‘ There are so many areas I want to see’: writer walks on foot whenever possible | July 5, 2024, 9: 00PMIn her latest book,” Estrellas”, Suzanne Maggio ‒ a local artist from Penngrove ‒ shares the profound knowledge of her almost 500- hour solo trip along the El Camino de Santiago in Spain. Maggio, also author of” The Cardinal Club” and host of the” From Sparks to Light” podcast, delves into the beauty and benefits of solitary travel. As Maggio’s 65th day approaches, her tale is a testament to the notion that it’s never too late to engage on transformational activities. Always since Maggio’s move on The Camino, she has tackled many more single walks, the most recent being her 19- day journey along the Via Francigena in Italy. Her attraction with personality and her Roman heritage served as the catalyst for that journey. ” I am Italian, and I love Italy”, she explained. I’ve had the honor of making frequent visits to Rome with my relatives, who live there. Therefore, it was a simple choice for me when I learned about the Via Francigena. ” I have an European card, which I got 10 years ago after I applied for citizenship”, she said. I wanted to understand what that means more deeply. Walking the Via Francigena was a way to accomplish that “.Maggio described her Via Francigena voyage as wonderful, difficult, challenging and inspiring. She makes it abundantly clear that anyone can find meaning in the beauty of the adventure, even if they do n’t have a familial connection to Italy. ” Tuscany is very beautiful”, she said. ” It’s everything you see in pictures. Rolling rocks. Cypress branches. Grape flowers. Olive and walnut trees. I had a unique experience when I entered Vatican City. I’ve been there plenty of times, but walking in was completely different” .One of the most memorable moments from Maggio’s walk took place toward the end of her journey, when she met Gina, a young woman from the Romagna region. ” She had begun her Camino from her house”, Maggio recalled. She walked out of her front doorway at the age of 21 and began to walk. During their journey up, Maggio and Gina developed a strong bond. We bonded deeply despite the fact that she was more than 40 ages younger than me, from a different country, and with different life experience,” she said. We were only the two of us as we crossed the Tuscan hills, passed through Lazio’s nut forests, and entered Vatican Square. When we got there, we held each other and moaned. It was tremendous. We’d gone through something extraordinary up,” Maggio discovered, highlighting the relationships and moments that make single travels special. ” When you travel with friends or family you have a health gate, a built- in aid system”, she noted. ” There’s nothing wrong with that. I enjoy traveling with different people, also, but each experience is unique. I like to be challenged, so I generally go only. I’m naturally an extrovert, so I love to meet people, but that does n’t mean it’s always comfortable” .Stepping out of one’s comfort zone is the first step in planning a solo journey, Maggio firmly believes. It’s the first step in what can be a really revolutionary practice. As she writes in the book” Estrella”,” On the Camino, something inside me had shifted. I had experience it in my bones. I left one man. I went home one more time, which is the appeal of traveling only: experiencing self-transformation and coming to terms with the fact that it is never very late. In reality, Maggio pointed out, for older people, the time is now to guide those visits. ” Age is a funny thing. I’m about to turn 65, but inside I do n’t feel any different than I did when I was 40″, she said. ” On the other hand, the older you get, the more you realize that we do n’t have forever. I want to do so several issues. There are numerous sites I want to visit. Simply put, I do n’t want to waste any time making up what ifs. It’s time to do them” .For more info on Suzanne Maggio and her work, visit suzannemaggio.com.
