Retirement Role Models – Camino Days 16-18 (Castrojeriz)
Foggy pre-dawn starts up a final hill and officially onto the Mesita - the flat table-top plains that some find boring and is supposed to challenge us mentally for the next ten days or so. A time to ponder big questions, and for these first few days it seems that the How and Why of Retirement seems to bubble up as an emerging theme.
What To Do After Retiring?
Todd catches up to us to continue our retirement conversation from a week ago. “I’ve thought more about your question of how to use retirement time in a meaningful way. For me, it’s mostly split into two categories: health and wealth.” As a cancer survivor, he’s channeled energy into learning about and then living a healthy lifestyle, diet, regular workouts, etc. And as an early retiree (9 years before my “early” retirement at 56), he’s chosen to learn how to actively manage their investments so that they can actually retire and live well on that nest egg.
I share back about my experiments so far in how to thrive or wallow in the freedom of retirement. Spending a few hours a day following the stock market aint my idea of a good time, but I have certainly invested time in finding ways to responsibly manage our money in a way that follows our moral commitments while also growing enough to support us later. And I wasn’t the only retiree working out at the YMCA during office hours.
Our conversation carries us all the way to second breakfast in Hontanas, which also has a “Recyclavos” (recycled/repurposed “clavo” railroad ties) art installation in the old church tower, the “pilones” communal water tank where 18th century women washed clothes, and a few rather interesting public art works. Leaving early, only having 20 km to traverse (5 hours), and a reservation at a good hostel at the other end has all of us pilgrims in a slow, exploring mood.
The question of how to structure time in retirement in a way that is rich and fulfilling without tying us travelling-types down is one that Jerry joins into on the walk after breakfast. Forced to retire from medicine after COVID (due to Kiwi healthcare politics, not health), she has committed to volunteer positions that provide a latticework or “pegs” for her days, within which she can then colour in with friends, outings, etc. She’s careful not to assume too much responsibility, nor to over-use her medical training to become indispensable or essentially an unpaid worker, letting her enjoy her volunteer work while also being able to step away for adventures like this Camino. “Maybe you’ll need to be an assistant soccer coach instead of a head coach,” she suggests.
Conversations on the Camino are much like those with young parents - they last just until the next scraped knee or backpack readjustment breaks us apart again. We somehow lose Jerry while exploring the ruins of the San Anton convent and pilgrims’ hospital from the year 1145. The hospital provided treatment and protective blessing against “Saint Anthony’s Fire”, which might refer to shingles, herpes, an acute skin rash, or ergot poisoning due to the ingestion of alkaloids. Nowadays it’s a beautiful gated archway, mysterious remaining church walls, and a cosy hostel.
When is Too Early to Retire?
The final 5km brings us to Albergue Rosalia in Castrojeriz in time to buy fresh baguettes, meat and cheese for lunch (and Fritos), our daily nap, then explore the hillside cave houses and hilltop castle. We enjoy a lively communal dinner (fresh paella!) with folk from Slovakia, Nashville (father and 2 sons), Spain, France, and an American linguist living in Germany who fascinated us with theories about speech melody and rhythm recognition that governs conversation flow in various cultures.
My retirement musings can’t dominate this dinner conversation, but one American retiree from 30 years military service shares, “You know it’s time to leave when you keep wanting to punch your superior officers.” And Russell, a CEO who stopped early, simply asked himself “How much money do I need?” One consistent theme among the many retirees on the Camino (regardless of age) is that they reached a point of clarity that it was time to walk away, and never looked back. I’ve yet to meet a single person who says they retired too soon.
Some, like Yves (“like Yves St. Laurent”, he has to explain so people don’t call him Eve), come to this clarity while walking the Camino. It’s not Yves’ first time here - when his wife saw him overworking and losing himself she sent him here for 3 weeks with no cell phone. He returned to an avalanche of emails and meetings, dug his way out, then quit the job he had loved Doing (helping a Costco supply chain become more sustainable) to rediscover the person he loved Being.
We know this because when we asked him about his profession, he said, “That’s the wrong question. On the Camino we are free from that narrow definition of ourselves. The proper question is, ‘Who are you?’ But since you asked, now I will tell you…”
How Much Travel is Possible in Retirement?
Our long legs have become legendary on the Camino, at least among the shorter South Koreans and one snaggle-toothed Spaniard who laughs in delight every time we pass him (we also take more breaks). We pass frequently and are passed rarely - not because we are racing, it’s simply the rhythm we naturally fall into. 4.5 to 5km average gives us freedom to take those longer breaks, detours, photo binges.
It’s therefore a surprise when, as we are walking briskly toward Fromista the next morning, we are passed by a Canadian couple. Not only are they WAY older (62 and 70!), but she is WAY shorter, skipping and dashing those legs in a unique style that must net her twice the steps we get in a day. We up our pace a bit and they politely slow down to only slightly super-human, and we discover that they are leading a retirement lifestyle that is wonderfully similar to what we are doing and envisioning.
Anne and John have been nomadic for a few years now, sometimes staying in one of their two homes or boat (“I was fortunate to work in asset-rich industries,” he understates) while visiting and fulfilling family obligations, then popping around the globe for adventures like this one. “We are in the first of three stages,” she explains. “Right now is Go-Go, when we have health and energy and want to take advantage of that. Later will come Slow-Go and we’ll make adjustments, then finally No-Go.”
Their family commitments - such as caring for an elderly parent for a few weeks at a time - gives them enough of an anchor, around which they can plan their trips. They feel no need to “settle down” or to be able to clearly answer the normal questions that also confuse us - “Where are you from?” or “When will you be heading home?” We have been wondering if/when we’ll feel a need for more geographic definition and community-rootedness in our existence, so it’s encouraging to meet a couple who are happily living this un-home-bound life and feel absolutely no lack of stability, nor need to know when or what the next “Go Slow” phase might look like.
This is how the Camino teaches us - providing the right people at the right time. We are not unique and we are not alone. Retiring “early”, creating alternative ways to structure and give meaning to our time, redefining “Home” as where he hang our passion. I didn’t start this path actively worrying about any of that, but it’s reassuring to meet other people who have been walking this retirement path longer, seeing my certainty and fulfillment reflected back in their alive, clear and curious eyes.
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Currently in...
Mayne Island, BC, then to a family wedding in Surrey
Heading to...
Paris, Albania, Milan, then Cambodia-Thailand-Vietnam for Oct-May. Please share any sites, people or ideas by email.