I was on my way to the supermarket when I saw it: a Camino office.

I was in Lourdes, France.

I’d met people before that had either started their Camino in Lourdes or detoured to it as part of their journey. But I didn’t know much more than that.

So, I did what any good Camino addict does (well, one who gets in a bad mood when she’s hungry at least): I made a mental note of the location, finished my supermarket run, ate breakfast, then headed back to the office.

It was hard to miss. The door and entire front facade are all windows. The yellow Camino shell image on a blue background was in multiple panes, a four-foot tall statue of St. Roch stood looking into the distance, and maps of the various routes criss-crossing through France and Spain were in another pane.

A young man was sitting behind the desk, but as soon as I entered he got up and welcomed me. “Do you want coffee?” he asked. Because this is what Camino volunteers do—help people feel welcome. If we can do that with food or drink, so be it.

Over coffee, I learned Tomás was a Frenchman who had started his Camino in Le-Puy-en-Velay, France (one of my absolute favorite routes) but by the time he got to Lourdes, he was too injured to continue. So he stopped into the pilgrim office and they said, “If a rest from walking is what you need, you can stay here as a volunteer for 2 weeks and we’ll put you up in the apartment we have for volunteers.”

So there he was.

And there I was.

We drooled over the huge Camino map on the wall as he showed me where he was from in France and I showed him some of the routes I’d done.

He gave me information about walking from Lourdes to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, about which I was curious. “I’m updating the accommodations list,” he told me. “I’ll have that done in a couple of days.”

I flipped through the guest book and saw comments in English, French, Spanish, Korean. “So you’ve had a fair number of pilgrims!” I exclaimed.

“Pilgrims to Lourdes, yes. But not pilgrims who are walking the Camino,” he said. Apparently people stop into the office out of curiosity about the Camino more so than for the fact that they are indeed walking it.

We stumbled through a half-hour of my broken French. Like most Camino volunteers, Tomás kept a smile on his face and showed the patience of a saint while I reminisced.

When Plans Don’t Line Up

Every year for the last 10 years I’ve spent 1-2 weeks walking the Camino and 1-2 weeks volunteering on the Camino. As happy as I was that Tomás found a place to rest his body while helping others, it made me a little sad about my own inability to find a place to volunteer on the Camino this year.

It’s not for lack of trying: I wanted something different from what I’ve done in the past, so contacted a few different places, but got no response.

I keep thinking this is just part of some grand plan whose details I haven’t been privy to yet. There’s some reason my details are not yet in place.

But the details that are in place for this summer?

My father’s last leg of the Camino Francés.

The Reason Reveals Itself

Dad came to Spain in 2019 to see why his daughter (that’s me!) kept returning to this thing called the Camino de Santiago. We walked the Camino Francés together from Pamplona to Santo Domingo de la Calzada. I thought my father would say, “Okay. . . That was something. But I don’t need to do it again.”

I was wrong.

Nearly every year since, we’ve done up to a week on the Camino Francés. And this year? We’re finishing it.

On June 8, we’ll depart from Santo Domingo de la Calzada—our sixth Camino together. When we arrive in Fromista on June 14, my father will be able to say he has walked over 500 miles on the Camino Francés—from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela.

Did I mention he’s 78? And has donuts for breakfast and hot dogs for lunch? And never trains for the Camino? Yes, he’s pretty incredible.

So maybe I’m not volunteering on the Camino this year because I’ve got a much bigger mission.

For those of you looking to meet wonderful people on your Camino, you can go any time —they are always there. But for those of you wanting to meet me and my wonderful father on the Camino, we start walking from Santo Domingo de la Calzada on June 8. We’d love to see you there.

With love,

Rebecca

P.S. This summer’s walk with my father is not an official Camino Walk with Rebecca. It’s just one of those if-you-need-a-push-to-get-on-the-Camino-here-it-is kind of things. If you want help planning your Camino (for this date or any other), that’s what I do. Click here for more info.

With love,

Rebecca

📸Scenes from the Camino: My first Camino with my father (2019)

🎥Camino Conversations: Live on Substack

Camino Conversations is back!

• Wednesday, May 6 at 12pm (ET): “How to Plan Your Camino, One Stage at a Time” This week, I’ll be showing you how I use Godesalco.com and gronze.com to plan Camino trips.

You can join us using the Substack app or, at the time and date above, you’ll get an email with a link to join us live. (All conversations are also recorded.)

I’ve interviewed dozens of others about their Caminos. Watch my past interviews here.

Have your questions? Join us live or leave a comment here!

Leave a comment

Listen to previous episodes of Camino Conversations on Spotify or watch them here.

Have a Camino question you want answered in a future post? Want to be a guest on Camino Conversations? Write to me at Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too.

Thanks for reading The Camino Calls! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

When asked why I keep returning to the Camino, the short answer is: the people.

The longer answer: I keep returning for the conversations with fascinating people from all over the world.*

I think everyone is fascinating—that everyone has a story to tell. And on the Camino de Santiago? We’ve got plenty of time to share our stories. It’s one of the few places I can find myself in conversation with someone for multiple hours—completely uninterrupted.

Some conversations are just a few minutes. I recall sitting beside a young woman at a roadside snack stand on the Camino Francés when a donkey wandered by.

“That poor donkey—being forced to walk all this way,” she said. I watched the donkey saunter past. He didn’t seem tired. No one was pulling him along. In fact, it wasn’t clear who actually owned him.

Knowing nothing about donkeys, I asked the woman, “Are they not good at walking long distances?”

“I just can’t imagine it’s good for him,” she said.

In other words, she knew nothing about donkeys either.

I learned some time ago to not judge without knowledge—that there is often another side, if not twelve, to every story. I have since amended this: I realize most of the time judgement doesn’t help anyone. So now my motto is, “Be curious, not judgmental.”

And I, dear readers, am quite curious.

Meeting Serge and Pipa

I decided I wanted to know more about this donkey. The young woman told me that his owner, whom she pointed out a few hundred feet ahead, didn’t like people taking pictures of the animal.

I thought this odd, but remembered: Be curious, not judgmental.

I wanted to know the owner’s side of the story. And I am excellent at inserting myself into other people’s lives to get their story. So that’s what I did.

A few minutes later, I was walking side by side with Serge, who had left his home in Belgium with his donkey Pipa a couple months earlier. They had crossed France and then headed over the Pyrenees into Spain.

Pause for a second.

Did you get that?

He started his Camino at his front door in Belgium.

He and Pipa had traversed the entirety of France!

Seriously? Do you need any more reason to walk the Camino? Look at these amazing people who are out there doing it!

So I told Serge about the young woman’s comment about this poor donkey being forced to walk the Camino.

He laughed.

“Clearly she’s never had a donkey,” he said.

Serge had owned Pipa for 12 years. “Donkeys don’t move unless they want to. There’s no way to force them to do anything. You have to build a relationship with them and only then will they do what you want—and only if they want to.”

So no, Pipa was not a “poor donkey” being “forced” to walk from Belgium to Spain. She and Serge had spent two years training for this journey. He only holds her lead in towns. The rest of the time she just follows him at her own pace.

Pipa actually had a sign on the back of her—a picture of a camera indicating that photos would be one Euro.

I offered Serge a Euro and asked for a photo. “The money isn’t for me,” he explained. “It’s for a donkey rescue.” He actually came up with the idea on the Camino because he hated that people would just stop to take a picture of Pipa and not even so much as smile at him. So the donation for taking a photo of Pipa was really a way for Serge to encourage conversation.

When I returned home from that Camino, I told my husband, “I met a guy and his donkey and after they get to Santiago, they’re going to be walking back home on the Camino del Norte, so I invited them to stay at our house.” (We lived on the Camino del Norte at the time.)

And this is what being curious and striking up a conversation can do: A month later, my husband and I were sitting on our patio watching the sunset with Serge while Pipa chomped on our lawn.

Curiosity and Conversation

A short conversation can transform a Camino—or any journey for that matter.

Do I guarantee you’ll meet a man who has walked for months on the Camino with his donkey? No.

Do I guarantee you’ll leave the Camino with your own stories of the people you’ve met along the way? No.

It takes effort to engage people in conversation. But not much.

I didn’t realize it took any skill at all until I started reading laments on Camino Facebook groups from people who felt lonely on their Camino—and they were walking one of the most popular routes during a popular time, so it wasn’t for lack of people to talk to.

Tips for Starting Conversations

Along the trail — “Buen Camino” is the greeting we say to anyone walking by us on the Camino.

• If the person is walking by quickly, that might be all you say.

• But if they’re ambling, you might follow it up with a simple, “Where are you from?” in whatever language(s) you speak.

At any bar counter — the bar is the center of social life in Spain. You won’t find many people going there to get drunk. They go for coffee in the morning, to meet a friend later in the day, maybe to have a glass of wine before dinner.

• If you know Spanish, just smile at the guy sitting at the bar and ask him if he lives in this town (he’ll say yes), then ask if he’s lived their his whole life (he’ll probably say yes). Then he’ll ask where you’re from. . . conversation started!

• If you’re not a Spanish speaker, smile at the pilgrim next to you at the bar and ask where they started today’s walk. Or comment on how hot it is. Or how nice the weather is this morning.

Any place where pilgrims are seated — Simply ask if you can join them. On the Camino, this question is rarely met with anything other than a smile and the words, “Of course!” At this point, the others at the table will probably introduce themselves or otherwise engage you in conversation.

In the evening — give a compliment. This doesn’t just work on the Camino—it works everywhere. People love to be complemented.

• Instead of “That’s a nice shirt,” say, “That shirt looks great on you!” You are almost guaranteed to get a smile in return.

