What makes the Camino so magical (to you)?

[andreak58]

Hi Everyone...

I am having quite a profound experience and would love to hear feedback and other people's stories and experiences.
I decided to join friends in Sept to walk from Santiago to Muxia to Finisterre. It was always my dream to walk the Camino, but for some reason I thought I had to do the whole thing, so I put my dream on hold till I could find the time to go.
My friends told me they were doing a tour, not something I would gravitate to normally, but since they invited me, I took it as a sign to just go and spend some time on the Camino.
I was gone only 6 days. The last day I kept having one insight (into my life) after another. Since I am home, I am in another place spiritually. I feel so connected to this place, I dream about walking almost every night, and I am looking at going back within the next year or so. I feel like a completely different person.
I am curious at what makes this walk so intensely special for some of us? I can't say I was part of a community, (we did not meet many pilgrims along the way, as we started out late in the day) I did not end up at any of the albergues along the way, so did not form friendships. I did not have to carry all my possessions, and did not have to worry about where to stay at night, or where to eat. Camino 101. So not your "typical" Camino where you can have insights into your life because of the above experiences. (i hope that makes sense) And yet, I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
Would love to hear others stories, or input, or just say hello.
I hope to do the Camino Portugese next.

 

[Smallest_Sparrow]

Hi @andreak58

• I'm so glad you found meaning in your walk, and are planning another. You are proof that there are many ways to walk the Camino and find things that have significance to your life. I hope each experience builds on the one before it, and you share all that you learned.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Hi @andreak58
What a thought - and soul - provoking post. Thank you.

Yes, isn't there something just magical, je ne sais quoi about the Camino? I've trekked some amazing, remote and spiritual journeys around the world yet none has touched me as much and had as lasting a personal and spiritual effect.

I believe that part of it is that we are walking on already sacred ground where many people have walked purposefully and with spiritual intent before us. There is a sense of shared purpose and focus regardless of the reasons that initially brought us onto the Way.

Words are quite inadequate at times and we can all take different meanings from a phrase so I tend to turn towards the poets to explain.

an excerpt from
For The Traveler
John O'Donohue
from his book: To Bless the Space Between Us

...
A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.

May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.

May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.

 

[Waka]

The peace and quite.
The ability to walk alone, or not.
The wonderful people you meet.
The freedom to choose.
And so many more.

 

[Michael Caleigh]

I know what you are talking about as I had the same experience.

Before the Camino:

• anxious what life will bring
• not social
• stressed
• over organized
• bad tempered
• not listening
• a loner
• needy in regards to things I needed to have or wanting to have

After the Camino:

• relaxed
• good listener
• very social and need my friends
• see what the day brings me
• couldn´t care less what tomorrow brings as only today counts

I met a friend with whom I spoke before I left and she cried when I told her about my experience as she walked the camino a couple of years back. She said that I am the person now she always thought I might be and was worried that I wouldn´t find myself again during my walk. But she was so full of joy that I did that we hugged and even shed a few tears.
I am trying to keep this experience and the new found peace in my life every day and the next camino is soon.....7 months and I am off again.

Buen Camino

 

[Annette london]

Hi Everyone...

I am having quite a profound experience and would love to hear feedback and other people's stories and experiences.
I decided to join friends in Sept to walk from Santiago to Muxia to Finisterre. It was always my dream to walk the Camino, but for some reason I thought I had to do the whole thing, so I put my dream on hold till I could find the time to go.
My friends told me they were doing a tour, not something I would gravitate to normally, but since they invited me, I took it as a sign to just go and spend some time on the Camino.
I was gone only 6 days. The last day I kept having one insight (into my life) after another. Since I am home, I am in another place spiritually. I feel so connected to this place, I dream about walking almost every night, and I am looking at going back within the next year or so. I feel like a completely different person.
I am curious at what makes this walk so intensely special for some of us? I can't say I was part of a community, (we did not meet many pilgrims along the way, as we started out late in the day) I did not end up at any of the albergues along the way, so did not form friendships. I did not have to carry all my possessions, and did not have to worry about where to stay at night, or where to eat. Camino 101. So not your "typical" Camino where you can have insights into your life because of the above experiences. (i hope that makes sense) And yet, I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
Would love to hear others stories, or input, or just say hello.
I hope to do the Camino Portugese next.

