Greetings to you, dear reader!

You have entered my virtual journal – my home page.

I am a typical urban citizen, but the serpentine of life had led me to the countryside when I was 20 years old, where I lived for 25 years, had three children with my husband, learned to do rural jobs, I spent 10 years actively promoting and realizing organic farming in my own farm, so now I know how to grow potatoes and shed sheep. I have some knowledge of the world of herbs, fermenting, drying and preparing teas of different plants.

I love cooking, and I can make a dish out of thin air and feed a whole army.

I started writing this journal at the end of August 2017, when I had already been in a deep emotional hole for several years – divorce, losing my home, income and friends. I had also undergone four surgeries and two heavy hormone treatments, after which I could no longer recognize my own body. The slim 65 kg woman had turned into something awful that couldn’t be looked at in the mirror. Any woman, who has been through something similar, will understand me. I learned to live and love myself again, to see the beauty in myself. Being on this new path, which had me immersed in reading, learning, practicing, I created my own courses and personality development programmes. Events around me were changing along with me.

For my 50th anniversary, in 2017, I gave myself a gift – an opportunity to walk Camino de Santiago. I was curious if I could do it, because I was not in a very good shape, and my weight, despite countless diets and exercise, remained unchanged – this, in turn, meant extra strain on my heart, back, feet. At the very beginning I promised myself that I would not hurt myself, that I could stop at any moment. With my first steps to Camino, I accepted another challenge – to write about the Way – about my feelings whilst walking it. I have dyslexia, so I had to ask someone for help with the texts, someone who could edit the texts, make them readable. That was harder than walking the first 27 kilometers. I had to allow myself to show my weaknesses, my inability. It was, and still is, a challenge.

The Way changed the whole flow of my life, my outlook on many things, but, above all, I again saw myself, my abilities and strengths, and my desires. On the second day on The Way, I knew clearly that I wanted my future in Spain, with a small albergue for pilgrims.

This is how the series were started – the series about the The Way and my road to my dream.

I have been in Spain for four months now, living in a beautiful pink cottage on Camino del Norte (Northern Way), I have named it Casa de Flores.

Three months in strict quarantine have passed along with the first panic attacks on how to live on. The future is foggy, but I know for sure The Way will never be deserted, there will always be someone walking to find what they are looking for, to thank for what they have.

We – the cottage and I – will be waiting. Now, while everything is still quiet, I am planting flowers, creating a garden so that the weary pilgrims have a place to please their eyes and hearts. And because I am a professional massage therapist, I can take care of the strained shoulder and feet muscles. I can also listen and ask questions so you get the right answers for yourself.

If my story, my articles have moved you, and you wish to support me and the pink cottage, click here!

As a gratitude for your support your name will be written on one of the pebbles that are arranged in the symbol of the Camino – the scallop shell – on the fence of the cottage.

Thank you and see you in the real life!

You can contact me via e-mail ivetalaicena@inbox.lv and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/iveta.laicena

Iveta