• On the Camino, after walking 5 or 10 or more miles, we’re not necessarily looking our best. So that’s why this strategy is best used after everyone’s done walking for the day, they’ve showered, and are sitting out on a terrazza with a cold drink.

On the trail — Look at the daypacks or backpacks people are carrying. People put all sorts of patches and pins on their packs. Ask about something those!

Your Turn

What are your suggestions for striking up conversations with people—on the Camino or otherwise? Or tell us your story about someone you’ve met by striking up a conversation!

Leave a comment

With love,

Rebecca

*I am acutely aware that though people from over 150 countries walk the Camino de Santiago in any given year, there are many others who are not able to travel to the European Union as easily as I am.

Scenes from the Camino

🎥Camino Conversations: Join me for live interviews here on Substack!

Camino Conversations will return next week.

Listen to previous episodes of Camino Conversations on Spotify or watch them here.

Have a Camino question you want answered in a future post? Write to me at Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too.

Anyway, the other day I read about someone’s experience with medical care along the Camino. He was not happy with his experience and I’m a little mystified as to why.

• He took a bus to a hospital he found online—a private hospital chain we have here in Spain.

• There was an electronic check-in that required a Spanish ID number, which he didn’t have. So he went to the front desk and they called an interpreter, who explained he’d have to pay for services. This is normal if you are not a citizen of the European Union.

• He was given a ticket with a code and watched the monitors for when his code showed up.

• He went to triage first and had pulled up relevant information on his translation app. So that went well.

• After triage, it was back to the waiting room to wait to be called for the doctor.

• The doctor ordered a test. The test was done. The patient was given 3 prescriptions.

• The patient asked about bloodwork. The doctor said this was unnecessary. (This is also common—in the US, they’ll test you to “rule out” all kinds of things. In Spain, tests are only prescribed if they feel it’s necessary.)

• The patient was given his prescriptions, paid the less than $350, and left.

He ended his post by saying he wouldn’t recommend the hospital he went to. And I wondered, “Why not?”

The only thing I could think of is that he’s from a country that has nationalized healthcare and therefore is not used to paying much, if anything, for healthcare. Because to an American? When was the last time you went to an ER, had any sort of test, and only had to pay $350?!

But I also share the above example to let you know what it’s like when you walk into a private hospital in Spain—the electronic check-in, the ticketing system, triage, etc. is a sequence I’ve seen multiple times in various private hospitals.

When people ask me about healthcare on the the Camino, there are a few things I talk about. (Note this is for Americans—I don’t know how it works for you, dear readers, in other countries.)

Travel Insurance

I highly recommend travel insurance. This is not the same as medical insurance.

• Call your medical insurance company and ask what they’ll cover abroad and what you’d need to do to get reimbursed.

• In most cases, you’ll pay for your services up-front, get a receipt, and then submit that to your insurer when you get home.

Travel insurance, however, covers a lot of other things depending on the policy:

• Trip cancellation/interruption (illness, family emergency, etc.)

• Travel delays (meals, hotel during delays)

• Missed connections

• Lost, stolen, or delayed baggage

• Emergency medical evacuation (transport to nearest adequate hospital or back home)

• Non-medical emergency evacuation (natural disaster, political unrest)

• 24/7 travel assistance services (coordination, translation, logistics)

• Coverage for prepaid, non-refundable expenses (tours, lodging, flights)

• “Cancel for any reason” (CFAR) upgrades (optional add-on) If you need to change your flights, need to stay in a hotel near a hospital to recover for a few days, etc.

Be sure to check what’s covered and read reviews before purchasing a policy.

Emergencies

• Dial 112 from any cell phone. Even if you’re not on a data plan. Even if you don’t have a local SIM card. As long as you have a cell signal, it should work. It’s the emergency number for all of the European Union—so use it whether you are on Camino in Portugal, France, or Spain.

Health Centers (Centro de Salud)

If you need care, but not a hospital, find the nearest Centro de Salud. Do not expect that someone there will speak English.

When I lived in a town of 6500 in Spain, our nearest hospital was a 20 minute drive away, but the Centro de Salud was right in town. They were open weekday mornings and afternoons (with the exception of the usual Spanish closing time from 2pm-5pm or so). And when they weren’t open? You’d walk in the other side and enter urgent care.

Not every Centro de Salud has an urgent care. But if they don’t, they’ll be something on the door telling you who to contact.

Pharmacies

Walk into any pharmacy along a popular Camino route and the first thing you’ll often see are knee braces, blister treatment, sunscreen. They know their audience.

There are small towns that might not have a Centro de Salud, but do have a pharmacy. (And note you’ll also walk through towns that have none of the above!) The pharmacists that I’ve worked with on various Caminos and during my years living in Spain were all wonderfully helpful. Again, do not expect that they’ll speak English.

If you need to see a doctor, the pharmacist will tell you as much and will also be able to tell you which Camino town ahead has a health center.

Some pharmacies will close for the usual Spanish afternoon break (approximately 2pm-5pm). And if it’s a town that has more than one pharmacy, they have a rotation as to which one is open late/open on Sundays/etc. It’s usually posted in the window.

Other Help

I covered other sources of assistance back in November in this post:

With love,

Rebecca

Scenes from the Camino

This week I visited Oloron-Sainte-Marie, a town on the Arles route in France (not too far from the Somport pass, which pilgrims on this route use to cross the Pyrenees).

Leave a comment

🎥Camino Conversations: Join me for live interviews here on Substack!

Camino Conversations is on pause as I complete my travels in France.

Listen to previous episodes of Camino Conversations on Spotify or watch them here.

Have a Camino question you want answered in a future post? Write to me at Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too.

My first surprise was that I could even find a place to stay for the night. But a friend later told me that, in France, Lourdes is second only to Paris in the number of available rooms. This made sense as when I left the train station to walk to my accommodation, my first impression was, “I’ve never seen so many hotels in one place!”

For those of you that don’t know, Lourdes is one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage destinations in the world. It ranks up there with the Vatican (Italy), Fatima (Portugal) and Guadalupe (Mexico). Guadalupe far exceeds any of the others—over 20 million visitors per year. This is double the number that go to the Vatican and four times the number that go to Lourdes.

Santiago de Compostela receives up to 3 million visitors per year but, in contrast to all the aforementioned sites, over 500,000 of those visitors arrive by foot, bike, wheelchair or horse—after traversing at minimum 60 miles and as many as 500 miles or more.

• The high season for both places is May to October.

• People come from all over the world to both, but Lourdes was the first place I’ve been where I heard so many languages I couldn’t even identify.

• In Lourdes, I saw hardly anyone dressed in hiking clothes—unlike in Santiago de Compostela where pilgrims who walked in are clearly identifiable by not just their clothing but also their hobbles (due to whatever injury they sustained).

The Hidden Basilica You Might Miss

The proprietor of my accommodation gave me a very specific route to take once inside the main gate at Lourdes. “You’ll see a bookstore and an information center. Go between those and keep walking. I’m not going to tell you what’s there. But you can’t miss it—you’ll walk right into it.”

Indeed, many pilgrims to Lourdes miss that which he directed me to: the underground Basilica of St. Pius X. I walked into it and thought it was one of the ugliest structures I’d ever seen—it’s pretty much all concrete. No windows, let alone stained glass.

But it’s downright stunning in its size.

I estimated it had to be at least a football field long. Turns out it’s twice that. And holds. . . 25,000 people! In terms of seating capacity inside a church, the Basilica St. Pius X is second only to the Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil (which holds 30,000 people).

And, thanks to the modern engineering available in the 1950s, you can see from one end to the other completely unimpeded by any columns.

I walked around it and kept stopping to take it all in. Did they really fill this thing? Because I was there at 2 in the afternoon the day before Easter and there were maybe 10 of us in the entire structure.

And why underground? It turns out they didn’t want to overwhelm the site with such a large structure.

The Grotto: Still at the Heart of It All

Indeed I was quite impressed that the grotto (before which Bernadette had her visions of the Virgin Mary) was not inside a structure at all. Don’t go into any of the site’s three Bascilicas looking for it. It’s still outside with a cluster of benches in front of it if you want to sit and listen to the mass; there was always one going on while I was there, sometimes in a language I’d never heard in my life.

Thankfully, the owner of my accommodation told me where the grotto was otherwise I would have assumed a church had been built over it/around it.

Easter Vigil: Filling the Space

And in answer to my earlier question as to if they fill the underground Basilica: Definitely.

I found myself inside it at the start of the Easter Vigil mass. By the time the mass started, every seat was taken and there were at least a thousand people standing. Oddly, it didn’t feel crowded. There was still “space” thanks to the height overhead and a wide walkway around the entire structure that allowed for people to stand while still leaving room for others to exit the structure.

On Miracles

For those of you hoping for some miraculous conversion while I was there, I can’t give you anything.

But while there I met two people who had converted to Catholicism after an experience they had at Lourdes.

In fact, there are over 7000 people who have claimed to have had a miraculous healing thanks to their visit or to something associated with the site. But only 73 have been official recognized by the Catholic Church. The site employs a full-time physician in the Lourdes Medical Bureau who is there to take people’s claims of healing and research them.

I learned about this while at the Museum of Miracles, where you can read about each of these 73 people and see a short film where the on-site doctor is interviewed. In one scene, he pulls out a file folder that’s stacked a foot tall with papers. He pulls off the top few pages and says, “This is the official church recognition.” The rest of it? All the medical research into the claim.

There are a variety of criteria that must be met in order for a miracle to be recognized. One is that the healing has to last. In other words, you can’t drink the water from the spring at Lourdes, have something healed, and then head over to the doctor to get it approved.

