The best journeys end at the beginning. Ask Ben Echo, just an ordinary lad who set out on an extraordinary journey across Spain. On foot. Alone. His solitary walk turned into a journey of highs and lows, tears and laughter, drama and self-discovery – pebble dashed with a few cack-yer-breeks moments.
Successful in his day-job at a creative consultancy in Dubai, Ben Echo – Benjamin Sharpley to his mum and dad – is also a well-respected and well-liked DJ. From the outside, his life looked pretty sweet. And it was. Until some unexpected roadbumps knocked Ben’s life plan off course.
“My path for the future was once relatively clear,” says Ben. “I had a life partner… tick; I had a comfortable job… tick; money was coming in… tick. There was some structure and then all that was gone. Career-wise, I felt burnt-out. I wasn’t feeling productive or motivated or engaged, and it made me miserable. I broke up with my ex two years ago and the divorce recently went through. And then Covid happened. It was like a perfect storm. It was just chaos. I was in a miserable situation and really anxious about the future.”
Add a hefty reduction in salary, the Covid lockdown and Ben’s ongoing struggle with anxiety into the mix. The door to a meltdown was ajar but thankfully Ben Echo took another approach. “Being in lockdown made me realise the world is a big place. There are all these things I could be doing and I wasn’t. I gave me really itchy feet,” says Ben.
Mad Train of Thought
He recalled a “mad train of thought” he had a few years earlier after visiting Barcelona and exploring the city on foot. “Standing at the top of a hill in Gaudi Park, I thought, ‘I must have walked 15 miles today and I’ve really enjoyed it. I like walking. Maybe I’ll walk across a country. Maybe I’ll walk across Spain’.”
After years buried at the back of his mind, the idea started to germinate. Through some basic research, Ben discovered the Camino de Santiago – a network of ancient pilgrim routes stretching across Europe all leading to the tomb of St. James, in Santiago de Compostela, north-west Spain. Ben decided he’d tackle the long-route known as the French Way. Starting in Saint Jean, at the foot of the Pyrenees, in the South of France, the route crosses the border into northern Spain and runs from east to west until Santiago de Compostela.
“I figured this well-trodden path might be suitable for someone who is a novice and not a legit adventurer,” says Ben. “So I looked into it a bit further and thought, ‘This seems ideal. I’m going to do it.’
Cracking On
“I’m 35 now,” says Ben. “I know this sounds clichéd but I think this is the time of life – call it early onset midlife crisis or whatever – when you start to ask questions about decisions you’ve made. You realise time’s cracking on and now is maybe the time to correct some of those decisions. I’m finding a lot of people are having those same thoughts and dilemmas and are taking time out to explore decisions they’ve made and see if they can get back on a clearer path.”
First though, Ben had to walk away from his work. “That alone took more courage than the walk,” he reflects. “Choosing to leave work, regardless of what you’re leaving work to do, is a big decision. They say, ‘Don’t mess with the money’, and that’s exactly what I was doing. I felt like I was playing with fire.”
His boss agreed Ben could take a six-month sabbatical. “Just having that conversation with my boss set the ball in motion. I knew I was setting off in the right direction. I didn’t – and still don’t – know where it’s going to lead.”
Extra Miles
After lockdown in Dubai and before setting off on his trek, Ben returned home to the North of England for a month. He spent time with his family and prepared for his big adventure by taking long walks in the English countryside. Then he set off for France.
Averaging about 18 – 20 miles a day – give or take a few rest days to recover from a knee injury and relieve pressure on blisters the size of golf balls – Ben completed the 550-mile trek to Santiago de Compostela. “But I ended up walking much further,” he explains. “I walked an extra 200 miles. First to Finisterre and Muxia, and then down into Portugal. Because I didn’t have anything better to do. So that’s what I did.”
Ben Echo might sound flippant, like his epic 750-mile walk involved no more than simply putting one foot in front of the other. The reality was very different. Physically and mentally demanding, the journey was full of extremities. For the most part, Ben had to live with his own company and in his own head.
Mixed Emotions
The environment informed Ben’s mood. “There’d be times of utter melancholy, when I was out in the meseta, the huge open featureless plains, where I’d feel so small and meaningless. Then there’d be times of utter wonder and amazement, like when I started to see trees again as I edged toward Galicia.”
Over such a distance, the landscape changed before Ben’s eyes. “I got fully in tune with nature,” he says. “If you walk, say, 20 miles, it’s unlikely the landscape will change very much. Walking over a country, I saw nature change drastically. And that’s something I’d never witnessed before. One week I was eating figs off trees and the week after I was walking through vineyards and eating grapes off vines. And then kiwis, oranges and apples as the trees and nature changed along the way, which was really cool.”
