My Way Along The Camino de Santiago

I just made the journey by foot across Spain by way of the Camino de Santiago. This article is my best attempt to the explain my time along this amazing walk. 

Highlights of the Camino

• Seeing and hearing the nature around me daily. Lots of trees, animals (birds, dogs, snakes), insects, flowers, rivers and mountains. My favorites were seeing the red poppy flowers everywhere! Also seeing the small snails crossing my path was cool. For my American friends, remember the Cuckoo clocks? I didn’t realize the sound comes from a real bird. Nearly everyday in the morning mist, I’d hear the “CUCKOO!! CUCKOO!!” sounds.
• Seeing rural towns of Spain in the northern part of the peninsula. I lived previously in Spain, but really only saw the larger cities. The small communities and its people had such character to them.
• The food and wine. Spain has so many traditional dishes for all tastes (well, except vegetarians). Lots of tasty meats, soups and drinks can be found along the way. One of the most interesting cuisines was octopus. It wasn’t too bad – it had a really good flavour being cooked with olive oil. Wine was cheap – $2-4 for a great tasting bottle made it widely accessible for all pilgrims. Who can say no to a good bottle of wine?  Lastly, most restaurants along the way offered a “Menu de Peregrino” (Pilgrims’ Menu), which came with two courses, a drink and desert for generally $9-15 per meal. I will definitely miss the food of Spain when I leave!

• Communal dinners – I was fortunate enough to meet some other pilgrims to share dinner with. There is something special about making food and eating together. Lots of deep and meaningful conversations as well. 
• The silence and reflection time. Walking for nearly 800km gives you time to think. Enough said.
• And most of all, the people! While I started on the Camino alone, I never was truly alone. I met people from all over the world, different ages and different backgrounds. I learned countless lessons from every person I met. Many pilgrims were very generous to me, sharing food, drinks, medical supplies, accommodations and their time! I feel blessed to have formed the relationships that I did along the way.

My Daily Routine and Living Quarters

Most days consisted of the following routine:

• Wake up (around 5am);  get ready (brush teeth, put Vaporub on my feet)
• 5:15am – Pack up all my stuff in the dark with a night light
• 5:30am – Breakfast
• 6:00am – Depart
• 9-10am – Take break (orange juice and Spanish Omelette)
• 12pm – Short cafe or lunch break
• 2-4pm – Arrive, depending on distance of day
• 4-8pm – Rest, hang out with other pilgrims, take naps, etc.
• 8pm – Eat dinner and have drinks
• 10pm – Go to bed

The distance I did  each day really depended on what towns were nearby and which ones had accommodations.

Where I stayed:

The Camino has accommoations with most of its towns offering Albergues or small hotels. Albergues are similar to hostels, in the fact that they are communal. They will have big or small rooms with dorm-style bunk beds. Rooms could have 4 beds or have 50-100 in one room. Most didn’t provide sheets, so you needed to bring your own sleeping bag. Beds and pillows were generally pretty comfortable. Most I stayed in had around 6-12 beds in them. Most facilities had communal showers, clothes washing (by hand) and air dry areas, kitchens and WiFi. I only had a couple of cold showers on my Camino.

The Route I walked

When walking the Camino to Santiago, a pilgrim has many options. I walked the Camino Frances, which is the most famous route. There are other Caminos in France, Portugal and even Italy. The others are less crowded, but have less infrastructure, such as albergues and route markers.

I started in St. Jean Pied de Port, France on May 4, 2017 and walked 799km (nearly 500 miles), taking 32 days to complete (31 days walking, 1 rest day). I arrived in Santiago on June 4, 2017. Distance walked each day depended on a few factors: towns coming up with accommodations, weather (rainy or sunny, hot or mild temperature), and how I was feeling. Everyday was literally a step at a time!

Conclusion

The Camino wasn’t just a walk for me. It was a time of self-reflection, restoration and healing. It had highs and lows (figuratively and literally), pain and suffering, joy and excitement. This is a  walk that I will never forget and it will continue to live on in me for the rest of my life.