• The illness or injury must have been well-documented prior to the healing.

• It has to be considered incurable or very hard to treat.

• The healing must be unexpectedly fast.

• The person must be completely healed (no lingering symptoms)

• The healing must last.

• Multiple medical professionals have to attest that there is no scientific explanation.

Leaving Lourdes (For Now. . . )

I was only in the city of Lourdes for 24 hours. But somehow I didn’t feel rushed. But that’s partly because I have a feeling I’ll be back there. Because did a mention there’s a Camino route from Lourdes? And there’s a Camino pilgrim office there as well? But that’s a story for another day.

With love,

Rebecca

P.S. There is so much more I saw and did, but it’s too much for one post! Did you know that authorities blocked access to the grotto at one point during the time of Bernadette’s visions as they feared the chaos that could result from the masses of people who were flocking to the site?

So she just patiently waited across the river, in sight of the grotto. And that’s where she had her last two visions—where she said she could see the Virgin Mary even more clearly from a distance. The Church of St. Bernadette now stands on that site.

P.P.S. There were about a dozen people who wrote in response to my last post asking for prayers or candles lit on behalf of themselves or someone else. If you are the praying or sending-positive-thoughts type, please keep them in mind.

Leave a comment

🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, my husband and I live in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte.

This was not part of my plan.

But welcome to my life.

Had you told me six years ago that a global pandemic would be the push I finally needed to become location independent and get to live my dream of living in Europe, I would have laughed so hard I’d have trouble breathing.

Yet, in July 2021, my husband and I moved not to Italy or France (as I long dreamed) but to Spain.

Not part of my plan.

We told people we were going to “try it out for a year.” He and I both knew we’d probably stay in Europe longer than that. But stay in Spain for over four years?

Not part of my plan.

The Golden Ticket

In January of 2025, I finally received my Italian passport. That WAS part of my plan.

The fact that it took 10 years to make it happen?

Not part of the plan.

And so it is that my husband and I now have the Golden Ticket. We can live in most any country in the European Union.

During our years in Spain, we often traveled to France and Italy. But every time, upon our return, we’d look at each other and say, “That was great. But I still like living in Spain.”

Until the day my Italian passport was in my hands.

When the Dream Gets Bigger

So where will we go next?

As wonderful as it is to have dozens of countries available to you, it’s also completely overwhelming.

But France was still a dream—thankfully for both of us.

My husband is a master researcher; YouTube, ChatGPT—it doesn’t matter. He’ll spend hours in learning mode.

I can’t stand spending all that time on the internet. So I married the right guy:)

A Chance Encounter

Pau, France first came on our radar when my husband heard English being spoken by a couple at our favorite coffee shop in our town of 6500 in northern Spain. It’s the kind of place where English speakers are so rare, you stop whatever you’re doing if you hear one nearby.

They were a Canadian couple who had recently moved to Pau, France. They were on vacation driving through our part of Spain.

And so it was that Michael began his research. It checked all of our boxes. Michael was sold. To the point that he didn’t even need to visit.

But me? I needed to see the place.

So here I am.

A Detour Appears

It was only last week, on my first day in Pau, that I learned Lourdes is just a 30 minute train ride away.

Those of you that grew up Catholic (like me) couldn’t have possibly missed hearing about Lourdes.

For those that don’t know, in 1858, 14-year-old Bernadette Saubirous became witness to 18 visions of the Virgin Mary between February 11 and July 16. The apparition asked for 1) prayer and penance 2) that a chapel be built on the site and 3) that people come there in procession.

“Oh. One more thing. Dig in the ground.”

Well, maybe she didn’t say it in exactly those words.

But when Bernadette dug into the ground with her hands, she discovered a spring. Today people drink that water or wash their hands and face in it. That water is also directed into individual pools in which pilgrims may immerse themselves with the assistance of volunteers.

Some 70 miracles have been officially recognized as having happened as a result of a visit to Lourdes. There are 7000 additional cases of “medically unexplained” healings.

My Camino “Why”

Some of you may know that I walked my first Camino in order to figure out if I wanted to be Catholic anymore. Ironic, I know. Shortly into the walk, I had my answer. God and I could have a relationship with or without my belonging to the Catholic Church.

At the pilgrim mass in Santiago de Compostela 35 days later, the priest explained that only Catholics were allowed to receive Holy Communion. I didn’t know Spanish at the time, but I knew enough French and enough about the Catholic Church to know exactly what he was saying.

I stood there a moment and thought, “I just can’t imagine Jesus standing up there saying, ‘Hey—I know you walked miles upon miles to get here. But not all of you get to share a meal with me.’”

So while many got up to receive Communion, I got up and quietly slipped out of the church.

So Why Lourdes?

So why is a woman who walked away from the Catholic Church over 14 years ago going to yet another Catholic pilgrimage site?

I have no idea.

Well, maybe I do.

Curiosity.

When you’re that close to something visited by millions of people every year, something you grew up hearing about and reading about. . . well, what’s a traveler with time on her hands to do?

And So I Go. . .

It isn’t lost on me that I will be there on Easter Sunday.

I’m not a fan of crowds.

So maybe this isn’t my best decision.

But I follow my instincts.

And it just so happens that I have the time to go. And there was a place available to lay my head for the night. And there’s a train just down the road that will take me there.

So on Easter Sunday I’ll be waking up in Lourdes, France.

Maybe by then, I’ll know why.

With love,

Rebecca

For any of you that would like 1) a prayer to be said on behalf of you or someone else while I’m there or 2) a candle to be lit in their honor/memory, please let me know by emailing me at rebecca@theCaminoCalls.com.

Have you been to Lourdes? I’ll take any advice you’d like to share.

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🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, my husband and I live in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte.

When people ask me if the Camino de Santiago is “religious,” I answer with, “only if you want it to be.”

I explain that it was certainly born out of religion (see The Story Behind the Camino de Santiago).

But my 14 years of walking Camino routes through France, Spain, and Portugal, have shown me there are all kinds of people walking the Camino for all sorts of reasons (See Is The Camino for Everyone? Is It For Me?).

So if you’re avoiding the Camino because you think it’s “too religious,” get over that and go. Or if you’re hoping to walk the Camino for deeply religious reasons, go for it—but don’t expect everyone else to believe anything you do.

Because the Camino is about something bigger than religion. It’s humanity —often at it’s finest.

A Moving Community of Pilgrims

Are there challenges? Absolutely.

Will you meet grumpy people? Sure. A moving community of hundreds of thousands of people is bound to catch someone on a bad day.

In 2025, over 490,000 people walked into Santiago de Compostela and received a certificate saying they’d done so (called the compostela). Another 21,000 arrived by bike, 723 on horseback, and 257 by wheelchair.

But those are only the people who had a goal to get to Santiago de Compostela and reached it. Many more people only walk a portion of one of the routes (either intentionally or unintentionally due to injuries)—and no one keeps statistics on them.

Medieval Crowds on the Camino

But this isn’t the first time Santiago de Compostela has received this number of pilgrims. Guesses for medieval pilgrim numbers to Santiago vary from 0.5 to 2 million a year (Rahtz and Watts 1986: 52).

And remember that in the Middle Ages, once you got to Santiago de Compostela, you had to turn around and walk back home! (I’ve met pilgrims doing this, but it’s much less common.)

The height of medieval pilgrims to Santiago occurred between the 11th and 14th centuries. As part of the Reconquista, the Christians were still fighting back the Moors, but as the map below shows, that battles had moved south of the Camino Francés route (which goes through the cities of Pamplona, Leon, and Astorga).

A Cathedral—and a Pilgrimage Boom

The cathedral at Santiago de Compostela was consecrated in 1211. (Though the one you see today has had modifications and additions since then.)

Pilgrims were certainly flocking across Spain.

So what happened?

History.

War, Plague, and Religious Change

From 1337-1453, the Hundred Years War between England and France prevented pilgrims from traversing across France or sailing from England to get to Santiago de Compostela.

From 1347-1351, the Black Death didn’t keep people motivated to leave their homes to walk across one or more countries.

On the brighter side, in 1492, the Moors surrendered at Granada so the 700+ year Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula was finally over.

But the tide in favor of Christian pilgrimage didn’t last too long, as the Protestant revolution began in 1517. (Martin Luther was critical of pilgrimage and veneration of relics.)

When St. James Disappeared

Also in the 16th century, the Turks began their attacks on the Galician coast. The city of Santiago de Compostela is not far from this coast, so it was decided (in 1589) that the remains of St. James should be hidden.

But communication wasn’t clear and for nearly 300 years, no one had any idea where St. James’ remains were.

During the Enlightenment (1700s), the intellectuals were increasingly skeptical about miracles, relics, and other medieval traditions. During the 1800s, many religious institutions were closed—their wealth liquidated to reduce public debt or, for example, fund the Carlist wars in Spain. Some of these were the institutions that offered care, housing, and food to pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago.

Rediscovery—and a Quiet Camino

In 1879, the lost remains of St. James were “rediscovered.”

How do we know they were actually the remains?

Because in 1884, the Pope said so.

Even so, historians say that, by this time, only a few hundred people per year were walking to Santiago de Compostela.

Next: The Modern Revival

So how did we get to the point where over a half-million people arrived to Santiago de Compostela as pilgrims in 2025?

Next Sunday, I’ll cover the modern-day revival of the Camino de Santiago.

With love,

Rebecca

🎥Camino Conversations: Join me for live interviews here on Substack!

This week, I’ll be sharing Part 2 of my own experiences on the Camino. If you missed Part 1, you can get caught up here.

