My path to the Camino de Santiago…or The journey before the journey

My fascination with the Camino de Santiago began nearly nine years ago when a blogger I was following wrote about her Camino journey. I was intrigued and thought “I wish I could do that,” but didn’t seriously consider that I might. Still the seed was planted, and occasionally the desire would bubble up to the surface and I’d start to research Camino options.

Then a voice inside of me would pipe up with all the reasons it was not practical for me. I’m not adventurous. There are probably treacherous spots, and I don’t do “treacherous.” Even if the path isn’t treacherous exactly, I’ve never walked that far day after day. What if I get injured or blistered? Walking the Camino isn’t my husband’s idea of a fun vacation, and his joint issues might prevent him from doing it at all. It wouldn’t be fair for me to take this big of a trip without him, would it? Would I even want to? 

So I’d let it go. 

Still, I kept the web pages bookmarked, and I’d occasionally look at them again and dream. I even purchased a pair of trail runners that I thought would be perfect for walking the Camino, but would also be perfectly practical for the local hikes I love. (I wasn’t wrong about that.) Anyway, this back and forth went on for years. 

So what finally knocked me off the fence and set me on the path of seriously researching and planning my Camino? What made me believe I could actually do this? 

From dreaming to planning

After more than eight years of this kind of pie-in-the-sky dream of a Camino pilgrimage, I had my 64th birthday. I was thinking about how much I love this more relaxed, go-with-the-flow phase of life…how on the one hand, I have so much more time and freedom for relaxing leisure activities like reading and doing jigsaw puzzles, and on the other hand, I am more physically fit than I have ever been…working out regularly and being more mindful of my nutrition. 

Retirement is pretty amazing. The one thing I miss is that I’m not having a lot of new experiences. Also, I used to run. I quit when my race got cancelled during the COVID pandemic. I tried to restart a couple of times, but just couldn’t get excited about it. To be honest, I don’t miss the running itself. I do miss training for something big, the camaraderie of runners, and the medals you get to mark your achievements. 

While I was contemplating how to scratch this itch, the thought literally popped into my head that the time had come for me to walk a Camino. As I’ve done so many times before, I went back to the websites I’d marked and I started watching videos of others who had made the pilgrimage. Something felt different this time…more urgent. Without getting all woo-hoo on you, I honestly feel like the Camino is calling to me. 

I still had all of the same concerns that I used to have…it’s a long way to travel; I don’t speak the language; it will be physically demanding; it’s a long time to be apart from my husband; and a pretty big trip to treat myself to. But none of these things feel insurmountable anymore. If I really want to do this, I can find a way…and I do. I really, really want this. I need it. I deserve it.

So I got serious about figuring it out…figuring out which Camino to walk, how to go about it in terms of daily distances, pack carrying, accommodations, etc., and when to go. 

The devil is in the details

As they say, there is no wrong way to walk the Camino. So here were my considerations. I want to push myself, but I also want to enjoy the experience. I am, by nature, a cautious person and not a big risk taker. I wanted to choose a Camino that didn’t require difficult hiking in terms of fall risk…steep, rocky downhills primarily. 

Also, I am an introvert. I enjoy quiet and being alone with my thoughts. At the same time, I like meeting new people and enjoy the camaraderie of being with people on a similar quest. So I wanted to walk in a time and on a path that would assure me proximity to other pilgrims without being constantly surrounded.

With this in mind, I chose the final 100 km of the Portuguese Way. It is one of the more level options, though that’s not to say there aren’t hills, and I’m okay with that. It is also well-traveled, but not as highly populated as the French Way. 

My next consideration was my strong dislike for carrying a heavy pack on my back, so a baggage transfer service is a must. In addition, I have a hard time sleeping. Add that to my introversion, and private sleeping accommodations become important. Finally, back to my aversion to risk, I prefer the security of knowing I have a safe, comfortable place to lay my head each night.

And finally, my husband was really uncomfortable with me going on this adventure so far from home completely on my own. I wanted to take his peace of mind into consideration in my decision.

So to accommodate my current boundaries for discomfort…mental and physical…as well as my husband’s, I decided to go with an all-women’s group put together by Camino Ways. They take care of the hotel reservations and  baggage transfers and provide an English-speaking tour guide. They assured me that tour participants have the freedom to separate from the group and walk at their own pace between daily stops. The guide keeps pace with the slowest walker.

As for time of year, I ruled out the busier, hotter summer months of July and August, as well as the colder months of October through April, which narrowed it down to May, June, or September for my trip. I initially chose September, mostly so I’d have more time to prepare and savor the anticipation of this long-awaited journey and because it felt like a fitting way to close out my 64th year. However, my research disclosed that September is actually the busiest month on the Portuguese Camino, and June has on average slightly fewer rain days than September. 

Then I found the group trip, which takes place in early June…so June it is. We start in Bainoa, Spain on May 31. And more good news, one of my sisters will be going with me!

So a deposit has been put down on the trip, and flights have been booked. This is happening. My dream of walking the Camino de Santiago is coming true.

I look forward to sharing my preparations, as well as the trip itself, here on my blog and in a series of YouTube videos.

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Your turn

1. Have you walked the Camino de Santiago or gone on a similar pilgrimage? Which one?
2. Do you have a long-held dream that you’d like to turn into reality?
3. What else is on your mind? Anything at all; I just love to hear from you.

Feature image by guillermo gavilla from Pixabay