Within the six months since I boarded my flight house from Spain to the USA, my thoughts has swirled with reflections on my expertise strolling the Camino de Santiago. Once I first arrived house, I puzzled if the 500-mile, 33-day pilgrimage would immediate a serious epiphany or spur an enormous life change after 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 speak a bit of about The Camino de Santiago. Often known as the Method 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 1000’s of pilgrims from around the globe annually. Historically undertaken for spiritual causes, trendy pilgrims additionally stroll the Camino for religious 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 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 publish about The place to Keep on the Camino de Santiago
Time strikes slower whenever you’re strolling
If you stroll the Camino, you may cowl a distance of 5 to twenty miles per day, which takes anyplace from 5 to eight hours. It’s a stark distinction to routine life at house, the place we are able to drive, fly, or prepare our means round.
If you stroll, you journey at a slower tempo. The results of actually transferring slower contributed to a way of getting extra time on my arms.
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 realized that nothing ever stays the identical. My each day routine continued to repeat itself, but every little thing on the planet continued to evolve, even by means 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 difficulty — it was the affect of strolling on onerous surfaces, particularly when going downhill. Learn extra tricks to Staying Secure 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 methods to take care of them.
I utilized Vaseline on my toes and heels a number of occasions a day and realized about the very best sort of material to maintain them cool and as dry as potential in high-heat circumstances (it’s wool, by the best way)!
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 deal with 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 had been full of blisters, and my host was going to pop them for me. I used to be terrified. Take a look at The way to Pack a Journey First Assist Equipment
Admittedly, I’ve by no means handled blisters a lot in my lifetime. I knew nothing of methods to take care of them, deal with them, or forestall an infection. Particularly in a state of affairs the place I needed 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 mistaken?
Lastly, after what felt like an hour going forwards and backwards by means of her translation app, she popped my first blister. Then the following. It damage rather a lot 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 out there; it’s given.
Individuals are able to look out for one another, proving that even whenever you’re strolling alone, you’re by no means actually alone.
This spirit of camaraderie and assist 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 all the time somebody prepared 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 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 typical bond of kindness and compassion.
All of us stroll the identical Camino
Once I suppose 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 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 unattainable.
This expertise taught me that life just isn’t 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.
A very powerful 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. Once I fail, I fail onerous. I grow to be so defeated that I by no means wish to strive one thing once more.
Strolling the Camino confirmed me that objectives are achieved by means of 1,000,000 milestones alongside the best way.
Sooner or later at a time, I moved additional towards my aim of reaching Santiago de Compostela. I didn’t give up when it acquired onerous. I didn’t quit 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 ailing, and my toes couldn’t deal with the ache any longer.
However that’s not quitting.
The journey hammered house the concept that perfection isn’t the aim. Progress is the aim.
Every step moved me ahead. Huge objectives get achieved by means of small wins.
Actual power isn’t about how far you may stroll in sooner or later. It’s about your persistence and adaptableness, regardless of the variety of miles.
You study to hearken 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 upset 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 realized methods 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 continues to be a problem for me. In on a regular basis life, it’s straightforward 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 household.” Some individuals stroll the whole means with the identical group, whereas others, for one purpose or one other, find yourself separating.
As I walked, I discovered myself weaving out and in of various teams, shortly clicking with of us I’d simply met. However when the Camino broke into two sections, and my associates selected a unique path, I needed to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to those newfound associates 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 had been stark reminders of how swiftly connections can kind and the way painfully they will 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 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 grow to be a lot clearer.
It’s like wanting over your shoulder whenever you’re mountain climbing. If you’re strolling, you’re immersed within the mountains, and also you solely see rocks and grime. Miles later, the complete view of these mountains turns into clear.
On the time, I couldn’t grasp the complete affect it could 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 means of.
And so, the stroll continues, one step at a time.
