My Camino de Santiago – the good…

On day 6 of my Camino de Santiago I realized that the Camino is just like life. There are some magical and inspiring days. Also there are some tough and challenging days. And just like life, there are many lessons to be learned. When I decided to write about my Camino journey, I knew immediately that I would write about the good, the bad and the beautiful. And it makes me feel warm and cozy inside to remember all the good.

Physically Challenging

One of the things that drew me to the Camino was the feeling that I could NOT physically do it. However, when I started travelling I wanted to challenge myself. I made a vow to do all the things that scared me. And a couple of times, I started something that I didn’t think I could finish and probably should not have even started. But the good thing – the really, really good thing – is finishing something that you don’t think that you can.

On my Camino, I took it easy and never pushed myself past 25 km a day. (Well there was one 28 km day but that is for ‘the bad’ post.) I did have a way too heavy backpack though. And so even the short 15 km days were a workout for me. I know that most people might think ‘I can walk 25 km in a day – that’s not that tough.’ And yes, 25 km in a day is not that tough. But walking 20-25 km a day, many days in a row, carrying a heavy pack – that is tough. Or at least, it was for me.

But every night, when my feet were throbbing and my knees were reminding me that I was 51 years old and my back was yelling at me that I should not have packed both a hard-cover journal and a book, it was so good. I was proud and grateful for all of the aches and pains. It made me feel alive in such a good way.

New People

Another really good thing about the Camino is the people that you meet along the way. The very first day, I walked with the sweetest young woman from Seattle, who was walking and searching for some really big, deep life answers. Her name was Elaine and she was funny and sweet. She was also the slowest walker I have ever met. Elaine was looking for big life advice from someone ‘wiser’ than her. I am not sure if my advice helped but I definitely loved our time together. Ironically, by asking me for advice, she give me some much needed confidence. I like to think we helped each other.

Another day I had lunch with a woman, Imogene, from the Netherlands. She definitely gave me another perspective in terms of expectations of myself. After our lunch, she hopped on a bus to the next town because she had a blister. As she put it, “everyone says to make the Camino ‘your own’ and my Camino is going to involve buses if I have blisters.” She unknowingly gave me permission to slow down and stop judging my pace and journey. It was also lovely to talk to someone from another culture and compare both childhood and parenting stories. She definitely reinforced my growing opinion that European women, as compared to North American women, are less driven by “shoulds.”

On the other end of the spectrum was Eric, from LA. Eric was fast talking and fast walking. We met on my longest day and he offered some encouragement at a rather embarrassing moment. I may have been sitting on the side of the road, eating an orange and crying a little because I was tired and hungry. We were both looking for an alburgue that turned out to be closed (sadly Covid shut down some alburgues for good). I was worried that the next village also might not have someplace open and I was at my limit. He reassured me that I could do it and we parted ways.

I met up with him again an hour later when I finally staggered into Ambasmestas. We ended up sharing supper at the only place open. Eric was also travelling solo but he was on a mission, pushing himself to cover at least 40km a day. (Whatever Eric – you’re 29 and 6’4″ – good for you) Anyway, it was interesting as he had challenged himself to clock a minimum of 40 km a day. For him the Camino de Santiago was a physical (and perhaps mental) challenge. He was actually very kind and interesting.

I also met three crazy Spaniards one morning between Samos and Sarria. I had read about this woman who opened up her home to pilgrims. She had a really unusual home and offered a unique passport stamp (plus a bathroom, coffee or wine). I stopped in to get my stamp and some coffee. There I met the “3 amigos” as they called themselves. They were already quite tipsy at 10am and despite the language difference, they were hilarious. I believe that this was a annual journey for them and if my questionable Spanish is correct, they met on the Camino years ago. For the 3 amigos, the Camino was clearly a bonding activity. It seemed to be more about fun than spirituality or reflection (although that is a big personal assumption).

I also met a few wonderful and unusual cafe owners and servers along the way. The funny German woman with the silly dog who came to walk the Camino when she was 20, fell in love with Galicia, got a job at a little cafe, never left and now owns it. She made me try her apple pie and it reminded me of my Gramma’s. Then there was the very sweet cafe owner on the way to Samos. He brought me a towel to dry off as it had been drizzling all morning. Then he changed the radio to an English speaking station. I have such a clear and fond memory of our stilted ‘Spanglish’ conversation with Katy Perry’s Firework playing in the background.

There were a few others and I am not sure if it is part of the Camino or if I am just blessed but I met so many kind people along the way. I thought then (and have before and since) that it is absolutely fascinating how people are both so much the same and so very different.

Time Alone

While I loved meeting and talking to different people along the way, I never walked with anyone for more than a few hours. I also never shared more than one meal with anyone. In fact, I had several days where I walked all alone and also ate alone. And I discovered that I am really, really good with just me and my thoughts. I had discovered this earlier but the Camino reinforced my understanding of the difference between being lonely and being alone. If you are doing something that you love, and have no expectations, it is very easy to be at peace with being alone.

In fact, at the end of my first day, I decided to walk with ‘no audio’ – no music , no podcasts. Just me and all of my thoughts. It was an unusual amount of thinking time and truthfully, it wasn’t always easy but it was good. And sometimes, I was able to get into a ‘meditative walking state,’ which was also cool. This is not to say that I was never lonely. There were 2 times for sure that I did feel lonely but overall, I really enjoyed my solitude.

Overcoming Fears

Another unexpected and rather absurd good thing that came from the Camino is that I am now no longer scared of cows. I was somewhere between nervous and quite fearful of cows for a number of years. On the Camino however, there are many times when you are literally walking along a dirt path through a field and there are cows. Cows that are just out and about enjoying their land. Cows that apparently do not run away or get cow-jacked, as they are just roaming free.

The first few times I realized there was not a fence between myself and the cows, I was definitely trying to deep breathe my way to calmness. In fact, I walked slightly backwards, trying to keep my eye on them while not actually making eye contact. I may have also been quietly chanting, “please don’t attack me, please don’t attack me.” But by the 3rd or 4th day, it became clear that the cows cared not at all about attacking me and I calmed down. By the 5th or 6th day, I became a fan of their quiet grace and seemingly good parenting skills. By the end, it was clear to me that I loved cows and would never eat beef again. It was silly and unexpected and it was so good.

Nature & History

My last ‘good thing’ about the Camino de Santiago is that it really heightened my appreciation for both nature and history. Honestly, travel in general will do both, and especially spending so much time outdoors. However, I think my ‘no audio’ rule really helped me notice every little beautiful or interesting thing. I noticed the most beautiful spider web and a butterfly with a broken wing. Also the way that some trees look like soldiers and others look like weathered old men.

Along the Camino there are so many old and abandoned barns and churches. I would always admire but also wonder about what had happened to the parish and when did they get forgotten. There are also just as many old and ‘could have been abandoned but weren’t’ churches and barns. Along the Camino, as well as so many parts of the world, the old is often cherished. And the rolling green hills, the beautiful trees, the brooks and creeks and rivers – they are all a little more untouched than I expected. It was really, really good.

But as I said at the start, the Camino is a lot like life. And for me anyway, there was some bad. There were some days that were a little more than challenging. And other things that were unexpected, but not in a fun and delightful way. They were unexpected in a ‘you’re dumb and you should you give up’ kind of way. (I didn’t but I came close.) So I’ll share my ‘bad’ in the next post (and in hindsight it wasn’t that bad because I was still walking slowly across beautiful Spain.)

Please comment and let me know if you have done the Camino or another pilgrimage. Or would you like to one day? I definitely want to do another one.