My Camino Journey 2025

How it ended.

My journey to the Camino began many years ago. In the fall of 2011, we had just moved from Philadelphia to Chapel Hill.   We got settled in and then headed off for a barging trip on the Canal de Midi in the south of France. Our barging route took us past Moissac on the Canal de Garonne.   We stopped at the old church and learned that it was a pilgrim church for the Camino de Santiago.  (I now know it is a stop on the French Way- the Le Puy Camino.) We even received a credential (pilgrim passport) and had it stamped with a sello  or a stamp saying we had travelled as a pilgrim to this spot.  Along the canal route,we'd sometimes see pilgrims walking with their big backpacks.   Thus a seed was planted. Fast forward to 2019. Two friends asked me to join them in an Ollie class about the Camino de Santiago, offered by John Saxon, an inveterate pilgrim.  I went and we all were hooked.       We began planning a trip for 2020 and ...

As the world began to open up in 2021 and 2022, our group of 7 kept discussing  whether not to try going on the Camino.Alas, some folks had illness and injuries that make doing the Camino more daunting than before. We all agreed that being together was more important than the route and so ended up planning a 10-day walk in the Cotswolds  for the fall of 2023. We had a marvelous time on that walk which I'll write about separately.  Alas, even after this Cotswold walk, my friends were unable to join me in walking the Camino in 2024. But the Camino kept calling to me.  I loved our Cotswold trip.  I loved getting up every morning, putting on my boots and a day pack and heading out to the next town, walking with friends in the beautiful countryside.  I kept thinking, could I do this alone?   I decided yes.   For our Cotswolds trip, we had booked via Contours, a company that will arrange your lodging, luggage transport and provide maps. We qui...

    The Way, MY WAY The Camino de Santiago translates as The Way of St James.  And there is a strong Camino culture that everyone does the Camino that is right for her or him.   Some folks walk the Camino for spiritual reasons, which was the orginal purpose of pilgrimages. There is a 1000-year history of the Camino de Santiago. (See this link for a history of the Camino:  https://americanpilgrims.org/history-of-the-camino/ )   Others walk the Camino for exercise, for fun, to get away, to meet others, to have a space apart from their everyday world.  I'm walking because I like to walk.  I'm walking now because I've wanted to for so long.  I'm walking now because I might not be able to next year.    And I'm walking my route from St Jean-Pied-de Port over the foothills of the Pyrenees so I can see the sun rise over these mountains. I'm only walking for about 2 weeks.   This is, I hope, my starter Camino. If all goes wel...

There are many, many, many sources of information about the Camino- and soo many people happy to help you. I started with that OLLI class back in 2019.   John Saxon led that class and he has walked many Caminos.  He's one of coordinators of the Raleigh Chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino . This is a national organization with chapters all across the country. We have 3 in North Carolina- Raleigh, Charlotte and Asheville.   https://americanpilgrims.org/ Chapters provide information, hold monthly meetings, organize hikes, tertulias (coffees) and offer newsletters full of information.  Our chapter can provide mentors- experienced Camino pilgrims who are happy to help newbies learn the ropes.  Our chapter has been great. This month, we had a "Gear" meeting, where experienced pilgrims came dressed in their trail clothes with their backpack and went through how they figured out what to talk - and more importantly - what to leave behind. They also shar...

The Camino Forum offers a calendar who is traveling when.  if you wish, you can add your trip start date and starting point to a monthly calendar on the Forum.  Since you sign on with an alias, you can post that information without exposing your email address etc.  If you wish, you can then write to others who are travelling from the same point and offer to connect when in Spain. I've heard tales about arriving in Paris or Madrid or Biarritz as a solo traveller embarking on a Camino and being greeted by others with backpacks about to do the same thing.   Pilgrims walk different routes- there are many many Caminos.  I'm walking the Camino Frances, which starts at the foot of the Pyrenees in France, at St Jean Pied-de-Port.   Others walk the Primitivo, the Portuguese, the Norte, the Angles, Le Puy, La Via de la Plata - these are all various Camino routes that funnel into the destination in Spain- Santiago de Compestella      And LOTS of pe...

I'm deeply enmeshed in trying to plan and schedule the very best Camino .  ( That may be antithetical to the whole idea of the Camino, however.) Two concerns:  Do I carry my backpack or have it transported?  And how far can I actually walk day after day? Having my bag transported is an acceptance of age and impending disability.  I now have a spine doctor, foot doctor and knee doctor to address various aches and pains.  Perhaps 71 is too old to start this? They are all encouraging me to do this walk but suggested not carrying a back pack.  I'm listening.  Meanwhile, I wear orthotics and clown shoes (aka Hokas) to address foot pain.      https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-hoka-went-from-clown-shoe-dominating-running-market-nguyen-lcowe How I wished I had done this walk before I had to think all of these things.  But also, how grateful I am that I can still get to do this. So, back to planning. Going in May means I...