Coming up this week:

• Wednesday, March 11 — A few weeks ago, I decided to finally share my own Camino story. It was filled with unknowns, surprises, laughter, and challenges—and that was before I ever put my foot on the trail. This week, I’ll answer the question, “What do you do when you wake up on the Camino to find you can no longer bear weight on one of your ankles?” Because yes—that happened to me. On Day 5.

Listen to previous episodes of Camino Conversations on Spotify or watch them here.

Want to be a guest on Camino Conversations? Email me at Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com or leave a comment below.

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🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, my husband and I live in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte.

The first time I walked the Camino de Santiago, I had a guidebook in the outside pocket of my backpack where I could easily pull it out when needed—to know if there was a place to eat in the next town, for example, and how far I had to walk before I got there. Or to figure out if I was still on the trail or had somehow wandered off.

As time went on, apps were developed and trails were more thoroughly marked. I still carried a guidebook in the early days of these advances as I really like seeing a map spread out in front of me.

But what did pilgrims use to guide them back in the Middle Ages?

Pilgrims Before GPS

Most were headed west to Santiago de Compostela, so with the sun at their backs, they would set off. If they chose to walk at night, it is said they followed the Milky Way. They could also ask for directions in towns they walked through.

And by the mid-12th century, they could follow what is widely believed to be the first travel guide ever written: the Codex Calixtinus. But as we’ll see, it wasn’t exactly the handbook for walkers that you might expect.

Enter the Codex Calixtinus

Like so much of the Camino de Santiago history, there’s a bit of mystery around the guide. It is said it was complied by a French cleric, Aymeric Picaud. But other historians argue he may have been just one of many to compile the information found in the 5 books that make up the Codex Calixtinus.

Book 5 is the travel guide. Like modern-day guidebooks, it told pilgrims:

• about the pilgrim routes (the three in France that converge at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to cross the Pyrenees and the fourth French route that joins in Puenta la Reina).

• the stages pilgrims would walk and the towns along the way.

• places where the pilgrims could rest and be cared for (hospices/hospitals/hostels all derive from the Latin hospes which means guest or stranger or host).

• Local customs and specialities

• A description of Santiago de Compostela — both the city and the cathedral.

All this sounds like our modern-day guidebooks and apps, but I was surprised to see that Book 5 also includes a guide as to how pilgrims should be treated when walking the Camino de Santiago. Which made me question the audience for whom this book was written.

Not Quite for Pilgrims

It turns out the Codex Calitinus is not quite the “guidebook” we might envision today.

• It is a 450 page book that weighs at least 6.5 pounds (3 kilos)—not something you’d toss in a bag to carry with you as you traverse across a country.

• It was written in Latin — which most pilgrims couldn’t even read.

So who was reading it? The religious orders running pilgrim hospices—the language of the Church at that time was Latin. These clergy could use it to tell pilgrims what was coming up, what to look out for (e.g. which rivers were safe to drink from), and where they could be housed.

The section about how a pilgrim should be treated wasn’t just for the religious communities, however. They could translate it and share those guidelines with the innkeepers, shopkeepers and townspeople along the Camino. It served to remind everyone that care of pilgrims wasn’t just about good manners—hospitality was a moral and religious duty. It also warned about some of the consequences too be faced for poor treatment of pilgrims. For example:

• overcharging or giving spoiled food could cause an innkeeper to fall ill or even die!

• selling bad water or poisoning a river that results in the illness or death of a pilgrim’s horse or mule could result in the same fate for the animals of the one who acted in poor form to begin with.

• cheating a pilgrim could cause one’s cart to overturn or a bridge to collapse

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Books 1-4: History, Miracles, and Propaganda

The Codex Calixtinus is not simply a travel guide. It is also part spiritual guide and history textbook:

• Book 1 gives prayers, sermons (attributed to Pope Calixtinus II), readings and music as well an instructions for clergy celebrating the feast day of St. James (July 25).

• Book 2 tells of twenty-three miracles attributed to St. James

• Book 3 contains letters between Pope Calixtinus II and Pope Leo III related to how St. James’ body was transported from Jerusalem (where he was beheaded in AD 44) to northwest Spain. It also contains the first mention of the scallop shell as the symbol of those devoted to St. James.

• Book 4 tells of Charlemagne’s campaigns in Spain— specifically near Santiago de Compostela—and his supposed devotion to St. James.

Book 4 has since been called a “pious forgery” as the supposed author (Turpin) died before the events described—and there’s no evidence Charlemagne ever traveled as far west as Santiago de Compostela. This book was part marketing and propoganda; it boosted the prestige of the Camino. (“Charlemagne was devoted to St. James and it helped him in many battles! Maybe St. James can help me, too. I’m off to do the Camino!”)

Honest Opinions

Like modern-day reviews, Book 5 (the pilgrim’s guide) shares the author’s honest opinions.

“After Navarre, the Camino crosses the forest of Oca and continues through the Spanish territory of Castile and Campos towards Burgos. This country is full of royal treasure, of gold and silver, fabrics and the strongest horses, and flush with bread, wine, fish, milk and honey. It is however lacking in firewood and the people are evil and vicious.”

Like the movie “The Way” for Americans or the book “I’m Off Then” for the Germans, the Codex Calixtinus may have contributed to some rise in the number of pilgrims eventually, but the popularity of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago wouldn’t take off for another couple centuries. I’ll continue that story next week.

With love,

Rebecca

P.S. If you missed Part 1 of my History of the Camino series, click here to read it.

📸Scenes from the Camino

The original Codex Calixtinus is in the Library-Archive at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. It can only be viewed by pre-approved guided visits.

The original used to be on public display, but was stolen in 2011. It was recovered in 2012, on public display once again (under tighter security, I imagine), and then put into the Library-Archive. You can see a copy of it on a visit to the museums at the cathedral (which I highly recommend!)

🎥Camino Conversations: Join me for live interviews here on Substack!

What a wonderful conversation I had last week with Josh Woll of The Sober Creative! He calls sobriety “the pilgrimage inside,” and the parallels to the Camino are striking — the brave choice to begin something unknown, the humility to ask for help, the discipline of daily steps, the shedding of what no longer serves you, and the quiet transformation that happens along the way. Watch my interview with Josh here.

Coming up this week:

• Wednesday, March 4, 11am ET — Walking the Camino in Comfort with Kacey Ratterree. The Camino will challenge you — physically, emotionally, spiritually. Kacey has learned to say yes to that during her multiple walks on Camino de Santiago routes… and also yes to a few well-chosen comforts. She’ll tell us what they are and how she plans for them.

Listen to previous episodes of Camino Conversations on Spotify or watch them here.

Want to be a guest on Camino Conversations? Email me at Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com or leave a comment below.

Leave a comment

🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, my husband and I live in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte.

Thank you , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with !

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You’ve heard of the Camino de Santiago. Perhaps you’ve walked it or want to walk it one day. But do you know what “Camino de Santiago” means?

Camino means “way” in Spanish. When I first moved to Spain (before I knew very much of the Spanish language), I thought every time I saw the word “Camino” it had something to do with the Camino de Santiago. I was wrong.

For example, some Spanish towns have a road called the Camino Real, which means “Royal Road.” These roads connected major towns and settlements and were protected by the Spanish crown. Would pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela have walked them? Sure. But so did tradespeople, townspeople, and the military — all for various reasons.

Santiago: St. James the Apostle

Santiago can be broken down into Sant, meaning “saint,” and Iago, meaning James. In Latin, James was Iacobus, which in older Spanish was shortened to Iago. Later, Sant Iago became Santiago.

So who was St. James? And why did this pilgrimage route towards his supposed remains spring up in the 800s?

There was a group of 12 followers of Jesus, called the Apostles. Two of them were named James. The one to which we are referring when we talk about the Camino de Santiago is St. James the Greater.

According to Catholic tradition, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, these 12 apostles were sent out to various parts of the world to share the messages of Jesus. Supposedly James the Greater went to the Iberian Peninsula—present-day Spain and Portugal.

I say “supposedly” because there is no actual evidence that James went to/preached in the Iberian peninsula. It wasn’t until the 7th century (in a work by Isador of Seville called De ortu et obitu patrum) that there was any documentation connecting him to the region.

Spain in the Early Middle Ages

In 711, the Moors started their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. In 722, the Spanish Reconquista began — the attempt to drive out the Moors and restore Christianity. It took over 700 years to accomplish this, ending in1492 when the Moors surrendered at Granada.

The Discovery of St. James’ Tomb

In 813, a hermit named Pelayo saw a star directing him to a tomb which was later declared to be that of St. James. “Declared” is a keyword here as proof that this was indeed St. James simply doesn’t exist. Faith—the belief in something that cannot be seen/proven—is a major part of Christianity. Thus, proof that it was indeed St. James’ remains wasn’t needed for the belief to spread.

In 874, King Alfonso II of Asturias walked to the tomb. He’s considered by many to, therefore, be the first pilgrim to Santiago. The route he took from Oviedo is now called the Camino Primitivo — “the original way.” Oviedo still proudly calls itself “The Origin of the Camino.”

King Alfonso II commissioned a small chapel to be built on the site of Pelayo’s discovery. Eventually a pre-Romanesque church was built there. In 997, that structure was destroyed by the Muslims and then rebuilt. In 1075 construction of a cathedral began.

Santiago de Compostela

Sometime in the 10th century we start to see Santiago de Compostela, which is the name of the city present-day pilgrims are walking towards. Scholars debate the origin of Compostela. Some believe it comes from the Latin Campus stellae meaning “the field of the star.” This refers to the star that guided Pelayo to the field where he found the supposed remains. Others believe it originates from compositum meaning “burial place.”

