Travel well: A Camino tale

The Way of St James is a Christian pilgrim’s walk, dating back to the 9th century after the discovery of the relics of St James the apostle. Since the turn of this century, hundreds of thousands of people walk “The Way” every year. Its routes are paved with spiritual pilgrims, hikers, cyclists and curious tourists.

There are various routes but all roads lead to Santiago de Compestela, the final resting place of St James.

Labels, routes and levels of difficulty aside, everyone that walks The Way walks.. well.. their own Way.

In September 2023 my husband Craig and I walked our Way. Sarria to Santiago de Compostela. 115km. 8 days. Luggage transported to each day’s destination, thanks to Raw Travel Australia.

Here’s a snapshot of our journey’s lessons and how it changed us profoundly.

Lesson 1: Strip away life’s complex layers

We quickly adapted to a new routine on the Way.

• 6am wake up (still dark!), couple of work calls and family check ins
• 8am bags ready for transport to our next destination
• 9-10am a simple, hearty breakfast and hit the road
• depending on the distance to walk, we’d reach our destination by noon or early afternoon.
• Lunch (salad, tortilla, padron peppers and a few Galician Estrella beers)
• Nap or stroll around the village (if there was one)
• Dinner (often the same as lunch, maybe a pizza or a steak and fries)
• By 10pm – bed

No commute to work. No endless to-do list, social engagements or meetings to take. About half way through we got off social media so we could focus on the world we were in.

We stripped everything away but the simple joy of moving through each day and getting from where we were to where we were going.

We found peace in removing anything that cluttered or clouded the joy of the Way.

What changed in us: Actually, removing anything that clutters or clouds your joy is the key to living every day in your best way.

Lesson 2: Silent contemplation gives your truth the space to speak and makes the world quiet so you will hear.

When all you have to do each day is walk 10, 15 or 20 kilometres there’s a lot of time to think. There’s also lots of time to talk, to take in the beauty of the Galician countryside and hamlets, to chat to pilgrims… and lots of time to let the mind wander.

Galicia is old. Made a Roman province in the 9th century, it is impossible to ignore the sheer scale of humanity that has walked the Way, lived in these hamlets, built these churches and towns we now admire, touch and stay in.

This part of the Way is busy. Rarely are we walking without other pilgrims in front or behind us, and often the trail is packed 4 abreast so you must wait for the path to widen to pass people. The pilgrims take all forms: people of all ages with prams, with dogs, teens on school excursions, cyclists, many carrying their own packs, many carrying injuries. The diversity of humans is really something, and everyone is shouting “Buen Camino” as they pass (good Camino, safe travels).

We found contemplation upon us. It wasn’t invited, but it wasn’t unwelcome either.

Contemplation came walking through dense eucalyptus forests. It came when all we could hear were the songs of unfamiliar birds. It came when we sat quietly in a tiny church watching red candles flicker in the dim light. It came after chatting to a 70 year old man in the town of Arzua whilst we waited for a pizza who was on his 15th Camino walk and is vision impaired.

We found contemplation at the end of each day, reviewing our photos, sharing our thoughts and capturing them in a journal.

What changed in us: Deep, satisfying contemplation will always find you if you make space for it and let it in.

Lesson 3: Life is for living in awe and wonder.

Every day on the Way was an adventure.

We knew our day’s destination, but we had little idea of the terrain we would travel, the sights we would see, and who we might encounter along the Way.

It’s the Zen “beginners mind” in practice – every brand new day came with little expectation or previous experience so everything was there to be discovered.

Our senses were enlivened.

The smell of eucalypt trees (a familiar smell from our Australian bush, but not the same as home). The sounds of hiking poles click clacking ahead or behind us. The sight of a steep uphill ascent, as the sun bore down from a cloudless blue sky. The taste of salty padron peppers and a cold beer at a roadside restaurant. The ache of our bodies after putting one foot in front of the other for hours, uphill and downhill, through bush and along roads and well worn gravel trails. The cool, musty damp of small chapels hundreds of years old built on foundations of chapels even older.

The beauty of the landscape and the people wrapped itself around us every single day. I started to fear a return to normal, average, familiar life at home. Work routines, laundry, obligations and endlessly restocking the fridge. Where is the awe and wonder in that?

What changed in us: The awe and wonder comes from paying attention, in touch with our senses, completely awake and grateful to be in nature and in community.

