Within the six months since I boarded my flight house from Spain to the US, my thoughts has swirled with reflections on my expertise strolling the Camino de Santiago. After I first arrived house, I questioned if the 500-mile, 33-day pilgrimage would immediate a significant epiphany or spur an enormous life change once I returned to my life in Los Angeles, California.
Would I lace up my footwear 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 discuss a little bit about The Camino de Santiago. Also called 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 around the globe every year. Historically undertaken for spiritual causes, fashionable pilgrims additionally stroll the Camino for religious progress, journey, and cultural exploration. The routes fluctuate in size and problem, with the most well-liked 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 realized by strolling this historic route, and now that we’ve learn it, we’re extra decided to deal with this unimaginable pilgrimage in 2025! In case you are planning your Camino de Santiago hike, learn Jen’s submit about The place to Keep on the Camino de Santiago
Time strikes slower if you’re strolling
Once you stroll the Camino, you may 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 house, the place we are able to drive, fly, or practice our means round.
Once you stroll, you journey at a slower tempo. The results of actually transferring 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 completely different instances of day, how the climate patterns modified, and the way the flowers bloomed as the times handed.
I realized that nothing ever stays the identical. My day by day routine continued to repeat itself, but every little thing on this planet continued to evolve, even by seemingly mundane moments.
You’ll by no means have a look at your toes the identical means once more
On the Camino, my toes took a beating. It wasn’t simply blisters that turned a difficulty — it was the impression of strolling on onerous surfaces, particularly when going downhill. Learn extra tricks to Staying Protected and Wholesome on a Mountaineering Journey
I noticed my toes 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 toes heal.
I spent hours worrying, speaking, and, sure—complaining—about my toes. For the primary time, I realized the right way to take care of them.
I utilized Vaseline on my toes and heels a number of instances a day and realized about the perfect kind of material to maintain them cool and as dry as potential in high-heat situations (it’s wool, by the way in which)!
I bandaged my toes, prayed for them, and thanked them once they ultimately turned stronger.
Your toes can take you a lot locations, however provided that you maintain them alongside the way in which.
Group and connection
5 days into strolling, I used to be sitting in my Airbnb host’s sweltering kitchen, sweating bullets. My toes had been full of blisters, and my host was going to pop them for me. I used to be terrified. Take a look at Learn how to Pack a Journey First Assist Package
Admittedly, I’ve by no means handled blisters a lot in my lifetime. I knew nothing of the right way to take care of them, deal with them, or stop an infection. Particularly in a scenario the place I wished to maintain on strolling – with no time to relaxation.
My host, who had been a nurse in her house nation, spoke no English and little or no Spanish. She used a translation app on her telephone to assist us talk in bite-sized phrases, one line at a time.
My head swam, queasy. Would this go terribly fallacious?
Lastly, after what felt like an hour going forwards and backwards by her translation app, she popped my first blister. Then the following. It damage loads lower than I imagined.
I’d simply met her moments earlier than, and he or she was caring for me in my most grotesque 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, drugs, 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 if you’re strolling alone, you’re by no means actually alone.
This spirit of camaraderie and help is what makes the Camino such a novel 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 keen to help or share a form phrase.
As you make your means alongside the path, you’ll encounter folks from all walks of life, every with their very own story to inform. Some are looking for religious enlightenment, whereas others are merely in search of 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
After I assume again to my time on the Camino, I keep in mind the times once I walked slower than many different pilgrims, even these a long time older than me. However once I lastly neared the final stretch towards Santiago, I discovered my stride, I turned stronger, and I walked a lot quicker than I had earlier than.
Sure, some folks 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 turned a breeze, when it had as soon as been brutally unimaginable.
This expertise taught me that life shouldn’t 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, fairly 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 in opposition to others’ successes.
An important factor is, we’re all united by one widespread purpose — to succeed in Santiago.
Attaining a purpose takes time
I’ll admit it. I’m a perfectionist. After I fail, I fail onerous. I change into so defeated that I by no means need to strive one thing once more.
Strolling the Camino confirmed me that targets are completed by one million milestones alongside the way in which.
Someday at a time, I moved additional towards my purpose of reaching Santiago de Compostela. I didn’t stop when it acquired onerous. I didn’t surrender when it felt like I’d already failed.
Sure, I rested once I wanted to. I took the bus on the times once I fell unwell, and my toes couldn’t deal with the ache any longer.
However that’s not quitting.
The journey hammered house the concept perfection isn’t the purpose. Progress is the purpose.
Every step moved me ahead. Huge targets get completed by small wins.
Actual power isn’t about how far you may stroll in in the future. It’s about your persistence and adaptableness, regardless of the variety of miles.
You study to hearken to your physique
I took the bus once I actually needed to. I didn’t stroll each single mile of the Camino Frances, and it disillusioned me on the time. However now, I notice that understanding 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 realized the right way to tune into what my physique was telling me. The occasional lengthy stretch of silence whereas strolling alone additionally helped me hearken to my ideas extra rigorously.
Balancing ambition with self-care continues to be a problem for me. In on a regular basis life, it’s simple to miss our limits to fulfill our personal or others’ expectations. On the Camino, I realized 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 folks stroll your entire means 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, rapidly clicking with people I’d simply met. However when the Camino broke into two sections, and my buddies selected a unique path, I needed to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to those newfound buddies was robust, like a mini heartbreak.
I questioned 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 had been stark reminders of how swiftly connections can type and the way painfully they will half, echoing the bittersweet actuality of the various relationships we’ve all through our lives.
However extra importantly, the separation served as a reminder to dwell 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 realized to cherish moments of connection, even when they had 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 change into a lot clearer.
It’s like trying over your shoulder if you’re mountaineering. Once you’re strolling, you’re immersed within the mountains, and also you solely see rocks and filth. Miles later, the total view of these mountains turns into clear.
On the time, I couldn’t grasp the total impression it could have on me. Now, trying again, I can admire the importance of the teachings realized.
Distance helps you perceive the immensity of what you’ve gone by.
And so, the stroll continues, one step at a time.