Hello, Veneta and Maxim, your journey has turned into not just a story, but a book - " The Camino way. Quick, easy and for fun". How do committed people like you undertake the venture to leave everything in Bulgaria and go on this journey? We live in a fast-paced world and for many, such an adventure is almost impossible.

Veneta: The general perception of the Camino is that it's a superhuman ordeal, you must suffer at all costs, your feet hurt, your pack is heavy, and whatnot. We wrote this book to show you another Camino - fast, easy, and fun. A wonderful journey on which you meet many people who set out on the Way with different motivations and looking for different inspirations. A trip that was a wonderful experience, a breath of fresh air in the hectic everyday life, and an unconventional but extremely energizing holiday for us. In the book, we describe the different routes and give sample sections suggested so that you can handle the daily workload and be able to wake up the next day and take on the new section with pleasure.

Maxim: The truth is that we have passed the minimum cut-off required to obtain the official certificates, not only because it is minimal, but simply because we didn't have the time. We both work 16-18 hours every day and I'm glad we took two full weeks for this amazing experience. We met people like us who had found the way: they walked the Camino in parts, 150-200 km at a time, then, they started from where they stopped the previous year and walked that much more, and so on until the end. In this way, the whole road is broken up and can be walked several times, with breaks in between.

The unique thing is that the sections are very well-signposted and equipped. They offer all the amenities of hotels, guesthouses, and inns, as well as public laundries, restaurants, and roadside inns so that one does not need to load up with luggage at all. In the book, we also describe how, on arriving on site, we found that the airline had lost our luggage and it took another two days to find and deliver it. We just decided to go, stocked up on toothbrushes, t-shirts, and underwear, and off we went. One suitcase never went unopened until the end. In the book you will find practical advice on everything you need for this trip and it's no coincidence that our good friend and wonderful journalist Georgi Milkov called it "The Camino Textbook".

How long did the journey take you and did the Camino really change our perception of the world? 

Veneta: Our Camino trip was 10 days, but we stayed two more days in Santiago de Compostela. We walked about 140 km on the oldest and most famous so-called French road, which is 890 km in total. We walked the last stretch, from the town of Saria to Santiago de Compostela. The Camino really changes your perception of the world if you are prepared for it and commit to the experience. It's true that this road somehow makes you a better person, more attentive to others, slows down the pace, and makes you think about many things you don't have time for in everyday life. Your path inevitably intertwines with the paths of many people with different destinies and different motivations. Part of the adventure is about sharing, overcoming something in small steps every day and finally reaching the goal. Another thing you inevitably realize is how much excess stuff we carry around with us, literally and figuratively, and how little a person needs to be happy. All in all, along the way you inevitably throw away everything in excess. That's also part of change.

A moment or phrase that has stayed in your mind and you will always associate with this adventure?

Maxime: It rained the day before our last day, and we took shelter under an awning so we could take our raincoats off. And there in that shelter, many people had stopped and signed their names and left their thoughts and encouragement. There, one thought caught our attention, and it was, "The end is always nice. If it's not nice yet, you haven't reached the end yet." Beyond that, though, each encounter with new friends along the way left unforgettable memories, and we continue to correspond with many of them on social media to this day. Finally, as I often say since we returned from Camino, it is the most wonderful social network one can have these days.

As in life so far, and on the Camino road - you are always hand in hand. What has been the impact of this place on you as a whole?

Venetta: It's been magical. We're people who are used to traveling, but this was an unconventional reinvention of ourselves. We had time and opportunities to talk about many things and topics that we don't have time for in our normal daily lives.

What would you say to anyone who would take the Camino de Santiago, is it possible to be prepared for this adventure?  

Maxim: One can prepare for the fact that every day they will overcome some obstacle. However, not much special preparation is needed, especially if one has read our book carefully. But what he will discover on his journey and what he will take with him is part of the magic of this Journey, and for that, you cannot prepare. But it is certainly worth everyone's while to try. For Camino can indeed be walked quickly, easily and for pleasure...

Published in woman.bg