The Camino de Santiago is an ancient pilgrimage route that runs more than 790 km (490 miles) across the top of Spain, all the way to Santiago de Compostela. Traditionally the Camino starts from your home, although nowadays, many consider The official french route begins in the town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, just across the French border.
The Camino de Santiago has been a pilgrimage route for more than 1,000 years, and there is even evidence that there was a route here in pre-Christian times, way back in the 8th century. It is thought that this ancient route followed the Milky Way to what people believed at the time was the end of the Earth.
According to Christianity, one of the original 12 apostles – Santiago, also known as Saint James – helped to spread the religion throughout the Iberian Peninsula. One theory says that when he died, his body was put in a boat, which landed on the coast of Spain, just west of where Santiago de Compostela stands today; while the other maintains that his body was found by a Galician farmer near the town of Padrón centuries later. Either way, it is said that King Alfonso II ordered the relics be buried in a specially-built chapel, which would later become the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, and attract pilgrims from across Europe.
The Camino grew in popularity in the Middle Ages, attracting over 250,000 pilgrims every year, and it became one of the three most popular Christian pilgrimages – the other two being to Jerusalem and Rome.
My team and I spent 10 days walking El Camino. After debrief we bussed from Barcelona to Pamplona. From Pamplona we would walk to Burgos in 10 days covering roughly 136 miles of the Spanish country side.
We walked to meet people, hear about their lives, love them the way Jesus loved and if the opportunity presented itself to share the gospel with them.
El Camino de Santiago reminds me a lot of what Jesus did during His ministry… walking town to town, sharing meals at the table, building relationships and loving people.
I really enjoyed the time we had on El Camino because I met people from all over the world and was able to hear their stories. I met Josh from the Netherlands, who was between mission trips and chose to walk El Camino as he waited. Don and Sue, a couple from Toronto go to the Sight and Sound theatre in Lancaster to watch plays. Rodolfo and I also met Philip, a priest from Chile who when he walked he flew. All our conversations occurred once we arrived to the destinations because we couldn’t keep up.
We met Mark and Lola. Mark was a banker from Barcelona who took some time off to walk 4000 km around Europe. With him was Lola, a well trained dog who was tagging along for the journey. Mark loved the idea of being a pilgrim. He recounted a moment when he was sitting in his hammock after a day of walking and not thinking about anything. He said to his friend something along the lines of, “When was the last time you just sat down and enjoyed doing nothing?” He had no agenda. He would stop in the middle of a days travel to sit, hammock and enjoy the day around him. He also mentioned the culture of friendliness along the Camino. He compared the Camino to Barcelona and how strangers will say “Hola” and “Buen Camino” to complete strangers as they pass on El Camino, but in the big city they would look at him like he was crazy if he said hello to a complete stranger on the street.
My favorite couple we met were Umberto and Carina from Argentina. The awesome part about El Camino is you run into the same people day after day because you’re usually walking to the same town. There was nothing better than walking downstairs into the kitchen and seeing new friends you met a day or two before. Our paths crossed a lot during our 10 day journey, we would talk about how the previous day’s walk was, where they stayed and life in general. We shared why we were on the World Race and shared our stories and had the opportunity to listen to theirs.
I would highly recommend El Camino de Santiago. It was a great place to slow down and enjoy life. Also, a place to enjoy the company of complete strangers who are from all over the world. El Camino is a place to focus on the journey and not just the destination. For most of my life, I have rushed through the journey. I don’t like journeys because I like to get things done. I like endpoints and checking things off the list. Eventually I’m going to run out of things to check off the list and I’ll look back and see everything checked off. But what I won’t see are the journeys I rushed through and the people I could have met and things I could have done if I had just slowed down.
I now see the importance of slowing down and taking time to enjoy and reflect what God has done in my life and to make myself available for what He has for me in the future. I also see the importance of enjoying the journey and the people along the way and the memories and impact you can have on each other.
Psalm 46:10
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.”
Complementary Camino Packing list
What I would take the 2nd time around…
Backpack with hip support, the smaller the better 35-40 Liters w/ rain cover
Chacos
Comfortable hiking/running shoes
2 shirts
2 shorts
2 pairs of socks
2 pairs of underwear… wash and interchange each night
Rain jacket
Sweatshirt
Adidas soccer pants
Quick dry towel
Soap and Shampoo
Bar of Laundry soap
Water bottle
Tooth brush, toothpaste & floss
Nail clippers
Camera
Earplugs
Hat
Sleeping bag
Watch
Phone & charger, portable charger, outlet converter
Maps.me downloaded on your phone
maybe hiking poles… I hear they help
Euros… so many good chocolate croissants
There are plenty of places to buy things you may need along the way but less is more in this case.
Buen Camino!
Team Philly Philly outside of Logrono…
Little blurry…but some of the team with Umberto and Carina…