Soundtrack
With the surroundings influencing his mood, Ben’s mood subsequently influenced the music he listened to along the way. From EDBL, Kwaku Asante and Kanye, Ben also selected the likes of Van Morison, Nas, Gary Clark Jr, Snoh Aalegra, Dave and Maribou State to soundtrack parts of his walk. He listened to a few of his favourite Ben Echo mixes too, naturally.
Perhaps surprisingly Ben didn’t listen to as much music as he thought he would during his expedition. “When I was out there, listening to my surroundings was often the best theatre I could have asked for. I think that’s why my headphones were probably more out than in.”
Ben wasn’t prepared for “the relentlessness” of the walk. “I had a few days in between each of my long walks in England to give my feet time to rest and heal. When I started long walks day after day and huge blisters appeared, it wasn’t pleasant. When you’re in agony for every step of a 20-mile walk, it’s pretty brutal. Everyone – everyone – I met along the way complained about their blisters and the state of their feet.”
Friendships and Loneliness
With the number of people walking the Camino de Santiago vastly reduced due to Covid, Ben enjoyed “random encounters” with a just a handful of fellow walkers. He found chats with these strangers oddly cathartic.
“I didn’t see many people, really,” he recalls. “When I did, I’d walk with them for a while. I’d have random encounters with people from all around the world, walk a few miles with them, maybe have dinner at the end of the day and then go our separate ways.
“The reality is, if an average person decides to walk across a country it’s probably because they’ve had some aspect of trauma in their life. Everyone I met had their own story – divorce, loss, career issues and the likes. What was interesting was how deep we’d get, real quick – deep, open chats between complete strangers. It was like walking therapy sessions. Everyone was on the same journey. I discovered that receiving feedback from people in a similar mindset – complete strangers who were entirely objective and didn’t have any agenda – was really, really useful.”
Solitude
On the flip side of the coin, Ben faced overwhelming feelings of loneliness. “I wanted solitude and I got it. But it was far from fun at times; it wasn’t always a good thing. Sometimes I’d go a week without speaking to a soul. Oftentimes, I’d have thoughts in my head and go down dark paths. It wasn’t always comfortable.
“There were times when I’d just burst into tears. Or I’d find myself laughing or talking to myself – full-on ‘Wilson’ mode [a la Tom Hanks in Castaway]. It’s an odd one,” laughs Ben. “You really exhibit behaviour you wouldn’t normally day-to-day.”
Pub Tales
Of course, Ben Echo collected a few tales along the way – stories to evoke laughter down the pub from situations far from funny at the time. On one particular arduous 35-mile trek in the pouring rain, hampered by a foot infection, Ben was chased by wild dogs and an irate cow. After 11 hours, he finally made it to a small hamlet where he was staying for the night only to discover his accommodation was creepier than Bates’ Motel. And he was the only guest. Relief to have a roof over his head won out over fear.
“Normally, there would have been zero chance of me staying in a scary place like that,” admits Ben. “But I was so unbelievably relieved not be sleeping rough that I was quite happy to overlook the potential I might be murdered in the night.”
Big Bad Bambi
As the weeks rolled on, Ben set himself even tougher physical goals. One day he challenged himself to walk 100 kilometres in 24-hours. Exhaustion kicked in along the way. “I was so tired there were moments I was fully hallucinating,” he remembers. “I was walking through a forest. It must have been around 3am. The glow from my head torch only lit up a metre or two in front of me. Drizzling rain made the path I could see pretty foggy. Everything else was pitch black. About 10 metres ahead I suddenly saw these two eyes staring at me. I thought it was a wolf.”
Armed with only a small knife and a stick, Ben was poised to fight for his life against the frightening predator. Until the eyes moved and Ben realised they belonged to a baby deer. “All the while, it was Bambi,” laughs Ben. “I’m there quivering and this little deer just looks at me nonchalantly and goes on its way.
“There was a reason to believe I was in legit danger,” he adds, trying to save face. “Wolves do roam in that particular area of Spain. My mind immediately assumed it was a wolf. Your mind fully plays tricks on you when you’re so exhausted.”
CALM
When the going got tough Ben remembered the people who’d sponsored his walk. Raising money for charity was, he admits, “a bit of an afterthought”. But he decided to raise some money for CALM – the Campaign Against Living Miserably – thinking a handful of friends and family might be inspired enough to donate a couple of quid.
CALM tackles mental health and suicide. Its objectives struck a chord with Ben Echo. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been very self-conscious, which has given me all kinds of anxiety throughout my life,” says Ben candidly. “I’ve learned how to operate in the real world in a way that people wouldn’t spot those things. I’ve also experienced a couple of serious bouts of depression. Some of those because of the way I’m programmed and some triggered by environmental aspects, like divorce and that kind of stuff. And everyone has the capacity to be like that.”
