The Millennial’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago | Prologue

Let me start off by saying that the Camino de Santiago may not be what you think it is; the Camino is, rather, whatever you want it to be. To the vast majority, it is perceived as an exclusively religious or spiritual pilgrimage (a nod to the webbed trail’s history), and to many others, it is considered a serious physical commitment attainable only at peak fitness and health. And while I don’t aim to denounce either of these approaches, I do want to share my perspective as a non-religious, not extraordinarily athletic metropolitan Millennial on the trail for the second time in a self-published daily diary chronicling my nearly 200-mile walk from Samos, Spain through Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre and other various places along the coast. It’s a means of putting my firsthand accounts out into the world and revealing The Way’s true accessibility in the process — something I feel any first-timer could use.

My first Camino was a crash course in what this thing looks and feels like. I learned very quickly that there’s no right or wrong way to experience it (unless you’re one of the aforementioned elitist die-hards foisting your ideals and judgement upon fellow pilgrims), and that it’s totally okay to reject the traditional approaches in the name of doing your own thing. If you want to bring your laptop or tablet along to do work, bring your laptop or tablet along. If your back is killing you and you want to send your bag to the next town while you walk, send your bag (I’m pretty sure Jesus had a bunch of disciples carrying his stuff for him, so the purists have no case here). If you feel like taking the bus for a portion of the trail or take a break for a few days, do that for yourself. If you go in knowing that and shedding the pressure of everything you’ve read and heard in preparation for the walk, it might help ease any stress you might have built up (these are things I wish someone had told me going in the first time). In short: the Camino is WAY more chill in reality than people make it out to be, and fellow Millennial pilgrims should feel empowered to do what we do best: our own thing.

My takeaway from last year serves as the basis for this Camino, which begins tomorrow in Samos; I sit here in a hotel room in Lugo gearing up, putting this into words as much for any potential reader as I am for myself. I plan to keep a daily diary (yes, I’m bringing my laptop again) so follow along here on my Medium page for further updates and inspo.

-Céline

Up next: my Camino de Santiago packing tips and a full rundown of Day 1 on the trail with my dad.