Camino de Santiago de Compostela | 2013
Over August/September/October, for 42 days we hiked over 800 kilometers (500 miles) through France and Spain on pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. What we found at the end of it all is that it isn’t the places traveled or kilometers hiked that make the Camino de Santiago such an amazing journey, but the people you meet along the way. Buen Camino friends!
Follow our journey day by day by day . . .
In the Beginning | Inspiration and Day 0
Where we came up with the idea, how we planned and how we got to the beginning of our journey. Read more or select just the days photos from the list below.
Starting Out | Days 1 to 6
Our original idea was to stick to the guidebook but split the first two days of the traditional journey into four days while we found our rhythm. Well that was the intent anyway! Read more or select just the days photos from the list below.
Getting Our Camino Legs | Days 7 to 13
After the first six days of hiking, the pain of tired and sore feet, muscles, arms, shoulders, etc. we were gaining speed, for a minute! Read more or select just the days photos from the list below.
Putting it All Together | Days 14 to 19
After nearly two weeks, we were finding a rhythm. Up early packed and ready, on the trail before sunrise, putting in a good days walk, finding a place to stay – no cheating and making reservations – and finishing it off with laundry and a shower. Read more or select just the days photos from the list below.
Finding Our Rhythm | Days 20 to 26
The days are becoming easier, the climbing, the descent, many rest breaks, a cold beer at the end of the day . . . ahh, life on the Camino. Read more or select just the days photos from the list below.
Getting in the Groove | Days 27 to 33
After hitting the halfway mark, the real trial is continuing day after day after day. Yup another medieval bridge, another church dedicated to St. James, more scallop shells than you can shake a stick at . . . and what exactly does a scallop look like in its shell? Read more or select just the days photos from the list below.
Life is a Party | Days 34 to 38
Watching the kilometers wind down, looking forward to the next hill, ready to take on any challenge . . . then cow poop, rain, wet cow poop and OMG will I ever find my way around again without a yellow arrow to direct me. Read more or select just the days photos from the list below.
Finishing Touches | Days 39 to 42
The Hill of Joy and Santiago, the finish line, woohoo! Read more or select just the days photos from the list below.
Follow Up | What We Learned
A post-Camino review of our experiences, things we’d do differently, tips and suggestions we’d offer to the first-timer, and stuff we learned along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.
See what we gear we brought and our post Camino equipment review.
There is so much wonderful information/details of your journey here! Thank you so much for sharing your experience; I’ll be on the Camino this summer, for the first time, and I’m soaking up all the information I can get. This blog is great!
Nadine,
We wish you the best of luck on your journey. The Camino is an incredible experience regardless of your reason for going. If I may, let me offer you one piece of advice. While preparing and doing your training, try to walk on as many surfaces as possible, there are a lot of flat, beautiful trails along the Camino but there are just as many uneven surfaces. Both my husband and I experienced problems with blisters and one slight sprain (his) due to the uneven surfaces. I am doing the Camino again this year with my aunt and possibly a cousin or two and I plan to include more uneven surfaces and downhill training before this years’ adventure.
Buen Camino!
Tracy
Thanks for this advice- I’ll take all that I can get!
As the weather gets warmer I’m planning to do a lot of hiking, and I’ll try to get in some different terrain. I’ve done a lot of short-ish distance hiking before, but never the kind of hiking/walking that the Camino requires. And I’m pretty nervous about blisters, but I’m reading a ton about good foot care (and the importance of well-fitting shoes!).
Best of luck with your Camino, Nadine!