Within the six months since I boarded my flight dwelling from Spain to the USA, my thoughts has swirled with reflections on my expertise strolling the Camino de Santiago. Once I first arrived dwelling, I puzzled if the 500-mile, 33-day pilgrimage would immediate a significant epiphany or spur an enormous life change after I returned to my life in Los Angeles, California.
Would I lace up my sneakers and go for an extended stroll each morning? Would I keep in contact with fellow pilgrims I met in France and Spain? Or would I return to my life and act like nothing had ever occurred?
Since returning, I’ve answered these questions and gained additional perception into the teachings the journey has meant for me and for a lot of others who’ve walked the Camino de Santiago.
What’s The Camino de Santiago?
Earlier than we begin, let’s speak a bit about The Camino de Santiago. Often known as the Approach of St. James, it’s a community of pilgrimage routes resulting in the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Nice within the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.
This historic pilgrimage, which dates again to the Center Ages, attracts hundreds of pilgrims from all over the world every year. Historically undertaken for spiritual causes, fashionable pilgrims additionally stroll the Camino for religious development, journey, and cultural exploration. The routes range in size and issue, with the preferred being the Camino Francés, which begins in St. Jean Pied de Port in France and spans roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers).
Jen Pellerito shares right here classes discovered by strolling this historic route, and now that we’ve got learn it, we’re extra decided to deal with this unbelievable pilgrimage in 2025! If you’re planning your Camino de Santiago hike, learn Jen’s submit about The place to Keep on the Camino de Santiago
Time strikes slower once you’re strolling
While you stroll the Camino, you’ll be able to cowl a distance of 5 to twenty miles per day, which takes wherever from 5 to eight hours. It’s a stark distinction to routine life at dwelling, the place we will drive, fly, or prepare our manner round.
While you stroll, you journey at a slower tempo. The results of actually shifting slower contributed to a way of getting extra time on my fingers.
I felt like I might see the passage of time. I observed the the solar fell at totally different occasions of day, how the climate patterns modified, and the way the flowers bloomed as the times handed.
I discovered that nothing ever stays the identical. My each day routine continued to repeat itself, but every part on the planet continued to evolve, even by way of seemingly mundane moments.
You’ll by no means have a look at your ft the identical manner once more
On the Camino, my ft took a beating. It wasn’t simply blisters that grew to become a difficulty — it was the influence of strolling on exhausting surfaces, particularly when going downhill. Learn extra tricks to Staying Secure and Wholesome on a Mountaineering Journey
I noticed my ft swell like they’d by no means swollen earlier than. I noticed my toes bleed from blisters that risked an infection. And ultimately, I noticed my ft heal.
I spent hours worrying, speaking, and, sure—complaining—about my ft. For the primary time, I discovered the best way to take care of them.
I utilized Vaseline on my toes and heels a number of occasions a day and discovered about one of the best kind of material to maintain them cool and as dry as attainable in high-heat circumstances (it’s wool, by the best way)!
I bandaged my ft, prayed for them, and thanked them after they ultimately grew to become stronger.
Your ft can take you a lot locations, however provided that you maintain them alongside the best way.
Group and connection
5 days into strolling, I used to be sitting in my Airbnb host’s sweltering kitchen, sweating bullets. My toes have been stuffed with blisters, and my host was going to pop them for me. I used to be terrified. Try How you can Pack a Journey First Support Package
Admittedly, I’ve by no means handled blisters a lot in my lifetime. I knew nothing of the best way to take care of them, deal with them, or forestall an infection. Particularly in a scenario the place I needed to maintain on strolling – with no time to relaxation.
My host, who had been a nurse in her dwelling nation, spoke no English and little or no Spanish. She used a translation app on her cellphone to assist us talk in bite-sized phrases, one line at a time.
My head swam, queasy. Would this go terribly incorrect?
Lastly, after what felt like an hour going forwards and backwards by way of her translation app, she popped my first blister. Then the following. It harm lots lower than I imagined.
I’d simply met her moments earlier than, and he or she was caring for me in my most ugly second. It introduced in a complete new degree of vulnerability and humility.
Strolling the Camino will present you that we’re all on this, collectively.
The Camino offers
It’s not nearly foot care. Sharing meals, medication, language, and, merely, the corporate of others creates a community of care. On the Camino, assist isn’t simply accessible; it’s given.
Individuals are able to look out for one another, proving that even once you’re strolling alone, you’re by no means actually alone.
This spirit of camaraderie and assist is what makes the Camino such a singular and particular expertise. Whether or not you’re a seasoned pilgrim or a first-timer, you’ll discover that there’s at all times somebody prepared to assist or share a form phrase.
