My Journey on the Camino de Santiago

About a month ago, on a rainy November morning, I took the final steps of an 800-kilometre hike that concluded at the foot of the historic Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. It was an emotional moment – the end of an epic journey that I’d begun 43 days earlier in France. Walking the Camino de Santiago had been a dream of mine ever since I first learned of its existence and here I was at the end of it. After six remarkable weeks, I had made it to the finish line.

Walking the Camino was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but also one of the most rewarding. I’ve been back home for a while now but it’s taken me a long time to recover and to process it all. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, a once-in-lifetime kind of trip that pushed me to my limits and taught me so much about myself and the world.

Camino Francés

The Camino de Santiago is a Christian pilgrimage that dates back more than 1,200 years, a network of routes spanning across Europe that converge on this sacred spot. An important Christian pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages, Santiago is believed to be the burial site of St. James the apostle. If you’re interested in learning more about the history and lore of the Camino de Santiago, check out my post about it here. The most popular route and the one that I chose is the Camino Francés which begins in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, a charming medieval town in France’s Basque country. From there, the nearly 800-kilometre trek begins with an arduous climb up and over the Pyrenees where it crosses into Spain.

The first few days of the Camino were some of the most difficult of the whole journey. In those early days, the climbs were very steep and my body was still adjusting to the strain. That first night on the road, the pain in my legs was so intense that it kept me awake for hours despite my overwhelming exhaustion. And that was only the beginning – there were many more mountains to climb. But each one that I conquered made me stronger. By the end of the trek, the hills became less daunting, my legs felt stronger, and I breathed so much easier than I did that first day as I huffed and puffed up the mountain, stopping to rest every few hundred metres.

As challenging as those early days were though, they really set the tone for the rest of the pilgrimage. Yes, it was tough but at the end of each day, especially the hardest ones, I felt such a sense of accomplishment. Also on those first days up in the mountains, I was treated to the most awe-inspiring sights, epic vistas that made the strenuous climbs all the more gratifying. That feeling of achievement coupled with a profound sense of wonderment would follow me throughout much of the journey that followed.

Walking Your Own Path

The guidebooks break up the walk into daily stages of approximately 25-30 kilometres. However, each pilgrim walks their own Camino which may or may not follow this recommended plan. Some choose to walk only part of it. Some are pressed for time and walk at a breakneck speed – I met more than one person along the way who was walking 40, 45, or even 50 kilometres a day. Others take their time and stretch out their pilgrimage over months. And then there are those who walk even further – I met several people who had begun their pilgrimages on the other side of France and had already walked 1000 kilometres before reaching the point where I began.

For many reasons, I ended up not following the stages very closely. More often than not, I stayed in a town or village that was in between the suggested stopping points, and for the most part, this worked out quite well. I could go at my own pace and stay in places that were usually quieter and less crowded, some of which turned out to be hidden gems.

Taking It All In

It took me exactly six weeks to walk from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago which is longer than most. I typically walked about 20 kilometres per day, sometimes more, sometimes less. But of course, the distance from where I began in the morning to that night’s accommodations was not the only walking I did each day. Along the way, there were detours to find food or bathrooms or visit notable sites. There were also the accidental detours where I found myself walking several kilometres in the wrong direction before realizing I was lost and had unwittingly added to my step count for the day. Although the Camino Francés is approximately 790 kilometres long, my pedometer tells me that I walked a grand total of 937.66 kilometres over those six weeks. My longest day was 28.5 kilometres and my shortest (a rest day) only 8.3.

The landscape on the Camino Francés is remarkably diverse. The trail winds its way across Spain over soaring mountains and deep valleys, along expansive plains and rolling hills, through grand old cities, and tiny mountain villages, lush vineyards and enchanting forests. There was so much beauty to behold and taking my time really enabled me to soak it all in. I saw so many pilgrims rushing by, so intent on just getting there that I can’t help but think they missed a lot. For me, it was all about the journey. I stopped often to take photos, visit churches, have a coffee, rest my tired feet, or just admire the view.

A Historical Journey

One of the biggest draws of the Camino for me was the historical aspect. I was intrigued by this centuries-old path that so many had walked before me. Along the way, I encountered many fascinating historical places, from crumbling ruins to spectacular cathedrals and everything in between. There was certainly no shortage of historical content on the Camino. In fact, I found it quite overwhelming at times. Typically when I’m travelling to new places, I try to see as much as I can. I don’t want to miss anything. Well on this trip, I missed plenty either through oversight or, more often, because I was just too tired.

