El Camino de Santiago: Our Pilgrimage
April 14th - 19th, 2017
Can you think of many things better than spending your days walking through the beautiful Spanish countryside, experiencing old Spanish villages every couple of miles, engaging with diverse groups of people from all over the world, and indulging in Galacia’s most delicious local fare?
The El Camino de Santiago was a top experience for Taylor and I in Europe. It was a time spent reflecting and enjoying one another, nature, God, and the people He surrounded us with.
The El Camino de Santiago (or in English, “The Way of Saint James”), has historically been a pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostella in northwestern Spain for over 1000 years. The medieval catholic peregrino (or pilgrim) embarked on their pilgrimage to receive forgiveness for sins or to ask for help or assistance from the Father. These days, people walk the Camino for anything from spiritual reasons to simply touristing. A pilgrimage that was once a brutal journey from one’s doorstep, in which reaching the Cathedral only meant you were halfway through your journey, can now start at a number of places, the closest being Sarria, about 120 km to Santiago. It was once a difficult journey, short on water supplies, food and housing, where one really had to rely on the Lord to arrive safely. Now it’s full of frills: coffee shops and toilets every few miles, anything from 1 to 5 star hotels and hostels, and gorgeous, mapped-out trails. Taylor and I refer to it as “glamping”. ;)
Although for us, hiking the El Camino was an experience we wanted to embark on for the pure joy of it, we also incorporated spiritual aspects into our walk: memorizing scripture, intercessory prayer, singing hymns, and trying to love and engage well those we encountered. It was a week of joy, fun, and great exercise, too!
The average walker takes on about 25 km per day on the Camino, or about 15 miles. Our days were anywhere from 20 to 28 km, averaging about 35,000 steps. We met some single-walkers who were averaging 40 km, and some more elderly that went at a slower pace, perhaps 15 km per day. The Camino has many options for young and old, able and disabled. We met a 78 year-old woman who was on her 11th Camino, and even children with their families. We heard of a man doing the entire length of the Camino (800 km) in a wheelchair. There were tour groups that had a bus follow them all day so people had the option of taking breaks, or leaving their bag inside. There were also bikers and horse-back riders on the trail.
Here’s what a typical day for us looked like:
7:30 - Wake up at our hostel in either a shared room with bunked beds or a private room and prepare for our hike.
8:15 - Leave hostel, start walking and soon stop for breakfast, consisting of a croissant for Kate and a ham and egg sandwich for Taylor.
8:45 - Back on trail along with many other sojourners.
8:45–16:00 - Walk 15 miles, stopping at least 5 times for a café con leche, Kas Naranja (Spanish orange soda), fresh squeezed juice, homemade wine, cards, or just socializing. We often spent most of the day with the same couple or group that we happened to pace well with.
16:00-18:00 - Check into hostel, shower, unpack, read.
19:00 - Head to dinner, often with friends made on our trek that day.
21:30 - Start heading to bed.
Tips to those considering embarking on the Camino:
- Pack light — Taylor and I packed as little as possible, with only 2 outfits each to our name, a few toiletry essentials, and our reading devices. Those with huge bags seemed to have a much harder time on the trail.
- Wear comfy shoes — This doesn’t necessarily mean the most expensive hiking boots you can find. Taylor and I spent the week in worn down tennis shoes. Nonetheless they were super comfortable, and we were some of the few without blisters.
- Engage — The Camino isn’t about arriving at your next destination for the night, it’s about the journey you’re on. So engage with people around you, hear their stories, reflect and pray, and make sure you stop for homemade wine and café con leche every chance you get!
The most enjoyable part of our journey were the great people we met and enjoyed from all over the world: Malta, Chile, Check Republic, Mexico, Ireland (loads of them), Texas, China, the list goes on. Almost every day we met people we paced well with, and enjoyed the day getting to know them and stopping together for breaks and chats. Some people you met the first day and didn’t see again ’til three days later. Others you saw every day, others still only once.
Taylor thought this was a great metaphor for life: If you want to know, love and engage the world with mission, you have to change your pace to match those around you. If you continue to go your own pace with no flexibility, you won’t be able to achieve deep engagement. So slow down or speed up and live intentionally. ❤
— Kate