My goodness...just befor I saw this post i was wondering what draws me to the Camino and there the question was!!! ESP perhaps.
Listen folks...I honestly don't know...I can't explain it and I really feel inadequate by the fact that I can't explain it!!
Looking at the replies...it's nice to see that people have seen changes in their lives and experienced such wonderful things after walking. The Camino.
We walk all over Europe and love the places and the scenery but the Camino is always at the back of my mind......can't explain it!!
I am not a pilgrim in the usual sense of the word......just like to walk!
Am happy in my own skin and in my life thank god. Don't have any hang ups or psychological baggage that I need to shed......
So therefore why oh why do I have this draw to the Camino??
I don't know!!
Why am I drawn to this form?
I don't know!
I can't explain it
Why is it such an addictive thing for me? ..don't know!
All I know is that we are off again next year to walk the CF again so will be giving in to the addiction once again.
Sorry I haven't been able to answer the question because I really don't know what draws me to the Camino
Best wishes .annette

 

[mspath]

My laconic answer is from Pascal's Pensées "le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît pas/ the heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing."

 

[andreak58]

I know what you are talking about as I had the same experience.

Before the Camino:

• anxious what life will bring
• not social
• stressed
• over organized
• bad tempered
• not listening
• a loner
• needy in regards to things I needed to have or wanting to have

After the Camino:

• relaxed
• good listener
• very social and need my friends
• see what the day brings me
• couldn´t care less what tomorrow brings as only today counts

I met a friend with whom I spoke before I left and she cried when I told her about my experience as she walked the camino a couple of years back. She said that I am the person now she always thought I might be and was worried that I wouldn´t find myself again during my walk. But she was so full of joy that I did that we hugged and even shed a few tears.
I am trying to keep this experience and the new found peace in my life every day and the next camino is soon.....7 months and I am off again.

Buen Camino

How wonderful Michael!!! Yes, I can totally resonate with this on so many levels. Such a beautiful experience, thank you for sharing.

 

[andreak58]

Hi @andreak58
What a thought - and soul - provoking post. Thank you.

Yes, isn't there something just magical, je ne sais quoi about the Camino? I've trekked some amazing, remote and spiritual journeys around the world yet none has touched me as much and had as lasting a personal and spiritual effect.

I believe that part of it is that we are walking on already sacred ground where many people have walked purposefully and with spiritual intent before us. There is a sense of shared purpose and focus regardless of the reasons that initially brought us onto the Way.

Words are quite inadequate at times and we can all take different meanings from a phrase so I tend to turn towards the poets to explain.

an excerpt from
For The Traveler
John O'Donohue
from his book: To Bless the Space Between Us

...
A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.

May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.

May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.

One of my favourite poets, thank you for sharing this. And I had the same thought about intention and sacredness. I just can't put it into words either, so thrilled that others are sharing their stories as well. xo

 

[dfborg]

Hi Andrea,
I have given this a lot of thought, as the Camino has taken over a large part of my life.
1. It's the incredible people you meet and the spirt of good will that permeates the journey. The acts of kindness both given and received. People have time to talk with no distractions.
2. It's the adventure, the not knowing what's around the bend or where your going to sleep. Too much of our lives are predictable and too comfortable, that's why I would not over plan a Camino. Spend ,your planning time, mostly on you equipment and once you start let the Way take you where it wants to.
3. It's the freedom from possessions, you quickly find out how few things are really necessary. The act of caring everything on your back is incredibly liberating.
4. It's the feeling of belonging, this is a route that's been walked for centuries by people not a whole lot different than you. The feeling of not being a tourist , on this road you are part of the fabric of the area.
5. It's the physical challenge and the feeling of accomplishment that greets you at the end of everyday.
6. It's living in the moment, a vacation from the world, the only place you have to be at a certain time is the airport for the flight home.
7. It's the perfect time to reevaluate your life and what's really important to you
8. It's the song by the Oysterband " Santiago" your not who you were before

 

[Waka]

So many of us are drawn to this forum as we are to the camino. Like others I just can't get the forum out of my system because while I'm at home the forum is the camino. I'm already planning 2017 and 2018 journeys, I just wish I could fly the nest now and start walking, but alas other things are getting in the way.
My little jaunt along Hadrian's wall recently made me feel as if I was back on the camino, not sure why, maybe it was because I carried everything I needed and so did my good lady.
Some people I know just can't understand that I need to get away on my own (even the good lady who is known as management) and walk with a bunch of complete strangers, eat, drink and sleep in there same room as them.
I'm still looking for the reason I want to walk the camino, I hope I don't find it too soon.
Roll on next year.