Two Faces of St. James

There are two images you’ll see of St. James along the Camino. One shows him as a pilgrim—a cloaked man holding a staff with an attached gourd, on his head is a hat adorned with scallop shells.

But there’s another image of him that’s a little more gruesome: he’s on a horse, a sword held high, and under the horse’s feet are the trampled bodies of the Moors.

Meet Santiago Matamoros — St. James the Moor-slayer.

St. James was beheaded in 44 AD in Jerusalem. So no, he wasn’t physically present during the 700+ year fight against the Moors. But there were more than a few miracles that occurred during the Reconquista that were attributed to him. None of them were documented at the time, so historians believe they were tales later told to increase the morale of Christian warriors as well as to provide some type of divine validation for the Reconquista. In some churches where Santiago Matamoros is displayed, flowers have been placed under the feet of the horse to hide the bodies of the trampled Moors.

The Pilgrimage Continues

By the start of the 12th century, the fighting between the Moors and the Christians has been going on for nearly 400 years. The cathedral, whose construction began in 1075, is still not finished and a few thousand pilgrims per year are walking to Santiago de Compostela.

Pilgrim numbers would increase and then take a sharp dive. But that’s a story for next time.

With love,

Rebecca

P.S. I am not a historian. I have done my research, but if I have made any errors or if you’d like to share more of this part of the story from your own knowledge, do please make a comment!

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📸Scenes from the Camino— St. James

How did you first learn about Santiago/St. James/Saint Jacques?

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🎥Join me for live interviews here on Substack!

I had SO much fun telling the beginning of my own Camino story last week. You can watch that here or listen to it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Part 2 will be coming soon!

This week:

• Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 3pm ET. Camino Conversations: A Journey with The Sober Creative. The Camino is often seen as a mirror for many of the journeys we take in life. This week, I’m joined by Josh Woll of The Sober Creative, as we explore his work guiding people on a very different kind of journey—and uncover the surprising parallels between that path and the Camino.

*Note the different day/time for this week’s Camino Conversations.

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🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, my husband and I live in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte.

I had rarely hiked.

I didn’t know how to use hiking poles.

I didn’t own dry-wicking clothes.

Yet something told me a 500-mile walk across Spain was a good idea.

Enjoy Part 1 of my Camino story.

🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, I most recently spent 4.5 years living in Spain. Next stop? Who knows. That’s the fun part.

Get more from Rebecca Weston in the Substack app

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I didn’t think I’d meet a single person on this, my first day walking the Camino de Santiago, because most pilgrims who start in St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, France depart at sunrise. They climb 4000 feet over the course of 13 miles then descend for 1700 feet for the last 3 miles.

But not me. That sounds like a terrible way to start a 500 mile walk across Spain.

Especially for someone like me—who hates gyms and any form of physical exercise in general.

So I go just 5 miles and ascend just 2000 feet on my first day. It takes me about 3 hours and—more importantly—means I have plenty of time to enjoy my last French croissant before I head out.

I began at 1:30 pm thinking I’d have a nice solo walk. But up ahead, there he was. A single man, walking stick in hand, pack on his back.

I wondered what his reason was for starting his journey so late in the day.

Just below him on the trail was another guy, manning a camera on a tripod. And not just any camera: a big this-is-serious-filmmaking type of camera.

Hearing my hiking sticks stabbing the road, the camera turned to film me walking up. Cameraman called to Walking Man in some language I didn’t understand, and Walking Man turned around and waited for me to catch up.

Walking Man greeted me enthusiastically-–he looked barely thirty. “What are you doing?” I asked, arcing my head toward Cameraman.

“We’re filming a program about the Camino,” he said. He introduced himself, asked me the usual Camino questions (Where are you from, Is this your first Camino, etc.), asked if he could interview me, and I agreed.

“Is this a program you’re doing on your own, or do you work for someone?” I asked.

“This program is for Basque public television,” he said.

Cameraman caught up with us and handed me a portable mic, motioning with his hands that I should tuck it up under my shirt and attach it to my collar, while he attached the battery box to my backpack. Walking Man told me I could look at him and at the camera, which Cameraman had now removed from the tripod and propped up on his shoulder.

“Ready?” Walking Man said. It was then that I realized we were going to be holding this interview while we were walking. Which would have been fine were we on a lovely, flat trail. But I was in the foothills of the Pyrenees, gasping for breath every few steps. This is why I preferred walking this route alone–no one could see how many times I stopped to catch my breath. But now, here it would be recorded for all to see.

And so we began, with Walking Man incorrectly assuming I was from New York City. (A common mistake I’m used to by now. I corrected him and silently reminded myself that when people ask where I’m from I need to remember to say, “New York STATE.”) He asked if this was my first Camino, and when I told him it was my third, he asked why I kept returning. “The people, and the sense of community that develops,” I said.

“Are you walking alone?” he asked. I explained that I was here with my friend Lois, but she was injured, and had to take a taxi to Orrisson, our stop for the night.

He spoke to me in English, and then would face the camera and translate into Basque. At which point I thought, “It could be worse–I could be Cameraman, having to do this walk backwards while holding that huge camera steady on my shoulder!”

Just when I wondered how much more of this walking-and-talking-while-hiking-up-the-Pyrenees I could handle, I was saved. Cameraman indicated there was something behind us. We turned to see a woman in a station wagon trying to get her car off the side of the road below us, but without luck. “That’s our producer,” Walking Man explained. He excused himself, walked down to her, revved the car up the mountain past us, then ran back to me to continue our interview.

I shall now call him Superman.

After we finished, I asked Superman the name of the program. He said something incomprehensible to me. I gave my “I have no idea what you just said” look and he looked surprised.

“It’s the most popular program . . . !” I asked him to write it down. He said they do six days of filming to get a one-hour program, and that I could find it on Youtube.

I’ve looked up the program “Henri People” a couple times since then, with no luck. But one day, the gods shined upon me. Here is the link for beginning of the “Herri People” episode. I’m there, just for the first thirty seconds or so. Enjoy, my dear friends.

And if you are ever huffing up any hill anywhere, take solace in the fact that at least you’re not doing it while trying to hold a conversation for a local television program!

With love,

Rebecca

P.S. Crossing the Pyrenees is not a Camino requirement. I help people plan their Camino on a route that meets their needs. Click here to learn more. Or, better yet, join me on one of my small-group trips. Click here to be the first to hear about my next one.

📸Scenes from the Camino— The Pyrenees

Have you walked this section? Are you planning to?

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🎥Join me for live interviews here on Substack!

I’ve done lots of interviews with amazing people 45+ who’ve embarked on one or more Caminos (you can find those here).

So I decided to change it up and go solo! But then I got sick and so had to cancel. . . but now I’m back!

• Wednesday, February 18 at 11 AM ET: Rebecca’s Camino Journeys — 15 and counting! I’ll answer the questions I ask my guests — how I first heard about the Camino, how I went from dreaming it to doing it and why I keep going back. Plus, I’ll answer whatever questions you have!

If you have a question about me, my (15+!) Caminos, or the Camino in general, let me know by posting it below or emailing me at Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com.

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🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, my husband and I live in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte.

On my first Camino, my friend Rick and I —weighed down by our large backpacks—saw people who hired a service to bring their packs to their destination instead of carrying them themselves.

“This walk would be a piece of cake if I wasn’t carrying a pack!” Rick would say.

“Yeah, I could walk so much further if I didn’t have my pack,” I added.

A few years later, I learned we were right. For the first time ever on the Camino, there was no belt cinched tight around my waist, no straps pulling on my shoulders. I carried a tiny bag on my back that held water, my jacket, and some snacks.

“You already did this trail once carrying your pack. You’ve got that story to tell your grandkids,” my friend Lois said to me. “You’ve got nothing to prove, kid. And me? I’m only doing this once and I’m here to enjoy it. We can enjoy it a lot more without carrying our packs.”

Well, since she put it that way . . .

I studied myself that day: how I felt being on the other side of the carry-your-pack-or-not debate. I didn’t feel guilty—initially. I did, however, wonder how other people would react to us, but was surprised to see we got the same “Buen Camino” greetings we received the day before.

A few hours into our day, after crossing a busy mountain road, we got to a food truck. Plastic chairs held weary pilgrims, their packs and walking sticks strewn about the pavement. Lois and I stood looking at our food options as a large man dropped his equally large pack and settled himself into a chair beside me with a big sigh. We smiled at each other, and I patted his back, then started to massage his shoulders. A man sitting across from him said, in an Irish accent, “Over here next!” pointing to his own shoulders. We all exchanged answers to “Where are you from?” and “Where are you going today?” I let out that this was my third Camino.

“You’ve done two of these already?” the Irishman asked.

“I did this route a few years ago and did 10 days on the Camino Portuguese last year.”

I very deliberately did not add, “carrying my pack the whole time.”

These men had seen Lois and I arrive. Looking at Lois, one would easily forgive her for not carrying a pack—she was 73. But me? I was in my mid-thirties. What was my reason? Did I need one?

By my third day without my pack, the guilt had come and gone and come and gone again. The day before, a German man caught up with us and one of the first things he said was, “I see you’re not carrying much.” I stumbled over an explanation.

He and I had a delightful discussion, and when he moved on I said to Lois, “I need to come up with some good responses to the question of why I’m not carrying my pack.”

We came up with:

• In case I have to carry Lois.

• My pack? You mean it’s not on my back?!

• The better question is why are you carrying yours?

• I’m probably carrying about as much as the pilgrims of the middle ages carried.

