Why Walk the
Pilgrimage
Way?
Imagine stepping out of the familiar routines of your daily life and into a world in which you have nothing to accomplish all day except walking, from wherever you woke up that morning to wherever you’ll sleep that night.
When you head out on the Way in the morning, you might try forgetting about our usual markers of time and distance in terms of miles, kilometers, and hours. Instead, you might think, “This morning I’m walking from here. When I get there, it will be this afternoon.” And then just follow the shells and arrows which mark the Way for you and all pilgrims traveling that day, as well as centuries before and after you.
During the day along the path, you’ll think about those people walking long before and after you, as well as what you rarely outside of pilgrimage space ever have the luxury to think about: the heat of the sun, shade in the forest, flowers on the path, dark clouds up ahead, fragrance of eucalyptus, rocks under feet, mud in the lane, breath in your lungs, strength in your legs, sweat on your face, the beauty all around and even inside.
You’ll be alone, as well as in community, keenly aware of the exertions of your body, the tangible beauty of your surroundings, and the eternal moving in and around you.
Although part of pilgrimage is solitary, you’ll never really be alone. Your fellow pilgrims will pass by, or you’ll pass them, all heading the same Way, drenched by the same storm, cooled by the same breeze, singing a familiar tune in a different language, offering each other the international words of the Way, “Buen Camino!”
During the day most drift naturally in and out of the community of walking pilgrims, adjusting pace for the desire for solitude and the desire for company, as seasons on the path. On the Way, you’ll walk, share stories, snacks, advice, and laughter with your group, as well as with people from all over the world.
At the end of the day, arrival in a Spanish town brings pilgrims to the glories of showers, clean clothes, Spanish wine, and an evening spent sharing the day’s adventures with fellow pilgrims, local friends of the Camino, and inn keepers.
The next morning you’ll be up with the sun, tying on your walking shoes to head back out.