 

[andreak58]

Hi Andrea,
I have given this a lot of thought, as the Camino has taken over a large part of my life.
1. It's the incredible people you meet and the spirt of good will that permeates the journey. The acts of kindness both given and received. People have time to talk with no distractions.
2. It's the adventure, the not knowing what's around the bend or where your going to sleep. Too much of our lives are predictable and too comfortable, that's why I would not over plan a Camino. Spend ,your planning time, mostly on you equipment and once you start let the Way take you where it wants to.
3. It's the freedom from possessions, you quickly find out how few things are really necessary. The act of caring everything on your back is incredibly liberating.
4. It's the feeling of belonging, this is a route that's been walked for centuries by people not a whole lot different than you. The feeling of not being a tourist , on this road you are part of the fabric of the area.
5. It's the physical challenge and the feeling of accomplishment that greets you at the end of everyday.
6. It's living in the moment, a vacation from the world, the only place you have to be at a certain time is the airport for the flight home.
7. It's the perfect time to reevaluate your life and what's really important to you
8. It's the song by the Oysterband " Santiago" your not who you were before

Listening to Oysterband right now...THANKS!!
Some of the things you mention I did not experience since I was in a small group tour. We had our bags transported, and did not meet many pilgrims. I do agree about not knowing whats around the bend. I remember standing and looking at the most amazing scenery along the coast and realized that when I would lose the image as soon as I started walking. A lesson in letting go and trust. Shortly after I turned the corner and had a magical experience with a dog, a farmer's daughter and their cows.
Living in the moment...very true...Just one step at a time. Ugh, I want to go back now!! hahaha..
Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

[Yellowfriend]

Hi Everyone...

I am having quite a profound experience and would love to hear feedback and other people's stories and experiences.
I decided to join friends in Sept to walk from Santiago to Muxia to Finisterre. It was always my dream to walk the Camino, but for some reason I thought I had to do the whole thing, so I put my dream on hold till I could find the time to go.
My friends told me they were doing a tour, not something I would gravitate to normally, but since they invited me, I took it as a sign to just go and spend some time on the Camino.
I was gone only 6 days. The last day I kept having one insight (into my life) after another. Since I am home, I am in another place spiritually. I feel so connected to this place, I dream about walking almost every night, and I am looking at going back within the next year or so. I feel like a completely different person.
I am curious at what makes this walk so intensely special for some of us? I can't say I was part of a community, (we did not meet many pilgrims along the way, as we started out late in the day) I did not end up at any of the albergues along the way, so did not form friendships. I did not have to carry all my possessions, and did not have to worry about where to stay at night, or where to eat. Camino 101. So not your "typical" Camino where you can have insights into your life because of the above experiences. (i hope that makes sense) And yet, I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
Would love to hear others stories, or input, or just say hello.
I hope to do the Camino Portugese next.

Hi Andrea,
We may have passed eachother , I walked to Muxia and Fisterra sept 26 en 27 after reaching Santiago sept 21. I started in Porto sept 7, first travel alone. Stayed in hotels en luggage was send so I was also not the 'real' pilgrim. But I have the same feeling as you about the Camino. After 2 weeks my husband came and it felt like I wasn't ready with my Camino.....I got that Camino fever and I cannot explain either. Like I don't fit in my daily life, my job. I try to get Some weeks off and go for the Camino Frances in may end april. Then for more weeks, and again alone. Why?? I can't wait to be back on the Camino, it was so nice and easy just to walk , meet nice people and see nice things....
So I don't have a answer, just the same experience which is difficult to explain to others....
I was asking myself, is it a flight for daily life and all the things you have to do, working, cooking, making appointments with other people to have a social life. On the Camino there is nothing you are obliged to do, you only walk. And that gave me such a free feeling. And the addition I feel now can't that make normal daily life more difficult? I hope when I go for the whole way and being away more weeks I Will reach a point of freedom that I can take back home.
It surprised me that the effect from the Camino was so big. Just after two weeks.
Greetings

 

[trecile]

Stayed in hotels en luggage was send so I was also not the 'real' pilgrim.

