BARCELONA – EL COLLELL (160 KM) – 25 TO 30 JULY 2020
About 3 years ago I lived through one of the experiences that has changed my life the most: the pilgrimage to El Collell.
My name is Itziar and on that pilgrimage I was 25. We had just come out of the total lockdown caused by Covid-19, and I found myself looking ahead to the summer without knowing what to do, because the place where I worked had closed.
So, on our priest’s recommendation, I decided to sign up for the pilgrimage they were organising at the parish. It was a “little” outing that would last a week, more or less. The route was very simple: we would go from Barcelona to El Collell (Girona) in 5 days. The truth is I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish it, but even so I decided to give it a go, because the alternative was staying at home looking for work and that didn’t appeal to me at all. I had the whole summer ahead of me to do that.
So I began this route full of insecurity and fear. A decision I will never regret.
One of the things I liked most about the experience was the family atmosphere that was created and grew among all of us who were there. But what drew me most was how close I felt Jesus all those days. When I thought I couldn’t go on any more or that I wasn’t capable of reaching the end, I always felt him at my side, in different ways: in a travelling companion, in a prayer or, simply, feeling him beside me.
One of the anecdotes I remember most is the climb up the Turó de l’Home by the “Sant Mateu path”. After almost 6 months without anyone passing over that summit, the paths that had been marked out had disappeared. There was no way to continue the way we had planned and, while the route’s shepherds were thinking about what to do, one of the boys, with the help of his knife/machete, cleared a new path. So far so good; the problem came when that route reached an area of rocks that we had to climb. Luckily, we all reached the summit safely.
This experience helped me grow as a person, both emotionally and spiritually. And that’s why I go back every year, because, although it may seem like the same experience, every pilgrimage is unique and helps me recognise the worth I have as a person, simply because I am a daughter of God, and to see that I can go much further than I think.