Lesson 4: It’s about the journey, not the destination.

We walked into Santiago de Compostela in the early afternoon, having hiked more than 20km since dawn.

We’d embarked nervous and excited, wanting to take our time and soak up every minute as we neared our destination with every footstep.

The countryside soon gave way to urban outskirts and we had our first peek of the Cathedral spires from the Mount of Joy.

The end in sight, and all downhill, we journeyed on, crossing an overpass to a freeway to arrive at the city limits, snaking through the suburbs until the streets gave way to cobblestones and narrow lanes.

The yellow arrows that had guided us through hamlets, forests and open country roads were still there, but harder to spot amidst the bustling town. Pilgrims surrounded us, as they had from Sarria, but more of them now, still in all shapes and sizes, each on their own unique journey.

We heard the famous bagpipes playing as we descended an old stone stairway and all of a sudden, we had arrived.

Quite unexpectedly the town square, filled with pilgrims, engulfed us. We turned around to see the imposing Cathedral. We posed for selfies, turning this way and that to get the best light and capture the moment.

And then it was over.

Trudging around the corner to get our Compostela from the pilgrim’s office we were quiet, melancholic. So this is it?? We are done now?

Pilgrims in the square were hugging each other with jubilation, others fell to their knees and cried. Some sat staring up at the Cathedral in quiet contemplation, resting against their backpacks, boots off, poles resting silently beside them. Still more sat in small group circles, in prayer, or sharing their thoughts.

We went to lunch. It was an ordinary lunch, catering to tourists, a rare find with a table spare as siesta was upon us.

We were left to ponder: what did all that walking amount to?

We had a couple of days in Santiago de Compostela. This gave us time to reflect on the Way and the promises we made to each other and ourselves to live a simpler, more connected life.

What changed in us: Rather than rushing to the destination, let us instead enjoy each step on the journey, whether they be in struggle or in delight.

Lesson 5: The gift of the Way was yet to reveal itself

A few days after leaving Santiago de Compostela we found ourselves visiting the Basilica de Notre Dame de Fourviere in Lyon. Not particularly ancient (built between 1872 and 1896), it is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and overlooks the whole of Lyon, making it a popular tourist attraction.

Craig and I found ourselves in the Virgin’s Chapel in an area dedicated to prayer. No photos, no noise, it was beautiful, grand, peaceful. Without intention, we both prayed.

Not a regular church goer, I sat in this peaceful stillness, just being.

Back on the Way, I’d stopped one day to place a rock at a route marker. These guides not only point which way to go, they mark how many kilometres you have to go. Many pilgrims bring stones from home, to lay down their burdens, or the burdens of loved ones, symbolising a letting go.

The stone I chose was without much thought, and I wasn’t conscious of letting down any particular burden. My action was more symbolic, and I wished I’d been doing it purposefully from the beginning.

Fast forward back to Lyon, in the virgin’s chapel I find myself praying for the courage to let go of my burdens. To let go of the belief I can live the lives of others for them and instead be strong in my unconditional love for them. To let go of wanting things to be different and instead be strong in accepting them as they are.

Days later we are walking the streets of Paris, I look down and spot a yellow camino shell, the symbol of the Way embedded in the footpath. It’s an unexpected but welcome reminder of the Way, and our prayers in Lyon.

A month later, we are at a local market in Bellingen, NSW and there is a stall selling seashells. We buy a yellow one, the same colour as the symbol of the Way, and find it a home in a plant in our bedroom. Its the first thing we see waking up of a morning, an ever present reminder of our journey on the Way and the lessons we learned.

What changed in us: The Way gifted us clarity on our burdens and inspired the strength to lay them down. This gift will stay with us for all our days.

We now see the world as a place of awe and wonder. We work to strip complexity out of our lives at every chance. We make time for quiet contemplation and rather than rushing to each destination, we are walking the Way there together, just one foot in front of the other.

People who know and love us will likely not see these profound changes the Way gifted us. Though they are tiny, they are not insignificant.

A final word. The Way touched us so profoundly, we intend to return in a few years time and complete the entire Camino Frances – 800km from St Jean de Pied in France, through Galicia to Santiago de Compostela. We’re part of a community now, a community of pilgrims who may have walked their own unique Way, but are still bound together by this life changing spiritual experience.