No, it's not the Camino [the end]

Mark Eveleigh's 1225km walk across Spain

[For the updates on Mark’s walk, please click on the following for: week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4 and week 5]

Dear friends

He’s done it! Late yesterday afternoon Mark sent me a video: he was whooping and jumping as he ran the last 700 metres to the lighthouse at the northernmost point of Spain. “I can see it! I can see the end of Spain!” he laughed as he ran. “There’s nothing left!”

1225km, from Gibraltar to Punta de Estaca de Bares, the northernmost tip of Spain. Five weeks and two days; four rolls of sports tape (magic for threatening blisters); one pair of boots (now almost worn out); and who knows how many cafes and restaurants that were closed right when Mark needed them most. He’s home, folks. 

Well, not exactly home. From the northern tip Mark turned around and walked three kilometres back to the B&B he’d booked and then, after a hot shower, a meal and a celebratory rum and coke, started to figure out how to get back to Pamplona. It’s a complicated puzzle of logistics that will likely involve one taxi ride, one train ride, and three buses, possibly taken over two days. Then he’ll spend a day (or just a few hours, depending on the buses and trains) with his daughter in Pamplona, and then take a bus to Bilbao, potentially overnight in the airport, from where he’ll fly to Gatwick – which is where I’ll meet Mark on Tuesday morning.  Ah, the glamorous life of a travel writer…

Tuesday morning can’t come soon enough. Mark and I were unexpectedly separated when we left Indonesia in April and, after a ridiculously rushed goodbye when Qatar wouldn’t hand over Mark’s boarding pass (it’s a long story, with roots in Covid-induced border closures and an inefficient government department), I left without knowing when we’d be together again. Now, with 1225km under his blistered soles, I look forward to being reunited with my love. I am in awe of his commitment to complete the journey, and his strength to do so. But more than that, I admire Mark’s tenacity and his resolve to do life his own way – with passion and a contagious optimism, even on the toughest days.

With the walk over, Mark will now retrace his steps via the notes and photographs he’s taken over the past five weeks, as he bring Vagabond, his next book, to life. But first, he’ll need to finish reading through the final PDFs of Kopi Dulu, which will Penguin will release in early August. If Vagabond becomes anything like Kopi Dulu, there’s one thing I know for sure: it will be an exquisite piece of travel writing.

Here’s to your story; to your journey; to you, Mister E.

With love,

Narina