This past spring I walked my first Camino solo and stayed in hotels, taking the Norte and Primitivo routes. I stayed in hotels not just because I enjoy solitude, but also because I know I don't sleep well sharing a room with others. I chose these routes also partly because they are less traveled and I thought they would provide the solitude I was looking for. For the first week or so, I walked entirely alone, barely spoke to more than a few pilgrims, maybe from shyness, maybe because I was staying in hotels, but also because I really wanted to walk in solitude and I enjoyed it.
By the end of the first week, in my solitude, I started to question whether this was all I wanted from my Camino, and whether I should try to start talking with others. And then one morning after 2-3 hours of walking, I heard footsteps behind me and slowed my pace a bit and started chatting with a Frenchman, we stopped for cafe con leche an hour later, and walked most of that day together - and then off and on for many days we would find each other and end up walking some portion of the route together. The next day, as I was passing a German couple, the wife started chatting with me, we walked most of the rest of that long day together, and then again on other days we would find each other for some portion of the route or for dinner. And over the next 4 weeks I met several others, relationships would form and we would walk together. Not every day, not the entire day, but some hours on most of the 40 plus days of walking. I enjoyed dinners with most of them, but also enjoyed eating alone. While walking with others, I felt I had less time to really take in the scenery, l stopped less often to take pictures, I remembered less of the route, but I also made many friends, many of whom I am still in contact with, others I never saw again but enjoyed talking with them.
In the final week as I approached Santiago, most of the pilgrims I had spent time with were either 1-2 days behind me or a day or so ahead of me, and I remember having a long think about entering Santiago alone. The idea of not being able to share the moment with my new friends made me feel just a bit sad, maybe more rueful then sad, and I realized how much I enjoyed sharing at least some of my day with others. And then magically (there's always that Camino magic!), a few days out from Santiago, the Frenchman who I thought was 2-3 days behind me, reappeared across the street! We walked together most of the next few days and entered Santiago together, and 3 other groups of people I thought were behind me also ended up entering Santiago later that same afternoon. We had stayed in touch with WhatsApp and I waited for them to enter the plaza to the sound of bagpipes, all of us in tears. And the German couple after reaching Santiago several days after I did, took the bus to Cee and we met up again in Finisterre.
I had begun my Camino with the intent to walk each day happy and with gratitude, with compassion for others and myself, and to just be kind. A six week practice of Santosha (in yogic philosophy, "contentment" or "satisfaction") that I hoped would create an inner vibration of experiencing the happiness of contentment. I thought I needed to do walk my Camino in solitude to find it, but
I am so happy for the friendships I made and grateful for the Camino magic to reconnect. So I guess I would say it's great to intend to walk your Camino in solitude to find what you are seeking, but also great to be open to what you find along the way, because that may also help you find what you are seeking.