The Way of Saint James

“What does SUSEYA actually mean?” I am often asked by customers who are looking at our logo.

This is usually the introduction to a longer story about the Camino de Santiago, also known as the Way of St. James, in Spain, which seems to interest quite a few people.

The last semester of my studies felt like a juggling act between exam preparations, my bachelor thesis, and a 25-hour job. The urge to simply pack a backpack and go wherever, without any particular destination, grew stronger week by week. A few years earlier, I had read Paolo Coelho’s book The Pilgrimage. When this book came back to my mind, I sat down at my laptop and booked a flight to Pamplona. Without thinking, without researching, I just booked it. And I couldn’t have been more ready. In the weeks before, I gathered some equipment, read a few blog posts from former pilgrims. I didn’t want to know too much; I wanted to let the time unfold naturally. Since this was going to be my first solo trip, I waited for nervousness, uncertainty, and fear. But it never came. I had never been more certain about a decision. Until I arrived at the first albergue. Since it was too late to start walking, I had pre-booked a place to stay for the first night. As I sat on my bunk, surrounded by other pilgrims, I thought, “What have you done?” I felt lonely, a bit lost. So I went to bed early and started my first day. The first day of 28 days in total, during which I simply walked. 28 days during which I carried my 12-kg backpack through rain, wind, sun, snow, up and down mountains, covering 800 kilometers across Spain. 28 days during which I got to know my body in a completely new way. I felt muscles I didn’t even know existed. My feet changed shape, their color shifted regularly, and they will probably never be the same again. :)

28 days during which I had countless encounters. Some consisted of just a sentence, a conversation, or a single day. Others have turned into lifelong friendships. And one of them became my great love. 28 days during which I had the privilege of admiring the most remote villages and a variety of landscapes. 28 days during which I experienced the luxury of being able to confront myself and my deeply hidden thoughts. 28 evenings during which I felt at home with strangers in unfamiliar places. One evening, I walked through clubs wearing flip-flops and a rain jacket.

I will never be able to describe the magic surrounding the Camino de Santiago.

I often think about a conversation because I find this comparison incredibly beautiful. Manfred said: “I know what you mean, Tamara. You’re going through a small life here. You walk through sun, rain, snow, steep ascents, steep descents. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Some days you cry, other days you laugh. You just keep going, keep going until you arrive.”

My mom said during a phone call that I had found my happiness there. And it was only 28 days. I just think that I was so ready for everything that came my way, and yet, I didn’t expect anything. 28 days, during which you’re carrying just a change of clothes on your back, looking forward to a shower that may even be lukewarm, and yet you’re happier than ever before, are enough to ground you. Enough to realize what really matters on this big journey of ours.

Ultreya used to be a greeting on the Camino, and Suseya was the response. In a figurative sense, it means “to grow beyond yourself.” Since the Camino is our origin, and thus the origin of our shared business, we chose this name.

Mario told me on the Camino that the real journey begins when we return home. Because that’s when it becomes clear whether we can implement what we’ve learned there. Whether we can integrate the feelings, the magic, into our everyday lives. For me, that means GRATITUDE and EQUALITY. Being grateful and appreciating what we have. And that anyone can be your friend. Age, origin, status—whatever—are just barriers we create for ourselves.

With this idea, Suseya was born, and these ideas are what we want to live by.

I have walked through my small life. And I have arrived. In Santiago, and most importantly, within MYSELF.

• Tamara