Maxim Behar about his new book written together with his wife Veneta Pisarska "The Camino Way. Quick, Easy and for Fun" on air of "Before Everyone" on Radio Horizon

Maxim Behar’s opinion of Camino: The most interesting social network a person can get into

Host: "The Camino Way. Quick, Easy and for Fun" will soon become a favorite quote from a favorite book, because that is the title of the first book ever co-written with his wife Veneta Pisarska by the leading PR expert, journalist, businessman, diplomat and writer Maxim Behar. Its premiere will be today in the capital, and it is an honor that he will bring some of the unique charm of his travels to the airwaves of Before Everyone. Hello Mr. Behar.

Maxim: Good morning, everyone.

Host: Where will you be on the premiere of your book describing your adventures on the quick, easy, and quite pleasurable for you, but maybe not for others, Camino de Santiago?

Maxim: The premiere will be today at 6:00 pm at One More Bar in the Borisova Garden right next to the tennis courts. We chose this place because it is sports-related, there is a lovely park around and it is very reminiscent of Camino. This place is really reminiscent of Camino, as it is surrounded by lovely trees and it reminds us of the route we chose for our pilgrimage. It is the shortest possible one where you can get a certificate for becoming one of the so-called pilgrims.

Host: Your wife Veneta Pisarska likes to quote Ralph Emerson's aphorism: "Life is a journey, not a destination". She also says: "I very much appreciate people with a twinkle in their eye who have the desire and ambition to work, but obviously also people with a twinkle in their eye for travel". You are a traveler in the full sense of the word and this is your first family book where both of you share your thoughts during your adventure. Has your spirit for adventures ever let you down? Also, how can you regard it as quick and easy, when it is known as a long and hard journey for the Pilgrims? It is representative of the humble life they lead and encourage newly joined followers to do so.

Maxim: We never took Camino or what we did with Veneta as an adventure. From the moment you make the decision, and this is my advice to all those who are interested in doing Camino, no matter how many kilometers, 80% of the crossing is already done. That leaves us 20% which requires some preparation, such as some comfortable shoes, a nice backpack, and a good and powerful external phone battery so you can stay connected the whole time. Then everything falls into place. We walked between 15-25 kilometers a day, which is not that much. Everything is well arranged. At some point, we saw that it was fast, enjoyable, and pleasurable. We felt blessed all the way.

Host: And where did you sleep?

Maxim: In small hostels called "albergue", quite often we slept in houses in the field where there were a lot of people. I often say that this is the most interesting social network one could get into because we became friends with people from all over the world who we met during the journey. Nobody asked us who we were or what we did. The whole trip was extremely enjoyable and energizing, because of all the people we met, and all the conversations we shared with them. We would like to wholeheartedly advise every person to try Camino. We met people who had walked distances ranging from 150 km to 1300 km from different starting points. The most important thing is that you feel good and have a great time.

Host: How long was your trip?

Maxim: We were there for about two weeks.

Host: Did you meet people there who go like you for pleasure and others who go to heal their souls?

Maxim: Most Spaniards go there for religious reasons because it's a purely Catholic pilgrimage. When we arrived, the airline had lost our luggage and we were told to wait two or three days. I figured we wouldn't wait, and we left with our city clothes and shoes. We stopped at a supermarket and bought two toothbrushes, a shampoo, and a bar of soap and used them to get all the way across Camino without touching all the cosmetics we initially carried.

Host: One of my colleagues from “24 Hour” will attend the premiere of your book. He is also a great and beloved traveler and a fascinating storyteller. I will quote his opinion on your book: “ Symbolically speaking, the road is only one, but in reality the paths are many. Maxim and Veneta will tell you exactly how many. Anyone who has ever hesitated to embark on this journey, because of all the questions and uncertainties, once you read this book, you can rest easy.”

How many Camino trails are there?

Maxim: There are an awful lot of them. Half of the book is dedicated to the different routes from Portugal, France, Spain, Great Britain, and Austria. It is divided into three parts. The first part is about our experience. The second one describes the road we took and what we went through. The final part is about the different routes, their history, and the different places you can stay. It also includes many pictures that show the spirit of Camino.

Actually, this is what attracted us - going to an unknown place that is devoid of all the luxuries and pleasures of the mundane world. We dined in lovely little bars along the way, we had the most delicious Jamon and Rioja wine. We had a truly great time and I’m glad that Joro Milkov is the first to read the book. He called me and shared that our book was like a textbook on Camino.

Host: And you say this book will not only take you to that magical place, but it will also serve as your must-have guide to everything important. What important thing about life did it teach you and why do you describe it as the ultimate traveler’s guide to Santiago de Compostela? How is it different from others?

Maxim: There is an aura to this path, there is a challenge. It's not the same as hiking in Vitosha, Rila, or Pirin. By being there every day, you have a challenge, you know that the next day you will reach a village or a small town. And that thing is precisely marked, and you must get to it no matter what. You can of course hire a car if you get too tired. There's a service on the road that runs all the time. Nowhere and on no occasion did we need that. Because even if we were tired, we told ourselves that this was a challenge and we had to do it. And this sort of thing also happens in our daily lives no matter the background. Whether it's in my beautiful hometown of Shumen or Vidin, Smolyan, Blagoevgrad. We overcome challenges. This was a lesson for us about how we constantly have challenges to face every day.

Host: "The Camino Way. Quick, Easy and for Fun" by the world-renowned PR expert Maxim Behar and his wife Veneta Pisarska will be on the market from tomorrow 19 September, right?

Maxim: Many thanks to the wonderful publishers at Vacon, with whom we got along perfectly throughout this whole process. And I'm sure the book will be a huge success in Bulgaria, buy it with no hesitation.

Host: I can only add the words of my colleague Georgi Milkov, who says: "The Camino Way. Quick, Easy and for Fun", buy this book without hesitation".