Sea Kara Explore the World

I was sitting at a table for one outside of a restaurant along the pier in Fisterra. It was a beautiful, mild midsummer evening. The town was bustling at peak Camino and tourist season so it was perfect for people-watching. I had finished walking the Camino Francés from Saint Jean Pied de Port, France, and had made my way to Fisterra through Muxia by way of the Camino on foot. I had reached another turning point in my Camino where everyone I had met along the way had already gone home. So, it was very unexpected to see a woman in normal clothes walking towards me at a brisk pace with her hands waving in the air. She came up to me with her friend by her side and said, “Oh my goodness, you’re the girl with the knee! I had wondered if you were able to finish.” I am terrible with names, but better with faces. For the life of me, I could not understand why I could not place her. Her friend who was with her also did not look familiar. We chatted for a bit before she had to go and catch her b...

Saturday, 25 May 2019 I embarked on my journey to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France today. I had a hard time sleeping last night in anticipation of the first day of the Camino de Santiago , which wasn't even today. I had packed two bags, one for the Camino and another for everything else I would need afterwards to travel around Europe for a few months (including camera gear). The sun was just barely starting to rise when I walked to the train station with my Camino backpack on and my duffel slung across my body; that was quite a weight. The Bayonne station was a small depot with only a couple of platforms. I sat down on one of the open benches across from some men that were of retirement age and a couple of younger guys who all appeared to be Camino pilgrims ( peregrinos ). Some pigeons were walking about in the open area between all of us and the old men were speaking in French and chuckling while playing around with the pigeons; it made me smile.  A train had arrived, but I di...

I've been trying to reflect on the last year and decade, but kept getting stuck with my words. Perhaps it's because I have done little to dwell on one of the most major journeys I completed last year: the Camino de Santiago. I don’t want to bore you with just another Camino story. The same one you’ve heard over and over. Whether you know about the Camino de Santiago or not I’m just going to tell it like it is and start from the end. It’s something that changes you. You finish it after several weeks of walking on the trail and the weeks seem like just a few days. It’s hard to comprehend how long you’ve been on the trail in the end. It had become a lifestyle. You got up, packed your bag, ate a quick bite, carried on the road, had coffee and food along the way, looked for an albergue (hostel for pilgrims) to stay for the night, showered and washed any clothes, ate dinner, journal-ed, slept and repeated. Everyday started and ended this way and so life was very simple. You didn’t h...

Ever had that feeling like being stuck, whether it was a job, a location, people? Well, I did. For a really long time. It wasn't until recently that I decided that I needed to take control of my life and follow my heart more. I'm most alive when I'm traveling, meeting people, being out on or under the water and in nature. It felt silly that only a small portion of my free time was actually dedicated to that. I keep hearing more stories of cancer affecting people or freak accidents - tomorrow is not guaranteed. I've been so scared about preparing for the future that I felt like I was slowly giving up on my dream to travel the world, really meet and get to know the people in it and try to make a truly meaningful impact on the world before my time comes to an end. So, I quit my long-time job, sold and donated most of my possessions and left Hawaii after over 10 years to chase those dreams. I want to really focus on the things that make me happy in this life and share th...