Within the six months since I boarded my flight dwelling from Spain to america, my thoughts has swirled with reflections on my expertise strolling the Camino de Santiago. After I first arrived dwelling, 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 a protracted 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 somewhat about The Camino de Santiago. Also referred to 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 around the globe annually. Historically undertaken for spiritual causes, trendy pilgrims additionally stroll the Camino for non secular progress, journey, and cultural exploration. The routes fluctuate in size and problem, 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 realized by strolling this historic route, and now that we’ve 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 publish 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 dwelling, the place we will drive, fly, or practice our means round.
Once 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 may see the passage of time. I seen the the solar fell at totally 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 all the things on the earth continued to evolve, even by way of seemingly mundane moments.
You’ll by no means take 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 problem — it was the impression of strolling on exhausting surfaces, particularly when going downhill. Learn extra tricks to Staying Protected and Wholesome on a Climbing 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 finally, I noticed my toes heal.
I spent hours worrying, speaking, and, sure—complaining—about my toes. For the primary time, I realized the best way to look after them.
I utilized Vaseline on my toes and heels a number of instances a day and realized about the perfect kind of cloth 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 after they finally turned stronger.
Your toes can take you a lot locations, however provided that you maintain them alongside the way in which.
Neighborhood and connection
5 days into strolling, I used to be sitting in my Airbnb host’s sweltering kitchen, sweating bullets. My toes had been stuffed with blisters, and my host was going to pop them for me. I used to be terrified. Try Tips on how to Pack a Journey First Assist Equipment
Admittedly, I’ve by no means handled blisters a lot in my lifetime. I knew nothing of the best way to look after them, deal with them, or forestall an infection. Particularly in a state of affairs the place I wished 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 flawed?
Lastly, after what felt like an hour going forwards and backwards by way of her translation app, she popped my first blister. Then the subsequent. It damage quite a bit lower than I imagined.
I’d simply met her moments earlier than, and she or he was caring for me in my most ugly second. It introduced in an entire 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 obtainable; 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 really 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 keen to assist or share a form phrase.
As you make your means alongside the path, you’ll encounter individuals from all walks of life, every with their very own story to inform. Some are looking for non secular 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
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 many years 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 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 turned a breeze, when it had as soon as been brutally inconceivable.
This expertise taught me that life is just not a race. All of us progress at our personal pace, 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, reasonably 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.
An important factor is, we’re all united by one frequent aim — to succeed in Santiago.
Attaining a aim takes time
I’ll admit it. I’m a perfectionist. After I fail, I fail exhausting. I turn out to be so defeated that I by no means wish to strive one thing once more.
Strolling the Camino confirmed me that objectives are completed by way of one million milestones alongside the way in which.
In the future at a time, I moved additional towards my aim of reaching Santiago de Compostela. I didn’t stop when it received exhausting. I didn’t quit 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 ailing, and my toes couldn’t deal with the ache any longer.
However that’s not quitting.
The journey hammered dwelling the concept that perfection isn’t the aim. Progress is the aim.
Every step moved me ahead. Massive objectives get completed by way of small wins.
Actual power isn’t about how far you may stroll in in the future. It’s about your persistence and flexibility, 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 upset 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 best 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 fastidiously.
Balancing ambition with self-care remains to be a problem for me. In on a regular basis life, it’s simple to miss our limits to satisfy 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 at any time when anybody leaves us
On the Camino, you would possibly serendipitously find yourself strolling with the identical group of individuals. Pilgrims name this your “Camino family.” Some individuals 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 of us I’d simply met. However when the Camino broke into two sections, and my pals selected a unique path, I needed to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to those newfound pals 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 kind and the way painfully they’ll 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 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 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
Considering 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 wanting over your shoulder if you’re climbing. 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 might have on me. Now, wanting again, I can respect the importance of the teachings realized.
Distance helps you perceive the immensity of what you’ve gone by way of.
And so, the stroll continues, one step at a time.