I know that many people feel that way, but where you stay, and whether or not you carry everything does not a pilgrim make.

 

[Marion-SantiagoInLove]

"Made of materialized pure Love, the Spirit of the Camino inherits Love's double flow. The Way (loved one) attracts pilgrims by its qualities and feed them with Love; pilgrims (loving ones) thrive on Love and embody its qualities in return" From my book-to-be
Or, from my blog: Why the Camino is a Way of Love
The Camino reflects us the world we live in, with the good and the bad. The Camino is a Way of Love, it shows us how we could be. It's an opening into a more loving world, a place where people are open to more human and spiritual values.
The Camino is pure magic...

 

[CaptBuddy]

I love my Christian friends, and I admire their devotion to the deeply religious aspects of the Camino. The power and attraction is great, even for a pagan like me.
It is undeniable, also, that the Camino stirs the Buddha nature in all of us. It is expressed in several of the posts here.
The impact of the Camino is evident for many of us, and I think we carry the imprint for better, for years.
I know that is true of me. I really do mark some aspects of my life as before, or after my pilgrimage walks.
I'm with the OP: it is an incredible experience.
Beth and I are planning our third. Thinking about the Portuguese, but the CF still calls to us.

What a sickness. I hope there is never a cure.

 

[andreak58]

Hi Andrea,
We may have passed eachother , I walked to Muxia and Fisterra sept 26 en 27 after reaching Santiago sept 21. I started in Porto sept 7, first travel alone. Stayed in hotels en luggage was send so I was also not the 'real' pilgrim. But I have the same feeling as you about the Camino. After 2 weeks my husband came and it felt like I wasn't ready with my Camino.....I got that Camino fever and I cannot explain either. Like I don't fit in my daily life, my job. I try to get Some weeks off and go for the Camino Frances in may end april. Then for more weeks, and again alone. Why?? I can't wait to be back on the Camino, it was so nice and easy just to walk , meet nice people and see nice things....
So I don't have a answer, just the same experience which is difficult to explain to others....
I was asking myself, is it a flight for daily life and all the things you have to do, working, cooking, making appointments with other people to have a social life. On the Camino there is nothing you are obliged to do, you only walk. And that gave me such a free feeling. And the addition I feel now can't that make normal daily life more difficult? I hope when I go for the whole way and being away more weeks I Will reach a point of freedom that I can take back home.
It surprised me that the effect from the Camino was so big. Just after two weeks.
Greetings

Ah..we missed each other by about a week or so. I left Finisterre on Sept 18th. I understand everything you are saying. I am also thinking about CF (or a portion of) end March or so. The only job of the Camino is to walk. How simple.
Maybe you and I will be there around the same time again...Thanks for sharing your experience. Hugs

 

[simply B]

I am curious at what makes this walk so intensely special for some of us?

@andreak58 -

Welcome to the Forum!

I had to think about how to summarize my response to just one thing because I can sooo drone on.

It is the only place/activity in which I experience effortless immersion in the present moment....day after day.

That is the foundation for the rest of the good that comes my way on the Camino.

Maybe that makes sense to you, maybe not.

B

 

[KinkyOne]

Listen folks...I honestly don't know...I can't explain it and I really feel inadequate by the fact that I can't explain it!!
...
I don't know!
I can't explain it
Why is it such an addictive thing for me? ..don't know!

Beautiful post, Annette, althought I eradicated most of it in my response.
I'm not sure if that's the answer (don't have any ideas that there is one really though) but on few occassions and also this year, with Laurie, we have talked about differencies between "less walked" Caminos and especially CF.
I think CF has some kind of an aura incorporated. OK, maybe here I should say that I'm an ateist or at least a pagan myself. So when I was asked which Camino to walk as a first one I always recommend Frances. Why? That was the most travelled pilgrim way (true, nowadays in large parts changed and tarmeced etc., but you know what I mean) throughout the centuries. Can you imagine how many tears, sweat, laughs, love, commitments, forgiveness etc. were there in the pilgrim steps through the centuries' ZillionZillions. Only my right foot made 1.250.000 steps from SJPdP to Cabo Fisterra! And my left one did the same number...
As said I'm not religious but I'm surely that much spiritual to cherish it. Or at least I can feel it like some kind of walk through the tunnel of good energy. Despite the crowds which I've encountered this year on my three days hike (between my other Caminos) from Sahagun to Leon on CF again. I was walking alone through that mist of good wills and such stuff I've felt aruond me.

