WITH nothing but a small backpack and sleeping bag, Mitch Kyle embarked on an 800-kilometre journey that would change his life forever.
The remedial masseur from Mooroopna decided to ditch his job and make a spontaneous decision to trek Spain’s Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route for three months instead.
With no preparation except a new pair of shoes, Mr Kyle walked about 40 kilometres a day for 20 days, only eating one main meal every 24 hours.
“I did it on my own and it wasn’t a race — it was the journey I was enjoying,” he said.
During his trek he stopped at small villages where chickens, cows and dogs would be trotting through the dirt.
As Mr Kyle ventured closer, Spanish children would greet him excitedly, asking him questions about where he had been and where he was going.
He would be handed bags of peaches and bananas grown around houses that had washing hanging from the windows.
The trek reminded him that people often forgot to appreciate the little things and Mr Kyle was surprised to find there were people living on the trail as fulltime pilgrims.
“You think it’s just a walk you do before going back to your own life but seeing these people and the way it changed their lives changes your own,” he said.
“I’m a lot more open-minded and my perspective now is to try and stay positive with everything.
“You realise when you’re walking that all your little problems in normal day-to-day life don’t matter.
“Once you’re out there thinking about the things you were worried about you realise none of it really matters and the small things in our life are not worth stressing about.”
Mr Kyle said the trek tested him beyond the rough sleep-outs and agonising blisters.
“It’s 95 per cent about your mentality — your body just adapts physically but your mind has to overcome everything,” he said.
“The challenges are minimal when you are in the right mind frame.
“I just had to believe in myself and stay positive.”
While the journey Mr Kyle embarked on was impulsive, he said he had no regrets.
He has walked through amazing villages and has immersed himself in authentic Spanish culture.
He has even made friends for life after sharing just one day of his journey with them.
Despite doing the trek on his own and often in 35 degree heat, Mr Kyle’s sanity was never compromised.
The rolling green hills and the characters he met were enough to keep him going in a place where people were often disconnected from technology.
While Mr Kyle did carry a mobile phone, he did not often use it and he plans to leave it at home when he conquers the trail again in the future.
While the journey Mr Kyle embarked on was impulsive, he said he had no regrets.
He has walked through amazing villages and has immersed himself in authentic Spanish culture.
He has even made friends for life after sharing just one day of his journey with them.
Despite doing the trek on his own and often in 35 degree heat, Mr Kyle’s sanity was never compromised.
The rolling green hills and the characters he met were enough to keep him going in a place where people were often disconnected from technology.
While Mr Kyle did carry a mobile phone, he did not often use it and he plans to leave it at home when he conquers the trail again in the future.
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