Since coming to Spain, I’ve learned all kinds of common conversational phrases that we just don’t have the proper words for in English. Yes, if you put them into Google translator, you’ll get some kind of ballpark answer that gives you an idea of what the phrase means. For example, if you take the title of this post and copy it into the translator, you’ll get the response: “you take advantage of.” Que aproveches is one of my favorite Spanish phrases, and considering the fact that I only have 17 days left in this amazing country, it’s a very appropriate thing to be saying during my final stretch here. That being said, Google’s response to que aproveches does not do the phrase any justice whatsoever. It’s something you say to someone else before they enjoy one of the finer things in life: an excellent meal, a night on the town, a vacation, a bottle of champagne, or (in my case) the last few days of the adventure of a lifetime. To me, que aproveches means “I hope you get the most out of it – that you enjoy every last fraction of a second to the very fullest and that you savor it for all its worth.”

The Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia.

Nobody takes this phrase to heart quite like my good friend, fellow Valpo student, and traveling companion, Kevin Miller. Back in February, we read an article in class about a tradition that dates back to the middle ages: a cross-country pilgrimage known as the Camino de Santiago. Beginning as a religious journey towards the destination of what was once considered “the edge of the world” (the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela on the westernmost coast of Spain – where the apostle James is buried), the Camino has been traveled over the centuries by millions of “pilgrims” from all over the world. After learning about this tradition in class, Kevin mentioned that he’d really like to try it. Last week, that’s exactly what he did. Kevin wrote a little bit about his experiences for us to read, and gave me some photos from his journey to post here…

Each shelter that Kevin ate at or slept at put a stamp in his "pilgrimage passport".

“It’s dubbed El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James), but in reality, it’s a network of many different routes that all converge at the destination point of the pilgrimage, the Cathedral of Santiago. I spent seven days biking on the Camino Frances, which begins in St. Jean Pied de Port, a small French city only a few kilometers north of the Spanish-French border.  I began my journey in Pamplona, which is about 100 kilometers from St. Jean Pied de Port, and finished at the Cathedral.

A gorgeous sunset along the Camino.

Most pilgrims do the Camino by foot, normally walking from about 8am until sometime in the mid afternoon, where they then find a shelter where you can shower, get some dinner, relax, and recharge for the next day. But some, like me, decide to do it by bike (and even some, although I didn’t see on my trip, by horse!). Naturally, the Camino Frances is a nearly perfect east to west route.  Therefore, each day the sun served as my guide: creeping up my back, illuminating my helmet, and then sneaking down my front side before sending its last few rays over the distant horizon.

Kevin's view along the Camino (notice the other pilgrims ahead on the road) while entering one of the many pueblos along the way.

The Camino attracts people from all of the world, all doing it for some particular reason, whether for religious or spiritual motives or solely for the adventure. During my journey, I spent time talking with pilgrims and Spanish locals, either in the shelters in the evenings or during the day when I felt like substituting my biking legs for walking legs. I met an economist from Denmark, a Venezuelan software engineer, a construction worker from San Sebastian (northern Spain), a mother and son from Alabama, a Belgian architect, a truck driver from A Coruña (northwest Spain), a Canadian medical technician… the list goes on and on. It was quite a beautiful experience, and if any of you reading this have the opportunity to do it, I’d recommend it. You certainly won’t regret it.”

The view of the Camino from the top of one of the hills that Kevin climbed up - looking back to the east.

Kevin’s unique journey across the country of Spain is just one of those things that resonates so appropriately with the concept of aprovechando. Taking advantage of every opportunity, every adventure, and savoring those moments to the fullest are such important aspects of studying abroad, and are things that can only be learned through taking a leap of faith into those types of journeys. It’s a way of thinking that I’m blessed to be taking back home with me. I know without a doubt that all students who have been abroad can easily say the same after experiencing their own individual leaps of faith, savoring the details of such journeys with a new found sense of what it means to take advantage of the moments we’re given.