Yikes, when I read this I felt like I'm some kind of taken over from a TV-guru, but really, that's the way I feel (mostly) about Frances. Other Caminos have their other perspectives of course.

Ultreia! Everyone.

 

[Albertagirl]

Last night, I was looking for a place to eat in central Leon when I was spoken to by an elderly, and lost, German pilgrim, in German. He was looking for the municipal Albergue. He chose to speak to me. I had spent the previous night at the municipal Albergue. I had learned some German many years before. I was able to lead him to the Albergue, to help him get checked in, and to enjoy dinner together while he told me about his pilgrimage from Germany, begun June 3rd. Why did he speak to me? I was not in pilgrim gear at the time. Why was I able to help him? For me, this is the magic of the Camino - not just that we are willing to help one another, but that the appropriate person will be there when you need them, rejoicing in the privilege.

 

[andreak58]

@andreak58 -

Welcome to the Forum!

I had to think about how to summarize my response to just one thing because I can sooo drone on.

It is the only place/activity in which I experience effortless immersion in the present moment....day after day.

That is the foundation for the rest of the good that comes my way on the Camino.

Maybe that makes sense to you, maybe not.

B

It is the only place/activity in which I experience effortless immersion in the present moment....day after day.

I LOVE this...yes, it makes total sense. Thanks,@simply B

 

[andreak58]

Last night, I was looking for a place to eat in central Leon when I was spoken to by an elderly, and lost, German pilgrim, in German. He was looking for the municipal Albergue. He chose to speak to me. I had spent the previous night at the municipal Albergue. I had learned some German many years before. I was able to lead him to the Albergue, to help him get checked in, and to enjoy dinner together while he told me about his pilgrimage from Germany, begun June 3rd. Why did he speak to me? I was not in pilgrim gear at the time. Why was I able to help him? For me, this is the magic of the Camino - not just that we are willing to help one another, but that the appropriate person will be there when you need them, rejoicing in the privilege.

I love this kind of magic, @Albertagirl I had the appropriate dog show up in a corn field. I was a bit confused which red arrow to follow (muxia to finisterre) and this dog showed up wearing a red collar. He walked ahead, always looking back at me, (he even waited for me as I had to move out of the way and wait for a man and his cattle to pass) and led me to another marker that was much clearer. And then as quickly as came, he left.

 

[Calimocho]

I've just returned from a seven-day walk on the Camino and I would say that it was both harder and more magical than my first experience. I tried to be open and curious, but at first, I could only take in a narrow field of vision around me because I was dealing with the physical difficulties, equipment, food and the like. As time went on, my ability to take things in expanded to the point that thoughts, sensations and energies poured in to me to the point where I couldn't sleep at night. I found myself drawn to certain people whose positive energy I felt and made sure to walk with them, ask questions, laugh with and learn from them. I also found certain albergues where there was a communal tradition to have a magical, positive energy that I sensed the moment I entered.
I was almost overwhelmed by the affect that the Camino had on me and am now trying to find ways of finding that positive energy in my daily life.

 

[Fearbocht]

It could possibly be that you have time to think...for example:

 

[andreak58]

It could possibly be that you have time to think...for example:

I am pretty sure I haven't found where I fit in, if I could spend my life walking...

 

[Koidream]

Everything is said above. The only thing I can think of to complete this list (for me) is that since we did the camino 4 years ago we didn't had a day without thinking back of this wonderful experience...

 

[Arn]

The fact that I am aware the Camino is always there. And, regardless of where I am the Camino lovingly calls me back.

 

[Silverbarista]

My daughter walked it, a colleague walked it, a customer walked it, a friend walked it. Deep in my heart I knew I would walk it. Sold our business and walked it. Think of it every day. The water channels interested me. I just loved the whole thing. We were injury free, only tired and hungry at day's end. I would go again in a heart beat and I probably will when a few things line up. Buen Camino.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I am curious at what makes this walk so intensely special for some of us?

You're the only one who can answer that question, and most likely when you do, you won't understand the answer.

A longer walk next time should help ...