So today, I'm about 2 months away from getting on the plane to France to start my Camino.   It's starting to feel real.  Especially my left knee.   After years of little or no injuries, I'm now starting to hurt.  I have arthritis in my left big toe but that is manageable and I'll get a cortisone shot before I leave. But I came home from a February trip to Oaxaca with shinsplints. This is a classic overtraining injury.  I need to rest- not train- for the next few weeks. And my left knee has arthritis and I need a cortizone shot there as well. So it looks like I need to delay my May start until June to allow me time to rest from shinsplints and start training again. I'd like to get to at least one 10 mile day in before I take off.                      My foot doctor reminds that walking the Camino is actually different than training.  Here at home, I go out for 3 or 4 or 5 miles and then am busy...

Delaying my Camino start until June is really allowing me to a) relax and b) train.   My shinsplints are much better and I'm back to training. I've learned from my wonderful foot doctor  about adjusting my stride length and cadence to prevent shinsplints in the future. Meanwhile, I've become gear focused.  Really focused.  The common wisdom is that one should not carry more than 10% of your body weight in your backpack.  And while,I'm not carrying it every day,I'll need to schlep it in the airports and trains and so thought it was worthwhile figuring this out. I decided to spring for a backpack.  I did not know until planning for this trip that stores like REI will actually fit you for your backpack. Backpacks come in differing torso lengths and many are adjustable.   REI staff are trained to do this and will happily help you find the best one.  They have weights to put into the backpack you are trying ...

There are endless blogs and videos about what you need to have with you on your Camino and how to carry as little weight as possible, no more than 10% of your body weight. I now have my Hokas and my backpack.  I'll pick up walking sticks in France to avoid having TSA confiscate them on the plane. Now I need to figure out what to pack  Unlike other vacations, looking good is not so important.  Conventional wisdom is to take only 2 changes of clothes-  one you are wearing and the other for tomorrow  or, "one to wash, one to wear, one for spare." When you arrive at your albergue , you take a shower, change into your clean clothes for the evening, wash your dirty clothes and hang them to dry. Then,  in the morning, you wear the clothes from the night before and start your daily walk.  Rinse, Repeat. But what clothes?  Made of what? Turns out Merino wool is a fabric of choice. Its both warm and cool, wicks moisture away from the skin, is breathable, do...

  On the Camino Forum, one can DM folks who are walking the  same route as you on or about the same dates and plan to meet up and walk together or share a meal.  When walking,  your pace and distance will vary each day and so you meet folks , then lose them and then find them again a few days later.  Over time,  you often create what is known as a 'Camino family' - a group that you end up with again and again.  Today, my Camino family started forming.  I'll meet a fellow pilgrim in St Jean Pied-de-Port (SJPP) at the start of the trip. I'm excited!   

  There are shells all over Camino. Signs, patches, hats, earrings. The image above marks the all paths in Spain. You see it on signs, on walls, on cobblestones      The shell identifies a pilgrim and most wear one on their backpack.               The scallop shell has been connected to St James and the Camino de Santiago for centuries. For more info, see:   https://www.onestepthenanother.com/caminodesantiago/why-is-the-scallop-shell-the-symbol-of-the-camino-de-santiago/    

T he day is finally here!   I leave tonight to fly to Paris and then to Biarritz.  My itinerary: June 11     Depart RDU June 12      Arrive Paris CDG June 12      Quick connection to Biarritz June 12      Bus from Biarritz airport to Bayonne, train to St Jean Pied-de-Port (SJPP) June 13      Day in SJPP June 14      Begin Camino; walk to Alberge Borda June 15      Borda to Roncesvalles  ......             Walk as far as I can.. June 28      Train to Bilbao June 29      Fly to RDU I'm flying with my backpack- whew, is it ever heavy!  I'm wearing my Hoka clown shoes, a waist pack, hiking shirts and two pairs of socks.  Elegant I am not. But I'm off!  Airline food... My Delta flight is uneventful, and arrives on time.    I have about 60 minutes to get off the plane (with heavy backpa...

My Delta flight to Paris went well. I was the only person in hiking clothes with a large backpack, though.  And one of only a few wearing a mask. Upon arrival at CDG in Paris, we had only about 60 minutes to get off our plane, clear immigration and customs and literally RUN to a different terminal to catch the next plane down to Biarritz in southwestern France .... we made it! I arrived in Biarritz,  jettlagged of course,  and happy to have a cappucino.     I had planned to take a shared shuttle to St Jean Pied-de-Port, (SJPP for short) one of the traditional places to begin a Camino. But there was a 3-hour wait for the next shuttle so I opted for the bus and train instead.   The bus stop was just a few hundred feet from the airport terminal. I met another pilgrim,Will from New Zealand when I was buying my bus ticket. Turned out he'll be staying at the same albergue on Friday night so I'll see him again. The bus to Bayone takes about 20 minutes and dr...

  Wow, these mountains are steep!  I'm on the train from Bayonne, heading along the river Nive towards SJPP getting my first glimpse of the mountains.   I'll be crossing these in two days.! St Jean Pied-de-Port,literally "foot of the pass", sits in Basque Country, at the foot of a pass into Spain. We are only crossing foothills of the Pyrenees.  St Jean is an old,walled town complete with a fort that was garrisoned for many centuries.  We arrived at the train station began our walk into the old town and I got my first taste of these hills. Although I was planning to have my pack transported once I started the Camino, for this part of the trip,I was carrying everything -- UPHILL