40 a.m. and headed towards Ribadiso de Baixo which was 26 km away. The hike was quite intense because of the steep inclines and sharp decent. Personally, I preferred the paths going up instead of going down. In fact, I hated going down because it would always intensify the pain in feet especially my toes. I’ve observed that there was a high level of correlation between the level of difficulty and the beauty of the path. The easier hikes were usually flat and uneventful but the more difficult ones were usually more scenic and visually appealing.

We arrived at Ribadiso at 1:20 p.m. and we immediately registered and settled in. The albergue was quite beautiful. It was in a secluded area in the middle of the forest. Many of the pilgrims enjoyed themselves on the river.

I did the regular routine of getting cleaned up and washing my clothes and I took a nap right after. At 7:30 p.m. we had dinner at the restaurant next door and we took the initiative to join the tables so that we can sit with other pilgrims in fellowship. I sat beside a man from Denmark named Peer and he was a very interesting man. He told me many amazing and exciting stories. Him and his wife are very adventuristic and they have done many fantastic excursions around the world including the climbing mount Kilimanjaro, Himalayan, Machu Picchu, and camping in the North west territory for a six weeks. I was very intrigued by all the thrilling experiences he shared.

The picture above is me sipping on an expensive glass of red wine conversing with Peer about the synthesis of statistical forecasting models (just kidding). Peer also happened to be an expert in wine tasting. He ordered two of the most expensive wine glasses and taught me how to differentiate between the two by smelling it, gently shaking the wine glass in a round motion to let the oxygen in, and tasting it with a special technique. I was very flattered by his generosity and the fact that he took the time to demonstrate wine tasting procedures. I love drinking wine but I am by no means an expert. I retired to bed shortly after.

Day 11 –- Palas del Rei

We left Portomarin a quarter to seven and headed towards our next destination Palas del Rei. Our hike was relatively easy and we arrived at our destination at around 1:00 p.m. It was Sunday so I needed to attend mass. When we arrived at the albergue I was informed that the next mass would be at 8:00 p.m.

I was not too impressed with the albergue in Palas del Rei because it was quite dirty. My bed had sand and small pebbles on it. An insect even came out of my bed from the side. I took a quick shower, hand washed my clothes and hung them to dry. Afterwards, Axel, Steffan and I went to explore the town but the majority of the stores were closed because it was Sunday. Fortunately, we were able to find a bakery that was still opened and we had a light snack.

I was quite tired and there wasn’t much to do in Palas de Rei so I took a nap and when I woke up I got ready and I attended mass with my friends in the evening. After mass we had a nice dinner at a restaurant and retired to bed.

Day 10 – Portomarin

I started my hike at around 8:30 a.m. and as I begain to walk I prayed my daily rosary on the road. After having travelled several kilometers I thought to myself, I can continue to walk the remainder of the journey on my own but it’ll be much more enjoyable and memorable with a companion because you get to share stories about Camino which I find very refreshing. And so I prayed that I may encounter friends whom I can relate with and share the journey. The Lord heard my prayers.


Two kilometers ahead was a nice little restaurant with a patio and large white umbrellas so I decided to stop for break. In the table next to me were two young German guys having breakfast. I initiated a conversation and asked them where they started. They told me that they started from St. Jean Pied de Port, which was where I also began my walk. One of them is an architectural student named Axel and the other is professional architect named Steffan. We talked about our experiences on the road and we really connected. They were very friendly and they seemed like good guys to hang out with, so I asked if I could walk with them to the next town.


We reached Portomarin at around 1:00 p.m. and it was a gorgeous little town beside the lake. We checked in the albergue and after the daily routine of getting cleaned up and washing my clothes we went the grocery store to buy food. We carried the food with us and found a nice place to sit beside the water. The view was breathtaking. It was incredible to be there to enjoy the warmth of the sun, the blue sky, the soft cool breeze, the splendid surroundings, and the great company.


I praised God and I was amazed at how fast my prayer was answered again. I simply asked to find good friends to share the journey with and God blessed me with more than I what I had asked for. As we ate, Steffan commented on how something so simple and inexpensive such as sitting here beside the lake can bring so much joy. We were having an awesome time enjoying nature and feeling at peace with ourselves when so many people around the world are so boggled down with stress and unnecessary burdens of life. I agreed with his statement and allowed myself to be capativated by the view of the horizon. I said a prayer in my heart and thanked God for such blessed moments

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Day 9 – Barbadelo

I checked my map and I realized I only had 100 km to go before I reached Compostela. I thought a lot about what Thomas said, and I shared the same sentiment in a way that I also did not want the journey to end. I was beginning to feel the intensity of the sorrow build up. I have been averaging about 30 km a day and I knew if I continued at this rate I would arrive at Compostela too soon and I was not ready to arrive. I still wanted more time to embrace every experience and enjoy each moment. The thought of having it all end brought sadness in my heart. As a result, I decided to walk only about 20 km a day as a means of trying to extend it.

Ramona and I walked to the next town called Sarria together and when we arrived I stopped by the grocery store to buy food. It was there that I said goodbye to Ramona. She was very good company and I was always impressed by the fire I saw in her especially in the way she spoke about life and her experience on the Camino. She wanted to reach Compostela in a few days and still had 25 km to cover.

I walked to Barbadelo (the next town) at a slower pace reminiscing all that has happened in such a short period of time and I thanked God in my heart.