4:45am – wake up
5-5:30ish – get dressed, eat breaky, drink coffee, leave the Albergue! Albergue’s are essentially cheap hostels that sometimes have one large room with like 60-100 beds, or smaller rooms with less beds. We’ve even stayed in a few where the four of us have had a private room! People begin waking up for the day around 4am, but you usually have to be out by 8am because they have to clean to get ready for the next set of pilgrims coming that day. It’s crazy to realize communities and things like this existed – I had no idea!
At the beginning of our pilgrimage we got a passport, which is the document that we get stamps on each place we stay & it qualifies us to stay in places for much less money. I am excited to fill it up! We can get stamps at the places We eat, visit, sleep, explore – almost every place in a city along the Camino can give us stamps!
5:30ish-8:30/9:30/10ish – WALK!
We walk with our packs which have a few changes of clothes, a bit of food, water, toiletries, etc. my pack is probably about 25-27lbs – I have dropped quite a few things since the beginning because when I started it was about 30 pounds!). We have discovered muscles we didn’t know could ache, have encountered more blisters & sore calves than ever before!
We sometimes walk in pairs, but mostly walk alone. Meg and I begin the mornings walking through the dark together (because we both got freaked out while we were alone in the dark one day haha).
We get to see the sunrise almost every morning & it’s breath-taking & unique each day – God is so creative!!
9:30ish-12ish – sometimes we wait outside, sometimes we sit in cafés to journal or rest.
12-4ish – shower, rest, do laundry, find food, meet our new roommates.
In the afternoon & evenings we have team time & eat dinner. We’ve had fun & cool conversations around countless tables. We’ve gotten to share what the last year of our lives have looked like, we’ve met people from all sorts of backgrounds from numerous countries. We’ve received blessings from nuns who’ve devoted their lives to serving Jesus through ministering to pilgrims along the Camino. We’ve exchanged information, beliefs, first aid materials, food, drink, stories, tears & testimony. Being on the Camino is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
I even got to pin Albuquerque, New Mexico on a map in an Albergue in Sahagún!! I also learned that my home town is actually named after a town in a Spain (also Albuquerque!).
Also, the walk into the last big city before we reach the end – is called León (Spanish for lion) – there are no giant kitties here (unfortunately), BUT I took a picture with a cute one. & as I was heading into the city over a colorful blue bridge, I could see the green in the middle of a bright & spread out city. There was a lot of dirt & high desert plants & reminded me to much of the drive from the west side to the east side of ABQ – what a sweet treat!
One of my favorite parts about walking The Camino is the end of the day. We’ve walked anywhere from 10-15 miles & we finally find our sweet place of rest in an Albergue. The closer we get to Santiago (where we get our certificates of completion!), the more crowded albergues are when they open. (Most open around noon each day). We usually leave between 5-6 each morning & depending on how we feel – I usually make it to the next place we are meeting in 3-4 hours. Most often we walk through tiny towns throughout our walk to the next meeting place. The Spanish history & architecture here is beautiful! Depending on the part of the trail we’re on, sometimes we walk on pavement, other times we walk on dirt or gravel.
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Most albergues are run by volunteers – sometimes there are couples who spend a certain amount of time serving there. Othertimes, if the albergues are private, they have one owner who takes care of everything. The best albergues include both breakfast & dinner – which are few and far in between. But we’ve been blessed abundantly through the people we’ve met – everyone from owners, to volunteers, to fellow pilgrims – the culture in the Camino seems to be “give more than you take“ & “mind your Camino.” This means to be mindful & respect each pilgrim – their needs/wishes/preferences because most people are on a spiritual journey to discover themselves, God, their calling, etc.
When the sweet time comes where those Albergue doors fly open, you see dozens of pilgrims hobbling around – sore from the days walk. It just makes me giggle inside seeing so many humans willingly put themselves in pain every single day to accomplish what they do. There are usually ice packs in the freezer and buckets to soak sore feet in (or to hand wash laundry – as we do almost daily). Honestly I love seeing my fellow pilgrims hobbling around because I don’t think I have experienced a “sore” quite like the Camino sore – your joints ache, the soles of your feet hurt, my shoulders & traps form lovely knots from the weight of my pack. We are usually settling into bed around 8 or 9 in preparation for the next day’s journey.
I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to walk across an entire country – HOW COOL! But I’m even more grateful for the people we’ve met, the sites I’ve seen & the times I’ve gotten to spend in prayer & worship & reflection & awe of what the past year has been. You see, 363 days ago I was at training camp in Gainesville, Georgia, just getting a taste of the adventure & challenge & growth & pain that would encompass this year. Now I’m about 20 days from it coming to an end & I am simply at a loss for words.