“People can’t have a one-sided conversation,” Lois said.

In other words, I didn’t have to say anything.

That hadn’t occured to me.

“You know it’s not personal—he asked about your pack to make himself feel better.” Indeed, this idea of “It’s not personal” is one of the best things I’ve learned from Lois.

A few days later, we pilgrims gathered in the choir loft of the church at Zabaldika, some sitting on cushions on the floor, others on chairs. The Sister who ran the evening prayer service asked if anyone would like to share anything they’ve learned thus far on their journey. I hadn’t taken the time to consider that question. But something simple came to me quickly.

“On my first Camino I learned to stop judging other people. On this Camino, I’m learning to let go of my concern about other people judging me.”

With love,

Rebecca

P.S. Last week I learned that a popular Camino Facebook group was shut down by its founder when advice turned into judgment about how the Camino should be done. What a shame.

If you’re getting your information from an overly judgmental group of people, know that you are safe here. 💕

📸Scenes from the Camino— Backpacks and Daypacks

Will you/do you carry a full pack on the Camino? A day pack?

(I’m not looking for what you think others should do. Share your own thoughts. Be curious, not judgmental.)

Leave a comment

🎥Join me for live interviews here on Substack!

I’ve done lots of interviews with amazing people 45+ who’ve embarked on one or more Caminos (you can find those here).

But this week? I’m going solo.

• Wednesday, February 4 at 11 AM ET: Rebecca’s Camino Journeys — 15 and counting! I’ll answer the questions I ask my guests — how I first heard about the Camino, how I went from dreaming it to doing it and why I keep going back. Plus, I’ll answer whatever questions you have!

If you have a question about me, my (15+!) Caminos, or the Camino in general, let me know by posting it below or emailing me at Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com.

Leave a comment

🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, my husband and I live in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte.

Thanks to those of you who joined us live for the interview! of Roam and Renew, of La Combi Rosa, , , Carolina & Davine of , , , , of Sacred Business Flow, , .

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“Just like Sardinia!” my husband exclaimed as I huffed my way up the hill to our house.

We have never been to Sardinia.

But we watched an episode about people who live til 100—and one Sardinian hill town has a lot of them. One of the reasons for their longevity is that they not only get a lot of exercise just walking to get their groceries and meeting their friends, but that the terrain is uneven. So they have excellent balance.

I have no plans to live to 100. But my genes may have other plans. Great-Grandma Riggetano lived to 93. Grandma Gallo lived to 99. My father just retired (at 77) and shows no signs of stopping.

Though I’m much younger than any of them, I have a habit of falling--usually in a spectacular fashion that results in scraped up palms, a bruise on a knee. I had this problem long before I lived in Europe, but it was exacerbated there by the fact that sidewalks and walkways (if there are any) are more likely to be uneven.

“More likely” is putting it too lightly. Walking surfaces in Spain, France, Italy — they are a lot more uneven than what we’re used to in the US.

What Our Sidewalks Don’t Teach Us

commented on last week’s newsletter about the simple way I train(ed) for my walks on the Camino de Santiago, suggesting that—in addition to walking—“people train for their Camino by doing 15-30min of exercises and balance training to strengthen the feet and ankles.”

Remember those Sardinians? Their ankles and feet train daily on uneven surfaces, making them so much better than we Americans when it comes to balance.

I thought of those Sardinians again yesterday when I drove my car to the market, got out and walked on a smooth parking lot surface to a smooth sidewalk, then got back in my car again to do the same thing over and over for each of my errands.

In Spain, daily errands gave me plenty of time to practice my balance. I did the majority of my errands on foot and noticed every new hole in the road (because the first part of my trek had no sidewalks) and every cracked or buckled sidewalk. I recall wearing my platform shoes just once after our move to Valencia. I made a spectacular fall and decided Spain wasn’t the place for my beloved platforms.

“Make sure you tell them about the rocks”

When I accompanied Lois on her 500+ mile walk across Spain she told me, more than once, "When you tell people about the Camino, make sure you tell them about the rocks!” Pictures don’t do it justice, but I tried (see below). On the Camino, you’ll walk across surfaces with all sorts of sizes of rocks. And I don’t mean lovely crushed rocks—I mean the uneven, ankle-twisting kind. I recall one section on which it looked like someone took sheets of rock layers and turned them 90 degrees so that we had to walk along the edges of them.

So if you’re in the US training for the Camino, any walking is good practice to get some steps in. But better yet? Go find some uneven surfaces.

With love,

Rebecca

📸Scenes from the Camino - Rocks!

💌Which surfaces are your nemesis, and how do you train for them?

Leave a comment

🎥Join me for live interviews here on Substack!

• Wednesday, January 28, 11-11:45 EST: walked the Camino Portuguese at 64—and she’s preparing to hit the road as a nomad! Join us by clicking here.

Want to share your Camino experiences? Email me at rebecca@thecaminocalls.com or click below.

🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, my husband and I live in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte.

“You haven’t started training yet?!” the man said to me. “You better get started!”

He was a hiking instructor at the John C. Campbell Folk School. I was the Student Host—there for 3 months doing various tasks in exchange for taking classes in blacksmithing, wood turning, genealogy, bead making, Scottish cooking.

He knew a whole lot more about hiking than I did. But back then, pretty much everyone knew more about hiking than I did.

Thankfully, I didn’t let him sway me.

I didn't have time to start training. My plan was to start my Camino training in January—after my term at the Folk School was finished, after the holidays were finished and four months prior to my departure.

I didn’t put too much trust in this man as his students came back every day from their hikes completely wiped out, barely able to communicate.

That wasn’t my goal after a day of hiking.

So I steered clear of him the rest of the week.

The Complicated Way vs. the Simple Way

There are many ways to train for the Camino.

You can start, as American consumerist society has taught us, with buying things: fretting over which shoes will be most comfortable, which socks will prevent blisters, which hiking pants have enough pockets, which rain covering system will keep your dry.

Or. . .

You can just go for a walk.

That’s how I started training for my first Camino—and four months later I walked over 500 miles from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela.

Was it easy? Absolutely not.

Would it have been harder if I didn’t do any training? Definitely.

About Training Plans (and ChatGPT)

Some people want a “training plan.” I get that.

Feel free to go to ChatGPT and create one. I don’t—because lately it acts as if it has done the Camino, giving me lines like “I’ve done this a few times myself” and “from one pilgrim to another. . .” I’ve actually responded with, “You are not a real person. You have never walked the Camino. Please stop pretending you have.”

Can AI be helpful in planning your Camino? Absolutely.

Should you trust it 100%? Absolutely not. (I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve asked for accommodation recommendations only to be given accommodations that closed years ago!)

So could you get a training plan from ChatGPT? Sure. And if you like it and think it will work, go for it.

By this point in your life, you know yourself best. If it doesn’t feel right, either modify it or talk to a real person who’s done it.

How to Know Whose Advice to Trust

And like any advice (mine included!) know who you’re talking to.

Are they your age? Or have they done Caminos with people your age?

Have they done the route you’re doing?

Have they walked in the time of year you’re thinking of?

They don’t need to meet all of these qualifications. But someone who’s 50 and did a guided tour of the Camino for a sunny week in May will have a different perspective than someone who’s 74 and has walked four Caminos already — in heat and downpours and everything in between.

The latter is actually my father. You can see my interview with him here.

So what about me?

I’m nearly 50. I’ve helped dozens of people plan their walks on the Camino—nearly all of them over 45 years old. I’ve accompanied people 65+ on their Caminos. I’ve taught classes on preparing for the Camino. I’ve volunteered multiple times on various routes.

Oh — and I’ve walked about 15 Caminos at this point.

So maybe I know something.

And today, I’m going to share it with you.

Do You Have to Train?

Do you have to train for the Camino? Nope.

Will your body and mind be happier if you do? Yes.

As I’ve said so many times before, there are few rules for walking or preparing for the Camino.

But there are definitely things that are helpful to know.

And here’s my little secret:

My First Camino Was Far From Perfectly Prepared

I brought hiking poles with me on my first Camino but had never used them. I just figured they’d be “good to have.”

I never put my pack on my back until the night before I was due to fly to Spain.

Nearly everything I had with me on my first Camino was bought used or borrowed—because I’d hardly been on hikes, let alone done anything this physically active and figured I’d never do it again. Why waste money on all the gear?

I wore cotton socks, because it’s what I had and didn’t understand why anyone would spend $15 on a pair of socks with “wool” in the name—especially if they’re hiking in May and June.

And guess what?

I survived.

I walked 500 miles across Spain.

I did hardly any of the prep people talk about now.

The one thing I did do—and the most important—was walk.

Every day.

The week before I left, I was walking eight miles a day.

My Very First Camino Training Plan

This was it:

• Track how many steps I walked each day for a week. 📝

• Each week, set a goal to walk 1000 steps per day more than I did the previous week.

Why 1000 steps more? It just seemed like a good number to me.

No science. No fancy math. It was just a number that felt good to me.

That’s it.

That’s the plan.

But a Plan Isn’t the Same as Motivation

I highly recommend you track your steps on paper.

I kept a tiny notebook on my nightstand. It was very satisfying jotting down each night how many step I had done. 📝

I also recommend walking firs thing in the morning. Make it part of your routine.

Leo Babauta, of Zen Habits, offers two pieces of advice that helped me enormously:

1. Start very small (thus, my 1000 per week increase above).

2. Tie it to something you already do.

For me, I don’t have a lot of consistency in my life. But one thing I do ever morning? I get out of bed.

So I had my sneakers right there.