Ben’s Instagram stories about his adventure prompted family, friends and strangers to dig deep. Collectively, they donated over £3300. “The last time I did a charity fundraiser, it was an egg and spoon race when I was at school,” laughs Ben. “I’d never raised money for charity as an adult so I was absolutely astonished at the response. And it really buoyed me up. It gave me a bit more purpose. When I was having bad or rough days, I remembered I wasn’t just doing the walk for myself anymore, I was doing it for other people. It gave me the motivation to keep walking when things were tough.”
Simpler Things
Ben’s walk came to an end just 25 miles shy of Porto, in Portugal, when he was forced to seek medical treatment for a festering ankle injury. By this time, he was physically spent. Mentally, he’d been through the wringer too – but emerged with new gratitude and appreciation for the simpler things in life.
“In Dubai, or wherever people may be, we have tens if not hundreds of superficial satisfaction meters,” reflects Ben. “The sneakers that you want, the car you want, the watch, the clothes. Am I looking good today? And so on and so forth. When you’re in a life of comfort and structure, the things you worry about are superficial. On my walk, the number of things that actually mattered was significantly reduced. And they weren’t superficial things, they were survival things. Can I reach my destination by a certain time? Is there going to be a bed there for me? Is there going to be food? Am I prepared for the weather? If you can say yes to those four things, life is sweet. Nothing else in the world matters.
“By the end of the walk, I was physically and mentally shattered but spiritually full. I’d had time to breathe, to think, to appreciate things, to make some plans in my mind, to exercise gratitude and all of that kind of stuff. Life was incredibly simple, and my capacity to experience emotion equally simple – there was less noise.”
Honest
An unexpected bonus was Ben’s growing confidence. “I’ve always been a really self-conscious person,” he admits, “but I just didn’t give a damn what I looked like. I was walking into towns looking like Gandalf.
“When I was super lonely, I’d post an Instagram video. Normally, I’d be as nervous as hell to put myself on an Instagram video but it became my main connection to the world. My intention was to completely get off Instagram. But I was on it more than ever – in a much more positive way. When I was out there walking in a field, I was communicating with Dubai from a mindset of not giving a jot about what people thought about me or what I looked like because it didn’t matter. And do you know what? I communicated more sincerely and authentically than I ever have in my entire life because there was no front. I was uninhibited and being completely honest.
“Hopefully, that’s something I can hang on to. I want to continue being more open and confident because I found by doing so, lots of people I don’t normally communicate with have opened up and started communicating with me. Through Instagram, I’m talking about mental well-being and men’s health. People have been messaging me, asking me questions like I’m some kind of authority on the subject. I’m not but new conversations can happen. And it’s just more healthy. I’m being more open about how I feel. Which is something people in general, and men in particular, don’t generally do.”
Lessons Learned
Ben learned many lessons about himself along the way. “I set off on this crazy walk because I wanted solitude, I wanted time to myself. But funnily enough, I realised that I don’t want to be lonely and on my own. That was a big lesson for me moving forward.
“There is a lot of learning and digesting still being done. I’m confident a lot of it will be useful in whatever I decide to do in the future. But I definitely feel more energized to crack on with my life. I have a newfound freedom of thought to switch it up in terms of what I do and how I do it. I’ve put myself on a positive trajectory – with a much healthier mindset – and have a new energy and motivation to put some meaningful change into my life.”
Mission Oman
Ben’s sense of adventure is well and truly awakened. He’s now hoping to walk from Muscat to Dubai – a journey of around 400 miles. Early planning is underway. “I’ve really got a bug for this now,” says Ben. “I’m not an elite athlete but I want to push my boundaries.
“Unlike what I did before, Muscat to Dubai would be much more off the beaten track. Midway, I’d be travelling in remote places. I’ll need to camp at the side of the road or even maybe rely on local hospitality. Planning is just in the early stages but I’ve got itchy feet and want to carry on.”
New Outlook
By walking across Spain and into Portugal, Ben’s life has turned a corner. Now he’s excited for what lies ahead even if it’s not all quite mapped out. “Before, I was anxious and scared,” says Ben Echo. “Now I’m anxious and excited.
His new outlook on life could lead to a refreshed Ben Echo behind the decks too. “DJing does define a lot of who I am,” says Ben. “Music is the biggest thing in my life, really. My social media might tell a different story right now but you can have more than one interest. This break away from DJing might be an opportunity to rebrand a little. I’ve always liked the idea of playing different kinds of music and not necessarily being associated with just being a hip-hop or a scratch DJ. Yeah, I’m super excited to get back on my decks.”
So this isn’t the end, then. For Ben, it’s a new beginning. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, “Not all who wander are lost”.
