Along the Camino with one backpack – it's like without one
A plane ticket to Madrid and a one-way decision
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A completely spontaneous decision that now holds great sentimentality in my heart… My self is looking for the next ticket today.
Hello Maria, and thank you for inviting me to share my Kaminovska story.
I assume you've already had the opportunity to hear and read many Kaminski stories before mine, which you will actually „learn“ here for the first time.
But know that once your ear touches these stories, they won't stop, and one day you will physically walk in that beautiful place.
And in the future, there will be many stories, published books, printed travelogues, countless Camino groups in virtual space, and it will always be relived again and again.
The emotion is different, actually, overall, the transitions, and indeed the long ones, are something special, a different, even strange feeling for yourself.
Or at least that's how I feel it.
I personally haven't yet found the right words to describe what I experience when I'm in such places.
The words gush and compete, and are still insufficient.
And the truth is: I didn't want to go back to the city at the end of the transition!
Some prefer an all-inclusive, guaranteed vacation with all the extras, while others find comfort in a mess of nettles and rice at that mountain hut, after having struggled for 3 hours through blueberry bushes with bare feet, their bodies reeking of sweat.
There may be other „extras“ before you eat the delicious nettle porridge.
Maria, look, I'm very talkative, a real chatterbox. People who know me well, or at least have spent a long time with me, know that if I'm silent at any point, it means something's rotten and something's wrong.
So let's go back to the beginning – introduce myself, and then I'll be performing for Osho, or Louise Hay, or one of your other readers' favorites.
Will it do?
Well, I think that's a nice introduction, and now I'll tell you who the other Maria is, meaning me.
My name is Maria Lutskanova.
I won't involve you in my life story, we all have one, so I'll be brief.
I have two main, long-standing interests
Cruise ships
One of my jobs is related to cruise ships.
Wow, this is a big adventure, a supreme journey around the world, and „all“ just for those who have never touched real life and work on a cruise ship.
We'll talk about this type of trip another time. It's a big mix of emotions that left a big mark on me.
But really – that's another topic, another world.
Fashion, Atelier, and Carrie
My other main job is related to fashion.
My mother and I had a family workshop where we made many things. She passed away four years ago, and now I'm managing on my own. That loss was a huge shock and grief for me.
A year ago, I decided to combine these skills with another one of my favorite things – Curry.
Her name is Kari! A wonderful English Cocker Spaniel.
Next to her, I started making dog clothes, accessories, and grooming aprons.
There is now also a Facebook page – Karry Outdoor.
Kari loves the mountain. My backpack then becomes not double, but triple – with a first-aid kit, food, bowls, and all sorts of wonders.
And if he gets tired - he just relaxes like a „liver“ and falls asleep on my back.
The niece and the little signs
There is another very favorite thing in my life – my niece.
Perhaps I was at the 300-kilometer mark when I received a message with all the technical data: date, time, kilograms, name.
She also made a great contribution to the decisions during this trip.
What is the Camino de Santiago
Of course, Camino has its legends – countless.
Also known as the Camino de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, the Milky Way, pilgrimage route.
This is a pilgrimage route that begins in France, crosses the Pyrenees, and ends in Spain on the Atlantic Ocean.
A place they say is the end of the world.
In fact – a place associated with the legend of St. James Zebedee and the Milky Way.
A route of about 900 km that can be traveled on foot, by bicycle, or on horseback.
I chose to walk it – with my backpack on my back and myself.
The chimney in Bulgaria and its modern image
In recent years, the Camino has been increasingly spoken about in Bulgaria, much like the Kom-Emine.
A road visited by thousands of people year-round, even during COVID.
People from all over the world follow it – each with their own reason.
For some it's pain, for others joy, but the Camino has a cure for everyone.
For me, Camino is the present meeting the past and giving way to the future.
There is no queue that doesn't gather dust.
Once you touch the sunrises and sunsets there, you don't understand how you drank the magical elixir of unforgettable memories.
And you just keep going.
You're asking me – why Camino?
Well, I don't know why Camino.
Until 2015, I hadn't heard of him.
The story began in a Saturday-Sunday course.
During the break, a conversation started about the road.
A man from the group had lived in Spain. A girl asked him if he had walked the Camino.
He said – no.
And so I asked: what is this path?
I almost forgot the conversation.
Life's Reminders
But the universe did not forget.
Invitation for sunrise on Vitosha.
Meeting a person who had returned from Camino.
After the film „The Way“ with Martin Sheen.
And then I knew.
Camino and I will meet.
Procrastination and decision
I started to research.
30-40 days.
I couldn't take such a long vacation.
I have mapped out a 10-day itinerary.
I was just about to buy a ticket – my vacation was cut short.
I give up.
Then I decided I would go through with it all, even if I lost my job.
A plane ticket to Madrid and a one-way decision
And so it remained in suspense until the day when, returning from a walk in the beautiful snowy Vitosha, I picked up the computer and bought a Sofia-Madrid-Sofia ticket.
A completely spontaneous decision that now holds great sentimentality in my heart…
My "self" still looks for the next ticket to this day.
The second part follows
In it, Maria Lyutskanova recounts how she prepared for the Camino, how she faced the first difficulties, how she convinced her loved ones, and set off for Spain with only a backpack, a mace, and a plane ticket.
See more by Maria Lyutskanova here
