Sunday, December 9, 2007

Walking in my sleep

When I returned home in May from my first walk along the Camino, I had a series of unsettling experiences. Each night in my dreams, I re-lived walking and sleeping each step of the Camino. On my first night home, I was walking from St. Jean to Valcarlos. Second night home, Valcarlos to Roncesvalles. Since my usual sleep pattern has be waking up at least once between 2 & 3 a.m., I would wake up disoriented. The dreams were so real, I woke up with the expectation to be in whatever albergue or hotel I had stayed in that particular day. Most nights, I would wake up & take maybe a few seconds to realize that I was home. One night, however, I was so disoriented, that it wasn't until I got out of bed & turned on the light that I realized I was home. It was very scary waking up, wondering where my friends were & not remembering this "albergue" at all. This time, the disorientation stayed with me for a long time, throughout the day, even though I was able to fall back asleep with the cats piled on top of me. It is interesting to note that the day I reliving in my dreams was the day we climbed the Alto del Perdon & ended up in separate albergues in Puente la Reina.

For whatever reason, I did not experience this sensation when I came home from the Camino in September. I did have very spectacular, vivid dreams each night & still frequently have them now that I am home. Weird.