But I have no regrets. I saw so many incredible sights, historical and otherwise, and the ones that I missed were just not meant to be a part of my Camino experience. All that being said, the sense of history along the way was palpable and the historic places that I did visit were incredible – a castle built by the Knights Templar, a 12th-century monastery turned pilgrim hostel, and a recently excavated Iron Age fortress that dates back 2,400 years to name just a few.

Food and Shelter

Accommodations on the Camino de Santiago vary widely, from basic hostels to luxury hotels. The most common place to stay along the way is an albergue, a hostel that caters specifically, often exclusively, to pilgrims. Nearly every town along the Camino has at least one or two. These also vary quite a bit but typically, they offer dorm-style rooms with bunk beds and shared facilities. Sometimes dinner and/or breakfast is also provided. Communal pilgrim dinners at the albergues were one of my favourite experiences on the Camino. They provided a chance to meet new people, swap stories, and commiserate over the hardships of the day – all over a home-cooked meal served by kind hosts.

I stayed in albergues most nights although I did spring for the odd private room here and there. Having very little previous experience with hostels, I was unsure how I would handle sleeping in these communal spaces but I’m astonished at how quickly I adapted to it and how little it actually bothered me. That’s not to say it was always pleasant. Some of the rooms I stayed in had 30 or more beds in them and having that many people in one room inevitably presents some challenges.

There’s almost always at least one snorer. There are the big groups and loud talkers who carry on at all hours. There’s the early risers who leave before dawn and wake everyone up rustling around in the dark or the people who come in late at night and go about their business with no regard for their sleeping bunkmates. It was frustrating to be sure but I was usually so tired that I would just put on my eye mask and earplugs and do my best to ignore it. There was not much I could do about it so I had to accept that this was all part of the experience and on the Camino, as in life, you have to take the good with the bad.

Rising to the Challenge

I faced a lot of physical challenges on the Camino, more than I expected – painful blisters, insect bites, bruises, aching muscles, and crushing exhaustion. There was also a lot of inclement weather to contend with. Some days were blisteringly hot and on others, I got soaked to the bone while walking for hours in the pouring rain. I was pushed to my breaking point more than once and there were times when I just wanted to give up and go home.

But looking back on it now, I’m grateful for all of those challenges. If I hadn’t experienced any hardships, I’m not sure the sense of accomplishment I felt when I reached the end would have been as poignant. It was facing all of those obstacles and still pushing myself to continue on in spite of them that made that moment in Santiago so powerful. There were so many instances when it would have been easier to give up and I very nearly did but I persevered and in doing so, discovered both physical and inner strength that I didn’t know I was capable of.

For most people, myself included, the Camino de Santiago is more than just a long hike. Though the physical aspect is a big part of it, it’s equally a spiritual journey. While there are plenty of non-religious folks who walk the Camino, the spiritual and religious nature of this walk is inescapable. It’s also a very personal journey. Walking for hours on end day after day gives you a lot of time to think. The middle section where the terrain flattens out and the monotonous landscape offers nothing but seemingly endless dull brown fields is especially conducive to spiritual contemplation. After overcoming the physical challenge of the mountains, this boring, relatively flat stretch of the trail known as the Meseta presents a challenge for the mind.

The Magic of the Camino

“Is this your first Camino?” is a common question heard along the way. That’s because so many walk the Camino more than once. I would say about half of the people I spoke to had walked at least part of the Camino before. One Australian woman I met told me she stopped counting at 14! There’s something about it that keeps people coming back again and again.

Maybe it’s the simplicity of it, a chance to get away from your everyday life and enjoy a bit of solitude and quiet contemplation. I saw a sign in one albergue that said, Walk, Eat, Sleep, Repeat. Sure, there’s more to it than that but that’s really the essence of it. You walk where the arrows lead you, and along the way, you sleep where you can and eat what’s available. It’s kind of nice to not have to worry about anything else and leave the real world behind for a while.

Not having all those other things to worry about gives you the time and space to meditate on your life and whatever it was that brought you there. A lot of people come to the Camino seeking something or at a time of transition in their lives. The Camino is a great place to think and figure out what’s really important to you. Walking the Camino is a profoundly moving experience that I would recommend to anyone. Having now completed my first Camino, I understand the spell that it casts over people and I can’t wait to start planning my next one.

Further Reading

• Camino de Santiago Forum: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/
• Santiago Pilgrim Office: https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/
• UNESCO World Heritage: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/669/
• Photographs from my journey on the Camino de Santiago: Camino de Santiago Photo Gallery