Frances Penafort went on a solo walk that spanned over 100km in Spain and conquered her fears of being alone, getting lost and of the unknown. The walk, called the Camino de Santiago, took her through jungles, plains, and valleys.
Speaking with FMT Lifestyle, the executive leadership coach said one Thomas Yap, who runs a tour agency, made all the arrangements for her and even assured her that all she needed to do was walk. She wouldn’t even need a guide!
So, she prepared extensively for the trip by exercising regularly. She took long walks, swam as well as practised Pilates and yoga. Before she knew it, it was time to begin her adventure.
Penafort was comforted by Yap’s assurance that there would be toilets, cafés and other people on the trail. The weather was expected to be 24°C and Penafort packed accordingly.
But the journey, she recalled, didn’t begin well as she struggled to find the starting point. “Emotionally, I was a wreck. Feelings of shame came up. How can I not know? If I can’t even find the starting point, how am I going to survive the 100km?”
Thankfully, she encountered a female beggar who guided her to the right path. Then, she was aghast to discover that there were no toilets, cafés or other humans in sight. A heatwave also swept across Europe and temperatures soared to over 34°C.
She walked alone for six hours with a full bladder and an empty stomach. “I just wanted to sit there and just cry and cry and cry.”
Thankfully, she later met a Spanish couple named Javi and Anna and so had some company for the rest of the way.
She arrived at her lodge that night completely exhausted. She had walked for close to 32km and her muscles were aching. Curiously, by the next morning, the pain had disappeared. So, she kept going.
She decided to follow her newfound friends Anna and Javi, although it differed from Yap’s plans for her. At the end of the day, she ended up walking 25km instead of only 18km.
Feeling proud, she contacted Yap to tell him the good news, but his response was not what she expected. “He told me: ‘Now, you have to walk back. This is not your route. Your hotel and bags are back there.’”
He also informed her that to qualify for the certificate of completion for the Camino pilgrimage, she had to retrace her steps on the second day.
“I could not see that every day there was a lesson for me. I just wanted to avoid being alone, feeling lost and that I do not know,” she said, adding that she eventually walked 125km instead of 100km over the six days.
Nevertheless, it was an impactful time. “Mentally, I thought that I could not walk alone. Emotionally, I felt ashamed of not knowing how to find my way. So, both [my] mental and emotional barriers were shattered.”
Penafort found herself bolder after the trip and even became a keynote speaker at a conference in the US. The title of her talk? “I am Unstoppable Frances!”
She also wrote a book about her experience and launched it on July 11 at the conference – exactly one year after she completed her walk. She named her book “I’ll Never Walk Alone”.
“I was never walking alone as I could feel the energy of God all the time, taking care of me,” she said, adding that 50% of the proceeds from the book are being donated to three Tamil schools in Negeri Sembilan.
The book is easy to read, and over seven chapters, Penafort keeps her readers engaged about her adventure – including an encounter with cows and a bull, but no spoilers here!
Looking back, she concluded: “It’s such a big accomplishment for me and the fact that it’s going to empower others is even more uplifting.”
‘I’ll Never Walk Alone’ is priced at RM50. To purchase, contact Frances at 012-395 1912 or click here.