Pilgrimage across Spain

I'm going to Spain next week and I probably won't be back until September when school begins.  I fly out to London on the 9th for a twenty hour layover - enough to skim the city - and then land in Madrid on the 11th.  After a couple of days I'll make my way north to a boarder town in France and begin an 800km pilgrimage ~ the Camino de Santiago.  Following that I might walk another 600km to Lisbon, Portugal.

Why am I doing this?  Because I can.  I love to travel for extended period but the opportunities are rare.  I do not have the dedication to work throughout summer and I don't need the money.  I am by no means wealthy but I have enough to travel, pay for school, and possibly purchase a car when I get back.  But that's it.  If I'm going to restart my career path again it'll be with a new me.  

What do I hope to gain from this trip?  I don't usually have a goal because I know I'll come back with new experiences, however, for this trip I want more than just to escape.  I'm tired of measuring my success against my peers because I'm never where I want to be and it breeds jealousy.  As much as I can be happy for others I find it hard to be happy about myself.  I hope to get away from that attitude and find something fulfilling.  If I can get my mind fit for new challenges when I return than I'll be a step closer to authenticity. 

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance.  Walking hundreds of kilometres does not faze me ~ what scares me is if I don't change in the processes.  The destination isn't important because it is just a landmark, it can be anywhere.  It is all about the journey.