The El Camino is a series pilgrimage routes in Europe that people have been walking for centuries, and after completing the last leg of the trail into Santiago, Spain, I can definitely see why. There is nothing like walking for 5 days carrying all of your belongings to help you see what is important in life and realize what you are truly capable of accomplishing. After doing the last 115km of the trail I know I will be back to do all 800km one day.
My mom and I started the trek in Sarria, Spain, and fought through insane blisters and sore bodies to make it to the end. I am not going to lie and say it was easy, I definitely had a moment or two where I questioned why any sane person would do this to themselves, but there is no way to describe when you put your bags down and walk into the Cathedral de Santiago and see that beautiful place for the first time.
Each day we walked about 20- 25km and enjoyed the hospitality of many locals at different cafés and hostels. The locals along the El Camino are so wonderful, although sometimes communication was hard, they really seemed to appreciate all of the pilgrims and welcomed us with open arms. On the second, and my roughest, day we stayed at a hostel with one of the nicest owners in the world. We sat down for dinner and he made sure we never ran out of wine ( which was included in the price of the meal!) and he was deeply concerned when I couldn't finish the gigantic 3 course meal we were served. He kept offering to change out my food for anything else on the menu. This is a common theme, if I didn't finish my food somewhere there would be a lot of concern that I didn't like the food and a complicated conversation explaining that I was just full. Sometimes a little annoying but always endearing.
In another town we ate dinner at a deserted hostel with the most wonderful owner, who was also concerned I did not finish my entire meal, and who was an avid world traveler. He decide to open a hostel after he fell in love with the Camino, but before that he travel all over Spain taking amazing photographs. He showed us his photography and his camera collection- one of the most amazing collections I have ever seen. It took up an entire room and there was every type of camera imaginable, the tiny spy cameras he had were my favorite. On our second to last day we stopped for lunch at a small bar with two of the most amazing ladies I've ever met. On the trail your lunches generally consist of simple bocadillos, Spanish sandwiches, that get old after a while- but these ladies made us the most delicious bocadillo and greeted us so amazingly. Right after ordering they brought out some homemade liquor, which we do not know to this day what it was, and poured us shots. They loved my mom immediately and kept offering us shots- we had to leave pretty quickly or we may never have left. Seriously, the people you meet on the trail are some of the most wonderful people in the world.
We walked through so many amazing little villages and towns, which was a great change of pace from constantly being in cities for the last couple months, and for the most part the scenery was amazing. You do walk along the freeway quite a few times on the trail, but somehow that does not hinder the experience. One of the coolest things is that the whole trail is marked by scallop shell emblems and yellow arrows, I got so used to following those arrows I can barely function without them anymore. Not needing to use maps or pre-book accommodations was amazingly freeing, all you had to worry about each day was walking, and possibly filling your water bottle.
Walking all day every day also requires a lot of breaks, and it was always nice to sit down in a café along the route and meet all of the other people also doing the pilgrimage. The people you meet on this trek are really interesting, you will see people of all ages from all over the world going through the same struggles and sharing their personal stories. Once you get into a rhythm you find yourself running into the same groups of people every so often and you really do form a bond with them. We had a huge group of school kids who would pass us every morning, a lovely trio from Australia who we would meet over and over, and this one wonderful old lady who somehow managed to keep pace and keep going every day. It was such a cool moment when we went to the pilgrim mass at the cathedral in Santiago and looked around to see all of the people we had seen for days on the trail.
The mass they do for the pilgrims at the cathedral in Santiago is something you need to experience to truly understand. They do a special blessing for all of the pilgrims, offer communion, and end by burning incense in a giant botafumeiro which they swing back and forth in front of the altar. The cathedral is famous for this ceremony and they only do it for the pilgrim mass, which I think is really special. If you do the pilgrimage or find yourself in Santiago, try and see the pilgrim mass because it really is spectacular.
I do have to say, the last day on the trail when you enter into Santiago is a little anti-climactic. Early on we passed a post signaling we were entering Santiago which was very exciting, come to realize we still had to walk past the airport and through downtown to get to the historic town center. Even then, on the most boring parts of the trail, you see little monuments and markings left by other pilgrims that gives you this sense of unity. That last few kilometers were some of the hardest from the whole trip, but when we got into town we stumbled upon an amazing hotel that will probably always feel like the most luxurious place I have ever been. After sleeping in hostels with paper sheets and using duct tape to protect the blisters on our feet, having two pillows and being able to sleep as long as we wanted was the greatest thing in the entire world.
In Santiago we got our certificates for completing the pilgrimage, which was incredibly exciting and I am going to frame mine when I get home, and admired the beauty of the cathedral and the city. From there the hotel helped us make our way into Portugal and we have been relaxing in Figueroa da Foz ever since. Here are a few more shots from around Santiago.
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