After I did my morning writing, I’d put them on. (Pajamas and gym clothes look very similar to me—the fewer barriers to getting my shoes on, the better!)

Do you have to do it my way? Of course not.

Find what works for you.

Let Walking Become Part of Your Life

As my weekly numbers started to increase, a morning walk wasn’t sufficient.

I started calling friends and family on my cell phone as I walked — that helped me stay out longer. If friends wanted to get together, I’d suggest walking rather than (or before) coffee.

“I probably walk too slow for you,” they’d tell me.

“Speed is not the goal—steps are the goal,” I’d respond.

I was that person who would park further back in the parking lot to get more steps in. On a road trip, while a fried pumped gas, I was walking about the parking lot.

Training Is About More Than Fitness

Some people think training is just about getting your body ready for the journey. This is only part of the story. Training helps with so much more.

I’ve interviewed dozens of guests about their Caminos — including how they trained or didn’t. Click here for those.

Rain Gear☔

Get out in the pouring rain and walk.

❓How wet do you get? Are you comfortable with being that way? What gear is working? What’s not?

Rebecca’s First Camino Training: I just wore my rain gear around town on rainy days to see how it worked. ✅

Your Day Pack 🎒

❓How does it feel on your back—initially and after a few miles?

If you have no idea how best to adjust it, head to your nearest outdoor gear store with your pack filled with the necessities you’ll have with you and ask for their help. (Short list: sunscreen, water, rain gear, snacks.)

Rebecca’s First Camino Training: I didn’t put a pack on my back until the night before my flight departed. I don’t recommend this. 🚫

Hiking Poles

I wouldn’t do a Camino without them.

My father carries one, but he carries it more often than he actually uses it.

I know 80-something-year-old pilgrims who’ve done dozens of Caminos and have never used hiking poles.

❓How do you know whose advice to go with? Test it out for yourself.

Grab a stick from the woods. Or two. Or borrow someone’s hiking sticks. Ask them how to use them. Or watch a YouTube video.

If it seems like something that would be helpful, buy yourself a pair and test them out some more.

Rebecca’s First Camino Training: I borrowed hiking sticks from a friend. Had no idea how to use them. On my second day on the Camino, a kind Frenchman taught me how to use them when he saw me fumbling. 🙏🏼

Getting to Know Your Body🫀

❓How do you feel after walking 1 mile? 3 miles? 5 miles?

❓Could you get up the next day and do it again? And the day after that?

❓What hurts or aches? Best to know before you’re in the middle of a trail in the middle of Spain.

Now is the time to get familiar with your body, how it handles the walking, and what to do when it’s not cooperating with you.

Rebecca’s First Camino Training: I walked every single day. And tracked my steps. I was doing 8 miles daily the week before I left. But I was preparing to walk 500 miles. I recommend you can do at least 5 miles daily before you do a 60 mile Camino. ✅

Other Gear 🧦

❓What about your socks? And your shoes?

It drives me a little crazy when people say their hiking shoes are the best ever. I want to say, “for you!”

Just because your neighbor (or that twenty-something on YouTube) loves their hiking shoes doesn’t mean they’re the best for you.

Talk to a professional (outdoor gear store or shoe store who specializes in such things). (If you’re in the US, join REI—you can then test their shoes outside on actual trails to see how they operate in the real world. If they don’t work for you, you can return them!)

Rebecca’s First Camino Training: I did go to a gear store and get some hiking shoes. But socks? I didn’t understand why a person would spend $15 on a pair of socks made of wool when I’d be walking in June. So cotton socks were what I used. Worked for me. Do I recommend it? No. Some sort of dry-wicking wool sock is certainly best. 👟

The Best Training of All

I realize this all might be a lot to take in.

Some of you are saying, “I don’t know what I’ll use for rain gear! I don’t have a day pack!”

Relax.

Just go for a walk.

Because really?

That’s the best training of all.

With love,

Rebecca

📸Scenes from the Camino: Camino Francés in 2012

💌Whether it’s your first Camino or your fifth, what’s are your tips for training for a Camino?

Leave a comment

🎥Join me for live interviews here on Substack!

I’ve had some great interviews in January so far, but haven’t been great about getting them posted here. I’ll work on that this week! Upcoming:

• Wednesday, January 21, 11-11:45 EST: Pat Kappes — This past October, Pat walked the Camino Portuguese with two friends. We’ll chat about the highs, blisters, Spanish mishaps, October weather, friendship dynamics, and unexpected twists of one pilgrim’s Camino adventure. Join us live by clicking here.

Have you walked the Camino de Santiago? Would you like to share your stories? Contact me at Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com or send me a message by clicking below.

When Is The Next Camino Walk with Rebecca?

The short answer: I don’t know yet. I’ve had some unexpected changes in my life, so have decided against an April trip. I’m aiming for a June trip as well as another in October. Click here to be the first to be notified once I open these trips.

🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (60 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.Rebecca Weston is an American who walked her first Camino in 2012.

About me: I’ve walked more than a dozen Caminos since my first in 2012. I’ve spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too. Originally from the US, my husband and I live in a town of 6500 people on the Camino del Norte.

He had just finished the evening pilgrim mass and had invited all the pilgrims to stand before him.

Except I wasn’t a pilgrim.

I was in Logroño, Spain to visit my dear friend Chris. He was volunteering at the local albergue (pilgrim hostel) in that town for two weeks. “After the pilgrim mass here, the priest does something quite special,” Chris had told me earlier. “He explains some of the details of the church to the pilgrims.” And so, at seven o’clock, we found our seats and waited.

Due to the echo of the microphone, I couldn’t follow most of the Spanish mass. But based on what Chris had told me earlier, I understood when the priest invited the pilgrims to come forward.

Chris stood up and beckoned for me to follow him. But I’m not a pilgrim right now. I’m not walking the Camino. I’m just here to see my friend.

I followed Chris up, but scooted into the front pew instead of standing with the pilgrims. Chris turned and looked at me, tilting his head to tell me to join, so I gave in.

“English? Spanish?” the priest asked again, in Spanish. People murmured that they spoke one or the other.

“French?” one pilgrim asked.

“I don’t speak French,” the priest said, with a kind smile.

“Is there anyone here who speaks both Spanish and English?” he asked.

Chris and I looked at each other. Chris raised his hand. (I could carry on hour-long conversations in Spanish, but Chris had been married to a Cuban woman for 50 years. So I figured I’d leave the translating to him.)

“I’m going to speak in Spanish and if you could translate into English for me, please,” the priest instructed. Then, to the group, “I would like you all to tell me your name and what country you are from, starting over here.” He nodded to one end of the line of us.

Chris started his introduction. But we were not at the end of the line. So I murmured to Chris, “He wants us to start at the end of the line.” And it was then I remembered that Chris didn’t have his hearing aids with him, so probably didn’t hear all of the instructions.

So I bent at my waist to take a look one way and then the other down the line of pilgrims and translated the priest’s instructions from Spanish to English.

Ireland, Taiwan, France, Germany, US, Romania, England.

When the 25 of us finished, he asked, “Where are you all going?” I repeated his question in English, after which the priest said it in French, with a sly smile toward the French couple.

“To Santiago,” the others said.

“Where is Santiago?”

We all looked around trying to figure out which direction was west. Some pointed one way, then another. Seeing the look of confusion, the priest clarified, pointing to the large altar piece towering behind him.

“Where is Santiago?”

Ah. He didn’t mean the city of Santiago de Compostela, to which the pilgrims were walking. He meant St. James himself (Santiago in Spanish). By this point, most of these pilgrims had probably been on the Camino for two weeks. You get to recognize St. James pretty quickly when you’re walking a pilgrimage trail towards his supposed remains.

We all pointed to the central figure in the altarpiece. Then, a red dot appeared on St. James’ face. The priest had a laser pointer! “Yes, there he is. There’s his hat, the shell.” I continued translating, grateful the priest was stopping after every phrase so I didn’t have to remember too much before I translated for the group. The priest continued to translate into French after I was finished.

“Who was Santiago?” he asked.

“One of the 12 apostles,” we murmured. Pilgrims learn that fact pretty quickly on the Camino as well.

“He was the first apostle to be martyred,” the priest informed us. “And he’s the only apostle whose martyrdom is recorded in the Bible.” These two facts were completely new to me. “Do you know how he died?”

Chris and I, who have each walked Camino routes more than 12 times, knew the answer. But we were not there to show off. So we waited. When it was clear no one else knew, Chris and I put our hands up to our necks and slid them from left to right, proud students in this morbid game.

“Yes. He was beheaded.”

Would I have been as good a translator had I not already known the stories of St. James’ life, death, and posthumous wanderings? Who knows. I wasn’t thinking about that. I was intently focused on every word. I had a job to do and, as my Catholic school education had taught me, I was going to give my absolute best.

The priest turned his red laser to another image behind him -- a man on his knees, holding his head in his hands. The red dot then jumped to a man above him, wielding a sword, clean of any blood, I noticed.

“Where was he killed?” Chris and I took this one after some seconds of silence.

“Jerusalem.”

“Where is Santiago buried now?” Oh, good. Another one we all knew. The pilgrims were headed to see where he was supposedly buried. In Santiago de Compostela, in Spain’s northwest corner.

“So if he was killed in Jerusalem and is buried in Santiago de Compostela, how did he get there?”

One of the pilgrims knew about the stone boat.

“They brought his body to Padrón,” the priest explained. I translated. Again the priest turned to the wall of carved images behind him, running his red beam of light across a boat.

He circled other figures with the laser. “There’s Santiago. And there. And there. And there. This is the only church where the life of Santiago is shown on an altarpiece like this. Not even in Santiago de Compostela do they have this,” he said.