As you make your manner alongside the path, you’ll encounter individuals from all walks of life, every with their very own story to inform. Some are searching for religious enlightenment, whereas others are merely on the lookout for a brand new journey.
However it doesn’t matter what brings you to the Camino, everybody shares a standard bond of kindness and compassion.
All of us stroll the identical Camino
Once I assume again to my time on the Camino, I keep in mind the times after I walked slower than many different pilgrims, even these many years older than me. However after I lastly neared the final stretch towards Santiago, I discovered my stride, I grew to become stronger, and I walked a lot quicker than I had earlier than.
Sure, some individuals nonetheless walked quicker than me—or twice so far as I did in a single day—however lastly, after weeks of strolling, the primary eight miles of the day grew to become a breeze, when it had as soon as been brutally inconceivable.
This expertise taught me that life will not be a race. All of us progress at our personal velocity, and there’s no worth in evaluating our paths to these of others. The Camino, very similar to life, is a private journey for every particular person.
Studying to maneuver in sync with others, somewhat than in competitors, has introduced me peace and helped me settle for my present stage in life (my thirties) extra gracefully. It has additionally allowed me to understand my very own milestones with out measuring them up towards others’ successes.
A very powerful factor is, we’re all united by one frequent aim — to achieve Santiago.
Reaching a aim takes time
I’ll admit it. I’m a perfectionist. Once I fail, I fail exhausting. I turn out to be so defeated that I by no means need to attempt one thing once more.
Strolling the Camino confirmed me that objectives are achieved by way of one million milestones alongside the best way.
In the future at a time, I moved additional towards my aim of reaching Santiago de Compostela. I didn’t give up when it acquired exhausting. I didn’t hand over when it felt like I’d already failed.
Sure, I rested after I wanted to. I took the bus on the times after I fell in poor health, and my ft couldn’t deal with the ache any longer.
However that’s not quitting.
The journey hammered dwelling the concept perfection isn’t the aim. Progress is the aim.
Every step moved me ahead. Massive objectives get achieved by way of small wins.
Actual power isn’t about how far you’ll be able to stroll in sooner or later. It’s about your persistence and adaptableness, regardless of the variety of miles.
You be taught to take heed to your physique
I took the bus after I actually needed to. I didn’t stroll each single mile of the Camino Frances, and it dissatisfied me on the time. However now, I notice that realizing your physique’s limits is an indication of power.
Recognizing when to push and when to pause is a type of knowledge.
On the Camino, I discovered the best way to tune into what my physique was telling me. The occasional lengthy stretch of silence whereas strolling alone additionally helped me take heed to my ideas extra fastidiously.
Balancing ambition with self-care remains to be a problem for me. In on a regular basis life, it’s straightforward to miss our limits to fulfill our personal or others’ expectations. On the Camino, I discovered to worth self-awareness and the braveness it takes to honor my wants.
Grief occurs each time anybody leaves us
On the Camino, you may serendipitously find yourself strolling with the identical group of individuals. Pilgrims name this your “Camino household.” Some individuals stroll the complete manner with the identical group, whereas others, for one cause or one other, find yourself separating.
As I walked, I discovered myself weaving out and in of various teams, shortly clicking with people I’d simply met. However when the Camino broke into two sections, and my buddies selected a distinct path, I needed to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to those newfound buddies was robust, like a mini heartbreak.
I puzzled if our paths would ever cross once more. To me, it felt not not like the grief I’ve felt when somebody near me has handed away. These moments on the Camino have been stark reminders of how swiftly connections can type and the way painfully they’ll half, echoing the bittersweet actuality of the various relationships we’ve got all through our lives.
However extra importantly, the separation served as a reminder to stay within the current. I grew to understand the corporate of these I used to be with, within the second. Grief is a pure a part of the human expertise.
I discovered to cherish moments of connection, even when they have been fleeting, and make peace with the inevitability of change and loss.
Embracing the Journey Forward
Pondering again on my month strolling the Camino de Santiago, the explanations for my journey have turn out to be a lot clearer.
It’s like trying over your shoulder once you’re mountain climbing. While you’re strolling, you’re immersed within the mountains, and also you solely see rocks and dust. Miles later, the total view of these mountains turns into clear.
On the time, I couldn’t grasp the total influence it could have on me. Now, trying again, I can admire the importance of the teachings discovered.
Distance helps you perceive the immensity of what you’ve gone by way of.
And so, the stroll continues, one step at a time.