 

[eviemonkey]

As an overall experience, I think the Camino is greater than the sum of its parts. Two months on from walking into Santiago and I am still not fully sure why I even walked it in the first place. I could give vague references to notions of travel, adventure, culture, escaping the rat race for a while and the simple fact that I enjoy walking. Back in St Jean, I certainly didn't see the Camino as having any particular transformative potential.

But somewhere along 'the way', the walking experience transcended what we were actually doing. Completing a Camino felt different to any other travel experiences I have had. If it was simply about culture and travel, well Barcelona has more to offer than Burgos. Adventure? More exotic locales in faraway lands pack more punch than many of the days on the Camino, some of which blended into each other after a while as the day to day routine set in. Enjoy the outdoors, nature and walking? For sure there are some dramatic landscapes along the way, but scenery wise nothing to compare with the Alps, Patagonia, New Zealand.

So what it is about the Camino that allows it to linger in the sub-conscious longer and deeper than other travel experiences? I don't think you can point to one single answer. Perhaps for some of us, it provided the opportunity to live more simply, to have the time to think free from the daily grind which consumes our lives. When you have that time to think, you gain an appreciation for the bigger picture. Returning home you develop a yearning for more meaningful experiences and stronger connections with loved ones.

On a very basic level, the achievement of completing a Camino is a huge boost to my own self-esteem. I didn't like the person I was becoming pre-Camino. Now I feel stronger and more confident and calmer as a person. There will always be feelings of inadequacy in my life, but if I can walk to Roncesvalles and O Cebreiro with no training, I can overcome little moments of crisis in my home life. If I can get through the Meseta in 40 degree heat, I can withstand moments of self-doubt. If i can walk into Santiago with pilgrims happy to call me a friend after walking across Spain together, I can always meet new people and mix comfortably in new social situations.

The special people you meet along the way and that potential to channel the post-Santiago Camino spirit elevates it above any other travel experience I've had.

 

[Silverbarista]

My daughter walked it, a colleague walked it, a customer walked it, a friend walked it. Deep in my heart I knew I would walk it. Sold our business and walked it. Think of it every day. The water channels interested me. I just loved the whole thing. We were injury free, only tired and hungry at day's end. I would go again in a heart beat and I probably will when a few things line up. Buen Camino.

There are three or four people in my home town that have walked the Camino. When we meet we say the salutation "Buen Camino" and so it goes. We walk again with a smile and a light foot.

 

[andreak58]

As an overall experience, I think the Camino is greater than the sum of its parts. Two months on from walking into Santiago and I am still not fully sure why I even walked it in the first place. I could give vague references to notions of travel, adventure, culture, escaping the rat race for a while and the simple fact that I enjoy walking. Back in St Jean, I certainly didn't see the Camino as having any particular transformative potential.

But somewhere along 'the way', the walking experience transcended what we were actually doing. Completing a Camino felt different to any other travel experiences I have had. If it was simply about culture and travel, well Barcelona has more to offer than Burgos. Adventure? More exotic locales in faraway lands pack more punch than many of the days on the Camino, some of which blended into each other after a while as the day to day routine set in. Enjoy the outdoors, nature and walking? For sure there are some dramatic landscapes along the way, but scenery wise nothing to compare with the Alps, Patagonia, New Zealand.

So what it is about the Camino that allows it to linger in the sub-conscious longer and deeper than other travel experiences? I don't think you can point to one single answer. Perhaps for some of us, it provided the opportunity to live more simply, to have the time to think free from the daily grind which consumes our lives. When you have that time to think, you gain an appreciation for the bigger picture. Returning home you develop a yearning for more meaningful experiences and stronger connections with loved ones.

On a very basic level, the achievement of completing a Camino is a huge boost to my own self-esteem. I didn't like the person I was becoming pre-Camino. Now I feel stronger and more confident and calmer as a person. There will always be feelings of inadequacy in my life, but if I can walk to Roncesvalles and O Cebreiro with no training, I can overcome little moments of crisis in my home life. If I can get through the Meseta in 40 degree heat, I can withstand moments of self-doubt. If i can walk into Santiago with pilgrims happy to call me a friend after walking across Spain together, I can always meet new people and mix comfortably in new social situations.

The special people you meet along the way and that potential to channel the post-Santiago Camino spirit elevates it above any other travel experience I've had.

This post delights me so much!