We stood there, stunned, our eyes running over everything in front of us.

The priest raised his hands over us for a final blessing. “That they will find light in the darkness, food when they are hungry, shelter when they are tired. That they arrive safely to Santiago and safely back to their homes again.”

He wished us all a “Buen Camino,” stepped off the altar, and disappeared behind a door.

“Thanks for for translating,” the Irish woman said.

Chris turned to me. “That’s the only time I’ve felt bad not having my hearing aids.”

I thought about this and later thanked him. “I didn’t think I deserved to be up there at first. If it wasn’t for you forgetting your hearing aids, I would have stood there feeling like an imposter. So thank you, my friend. Of all the times I’ve been able to translate for someone, this is the one I’m most proud of.”

I started The Camino Calls in February of 2025 to help those of you 45+ go from dreaming about the Camino to actually doing the Camino. This year, I’ve helped dozens of you personally plan your Camino; I’ve walked the Camino with some of you; I’ve met others of you in Santiago de Compostela, North Carolina, and New York; and I’ve (hopefully) inspired many more of you to get on the Camino, return for another Camino, or volunteer on the Camino.

I’m grateful to every one of you—THANK YOU for reading, writing, working with me, meeting me, talking to me and sharing your stories, fears, concerns, successes and insights. I’m looking forward to more of all of the above in 2026!

But the statistic that really made me smile was where you all are located.

Walking Together from All Over the World

You, my dear subscribers, come from 35 countries!

On the Camino, one of the things I love most is falling into conversation with people from all over the world—sometimes for five minutes, sometimes for five days. This newsletter, much of the time, feels a bit like talking while walking side by side: I’m sharing, you’re listening, but I don’t always know what you’re thinking. And that’s okay.

But if the spirit ever moves you, I’d truly love to hear from you. A comment, a reply, or even a click on the heart feels like the Camino equivalent of a smile, a buen camino, or sharing a bench for a moment. It also helps others find this writing, which I deeply appreciate.

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Where You’re Writing From

The majority of you are in the United States—hailing from 38 states! The U.S. is followed by the United Kingdom, Spain, and Canada.

One of the things I love most when I volunteer in the Pilgrim Office in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is seeing the list of nationalities from the previous year’s pilgrims. So here’s your version of that list. In addition to the four countries already mentioned, you’re reading from:

Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Belize, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Croatia, Romania, Germany, France, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Nigeria, South Africa, Tonga, Singapore, Philippines, and Bermuda.

If I missed you, let me know!

A Few Fun Camino Calls Stats

A couple of other things that stood out this year:

• August 4 was the highest-traffic day of 2025 for Inspiration.TheCaminoCalls.com. That was the day I sent out “Yes, the Camino Is Possible for You” and introduced my first Camino Walk with Rebecca trip. I’m working on plans for my Camino Walk with Rebecca trips for 2026. If you want to be the first to hear about them, click here.

• My Camino Conversation with Maurice Frank received the most views.

• In the last 6 months, one of you has opened emails from me nearly 1000 times. This is a mystery to me as I’ve published 45 newsletters,17 Camino Conversations, and sent maybe 20 additional emails to subscribers. Further research shows that it could be because this person forwards my emails to others. I’m honored!

Gratitude (Because the Camino Is Never Solo)

Thank you to , , and Lois B. who posted the most comments. I smile every time I see a comment come in and love having that “conversation” with you.

Many of you forward these newsletters to friends—and when you do, some of them subscribe. A special shout-out to to and for sending the most subscribers my way this year.

Thanks to the Guinea Pigs

Four readers joined me for my first Camino Walk with Rebecca. A special thanks to , , Emily, and Vikki for being my guinea pigs (or lab rats, as one suggested!). Your trust in me means so much. I am so humbled that you chose to walk your first Camino as part of this inaugural group.

I was able to conduct some live interview from our time together.

• Emily was the first brave soul to do this with me.

• Kathie was on a high after Day 2.

• Margaret shared her experiences on Day 3.

Camino Conversations

Speaking of conversations, a very special thanks to all of my Camino Conversations guests—those who joined me to talk about their experiences walking or planning their Camino. Your stories are a gift to this community.

For those of you looking for inspiration from those 45 and older who’ve done the Camino (and one couple who is planning to do so), click any of the names underlined below to hear their interviews.

• Kathie Carnahan - had been dreaming of the Camino for years. This past October, (at age 70) she finally made her dream a reality by walking the Camino Inglés.

• Debbie Bartolumucci - Over 500 miles on Camino Francés—solo! didn’t intend to do her first Camino alone but I’m so impressed that when friends dropped out, she went anyway.

• Lois Bertram - Over 500 miles on the Camino Francés—at 73! was the first person I ever guided on the Camino (over 10 years ago). She still walks 5 miles every day she is able.

• Hana Maris - Over 200 miles on the most physically challenging Camino (Camino Primitivo)—I haven’t been able to face this route yet, but Hana is inspiring me to consider it.

• Dora Elias McAlister walked the last 60 miles of the Camino Primitivo. says that part wasn’t terribly difficult, but she was comparing it hiking the Grand Canyon!

• Tim Wesolowski - my first-ever Camino Calls client and first-ever Camino Conversations guest! walked the Camino Portuguese from Tui at age 67.

• Maria Seco - What’s it like to grow up with the Camino walking through your town? shares how that experience eventually led her to teaching Spanish for Camino.

• Dave Whitson - Guidebook author, veteran pilgrim, host of The Camino podcast— shares about these experiences and many others walking pilgrimage routes around the world.

• Louis Gallo - My dear father braved the challenges of technology to reminisce about our 4 experiences walking sections of the Camino Francés together (his most recent at 76) and our latest team effort: volunteering in the Pilgrim Office in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

• Maurice Frank - was hooked by Day 5 of his first Camino (age 67) and shares with us why he keeps going back.

• Maria Anderson of - shares her journey from the US to Portugal and her first walk on the Camino Portuguese. I was honored to have her share her insights from her life and her Camino with us.

• Lisa and Matt McMann - The Camino often inspires returning pilgrims to minimize, but and have done that already. They live as nomads and talk about how they find practice hikes around the world in preparation for their 2026 Camino.

What’s Ahead in 2026

I remember when, in job interviews, I’d be asked, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” and what I really wanted to say was, “How can anyone know that?!” I finally did in one interview, and I was right—my life has never been what I could have predicted.

That said, I plan to continue this weekly newsletter and live interviews, lead at least 2 Camino Walk with Rebecca trips, and help hundreds more of you to plan your Camino.

I’d Love to Hear from You!

Have a 2026 Camino goal? Or just want to say hello? Or want to join me as a guest to share about your Camino adventure(s)? I’m at rebecca@theCaminoCalls.com or just click the button below.

With best wishes for a wonderful 2026,

Rebecca

Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• 🎥Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (45 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.

About me: I walked my first Camino in 2012 . Since then, I have walked over a dozen Caminos—alone or with others; in spring, summer and fall; in Spain, Portugal, and France. I’ve also spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too.

• “How did you first hear about the Camino?” (00:00:33) — and why it kept “popping up” for years (00:00:49)

• “What made you finally go…to making it happen?” (00:01:54) — the turning point that made her say this is it (00:02:01)

• “What concerns did you have before embarking?” (00:03:31) — being shy, walking hills, and the fear of coming home unchanged (00:03:39–00:05:03)

• Camino “angels” + a hill strategy that becomes a life metaphor (00:06:29–00:08:57)

• A powerful grief-and-gratitude reframe after her husband’s passing (00:09:06–00:10:35)

• “How did your sister-in-law come along—and what makes the right walking partner?” (00:12:40–00:15:16)

• “What surprised you most on the Camino?” (00:15:51) — the ease, the glow months later, and why she didn’t even need to journal (00:15:59–00:17:54)

• The Camino Inglés as a “perfect introduction” (00:20:22–00:26:43) — pace, crowds, planning, and letting go of control (00:27:23–00:28:03)

• “What’s it like arriving in Santiago?” (00:28:09) — the tunnel, the plaza, and the emotion of the finish (00:28:52–00:31:06)

• “What do you recommend for Santiago—should people stay longer?” (00:35:25–00:36:43)

• The Botafumeiro: what it is, how to see it, and why it moved her to tears (00:37:01–00:40:45)

• Final question: “What would you say to someone on the fence?” (00:44:12) — her answer is short…and it might just push you over the edge (00:44:25–00:45:12)

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More Camino Conversations

To see other Camino Conversations videos (including interviews with those who have done various routes), click here for the archive.

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🥾Ready to start planning your Camino?

Rebecca Weston
Camino Planning & Preparation Guide (for People 45+)
Rebecca@TheCaminoCalls.com

Your Camino adventure should feel exciting, not stressful — here are some ways I can help you get ready:

• 🎥Watch Camino Conversations for practical tips and advice from my guests who have done the Camino (or more than one!).

• 🗓️ Camino Planning Session (45 min): Get answers to your top questions and a notes doc created during our call.

• 📞 Full Camino Experience: 6 coaching calls with detailed notes to plan your trip with confidence and ease.

• 🥾 Walk With Rebecca: 7-day hybrid Camino walks — 3 days guided, 4 days independent, private rooms, preparation classes, and optional check-ins. Click here to be the first to be notified about my next trip.

About me: I walked my first Camino in 2012 . Since then, I have walked over a dozen Caminos—alone or with others; in spring, summer and fall; in Spain, Portugal, and France. I’ve also spent many days volunteering along the trail, and if I’m not walking one now, I’m planning the next—and would love nothing more than to help you plan yours, too.

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