Day 42 - Home after the Camino Frances : Paris to Toronto

Home after the Camino Frances

We were awake at 5 AM out of habit, but we both sat in the hotel room until 8 AM, uncertain what to do with the extra time. By 9 we had enjoyed a brief breakfast in the lobby, checked out, and boarded the shuttle to the Charles de Gaul airport. Checked in, we were on the 11:30 AM flight from Paris to Montreal before changing aircraft for a short jump from Montreal to Toronto. 

Our flights were again long, but safe and uneventful. Without the excitement of the Camino keeping us awake as we crossed the Atlantic this time, we both slept well and arrived in Toronto at 8 PM. 

Here we again gathered our luggage and waited for the Airlink bus which took us from Toronto to the small town we currently call home. We arrived home at midnight. Here it did not take long for the silence of our own home in our own neighbourhood to get to us. Ironically, after weeks of being frustrated by the noises of others at night, and the hurried mornings on the Camino, it is the silence of our own house which is irritating. The hum of the refrigerator, the click of the furnace, and the sound of the pool pump, are now all unnerving electronic noises. The snoring of the Albergue, the rustling of others in their bunks, the crickets outside, and the smell of fresh-cut hay are all just memories. Our adventure in Spain has come to an end and the trick will be figuring out how to make sense of it all and keep it fresh and meaningful in our daily lives.

As we sit here, safely back home, I want to say thank you to everyone we met along the way, and to everyone who helped us make this possible.  Although it hasn't sunk in yet, I think we are different for having made this journey, and we couldn't have done it alone.  Thank you!

See you on the Trail!

https://www.comewalkwithus.online/

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Practical information:

Distance: 6,017 km
Max Temperature: 15°C
Accommodations: Home, Simcoe Ontario