“Bonjour,” she said.

“Bonjour. Ça va?” I asked.

After exchanging details about where we were from she asked me if this was my first Camino.

“Yes,” I said, thinking, Why on earth would someone do this more than once?

She told me it was her seventh. I thought I misunderstood her French.

“Septième?” I asked.

Yes. Seventh time.

Half-way through that first Camino, I turned into that French woman.

Well, not exactly. I certainly don’t speak French like a native. Nor am I as old as she was. But I found myself on my seventh Camino long before I reached her age.

So what is it that keeps people going back?

A client who walked a Camino last summer with his 16-year-old daughter told me that when he got to Santiago he thought, “That was great, but I don’t think I’d do it again.” But within a few weeks, he couldn’t shake the desire to be back out on the trail. And his daughter—who was not in the best of spirits when they got to Santiago de Compostela—feels the same way.

There are dozens of routes to get to Santiago de Compostela, so a pilgrim could traverse up from Portugal one year, from southern Spain the next.

But then there are those of us who return to a route we’ve done once before.

Why? Because you never step in the same river twice.

Why do you return to your favorite restaurant week after week? Why do you spend time with the same friends repeatedly? Why do you go to the same church? The same gym? And root for the same sports teams over and over again? Because there’s something you enjoy about those places, those people, those experiences. And that’s why I return to routes I’ve already walked.

Whether it’s your first or fifteenth Camino, you eventually ask yourself:

• Where else in the world can you walk a few miles, sit for a cup of coffee with strangers doing the same, then walk again, into an ancient town that has welcomed pilgrims for over 1200 years?

• Where else can you meet people from twenty-five countries in the space of one week-–people who will, within a few minutes of meeting you, tell you their deepest fears and their highest hopes?

• Where else can you turn off technology for an entire day (or week or month) and be present nearly every moment, with more than enough time to reflect on your life–-alone, or with people who are genuinely interested to hear about it?

• Where else, in the space of a single day, can you spend quality time with people from newborns to ninety-somethings? (In Germany, as in many developed countries, parents get generous paid maternity and paternity leave—thus the German couple I met doing the Camino with their newborn.)

• And where else can you do all of the above all while also spending at least 6 hours per day outside getting more exercise in a day than most of us get in a week?

In one of her podcasts, noted “. . . the thing that social science tells us is the number one driver of happiness: meaningful connection to others.”

I’m sure the Camino de Santiago is not the only place in the world one can experience that connection. But it is one of the few places in recent times where I’ve had the time and freedom to experience it so deeply, so continuously, so easily. Hours upon hours, days upon days, of connecting with people from around the world.

That connection is one of the reasons so many of us walk Caminos year after year. We come home and ask, “Where else can I get that level of deep connection?” We try to find it. Sometimes we do. But the thirst just can’t quite be quenched in our “hyper-connected” (digital) world. So we go back.

My father (6-time Camino pilgrim) says, “You just can’t explain it.” But we try. I try every week to inspire you to get on this path or return to it. Some of you are here because you’ve done it and know, for a variety of reasons, you won’t go back. But you want that connection.

Whether you’ve done a Camino or not, I’d love to know:

Where do you find deep human connection?

Leave a comment

I look forward to hearing your answers.

With love,

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 (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.

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.

I wasn’t in a classroom. I was in my living room.

I wasn’t getting ready for school to start. I was getting ready to host a potluck.

I wasn’t welcoming students. I was welcoming friends both old and new.

And our topic wasn’t math. It was the Camino de Santiago.

More specifically, the future of our local group of Camino aficionados.

Through what can only be described as a wild set of coincidences--or destiny, depending on who you talk to-- within a week of moving to Asheville, North Carolina, in July, 2012, I was sitting among a group of people who had done what I’d just done: walked 500+ miles across Spain.

To understand how unusual this was, prior to this gathering, I knew just two people in the entire city of Asheville. And, prior to this gathering, no one I knew had ever heard of the Camino de Santiago, let alone walked it.

It was like Asheville was saying to me, “Welcome home.”

And I didn’t even have a home there yet. I was living with friends I’d met just 6 months earlier. They were in their 70s and thought I was interesting, so offered me a room and bathroom in their home--all to myself--for absolutely nothing in return. Though, and I say this very proudly, one night I came home to tell them of my latest Asheville adventures and they said, “You’re better than television!”

When I asked why they were so generous to me (besides my apparent entertainment value), they said, “We know you’re going to have a wonderful life here. . . and we want to look back one day and be able to say that we helped you get there.”

Here I am, 14 years later, still in Asheville. Well, minus the 4.5 years I just spent living in Spain. But the point is: they were right--I have a wonderful life here. And I can trace it all back to that welcoming couple and the welcoming Asheville Camino group.

At the time, the group was nothing “official.” It was a word-of-mouth thing. If locals wanted to do the Camino, and talked to enough people, they’d eventually hear about this group of us--Camino addicts all--who welcomed newcomers every Tuesday and loved nothing more than to answer their every Camino question.

Unless we were out doing another Camino.

Because I was an anomaly in the group. I’d just done one Camino. The others had done 3 or 7 or 10. Or, if they’d only done one, were already planning their next one.

I was also an anomaly because I was younger than any of them by at least 30 years.

“When are you doing your next Camino?” they’d ask.

“Well, unlike all of you, I still have to work,” I explained.

But here I am, fourteen years later, with more than 16 Caminos under my belt. Thanks in no small part to gathering every Tuesday with this group of people who kept the Camino enthusiasm going.

At one point, we became an official chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino.

• I collected email addresses and started a monthly newsletter (being the most technologically advanced in the group).

• We somehow started giving monthly Camino-related talks at our local REI.

• Friends who were preparing for a Camino planned out a 16 mile route through the city and surrounding areas. We adopted it into our first Asheville Camino and started walking it monthly.

Eventually, my work responsibilities meant I had to give up writing the newsletter. So I trained my replacement. He’s still doing it.

And the Tuesday group? It has never stopped. During COVID, it turned into a walking group. Now, they meet at 8:30 for a walk and then at 10 for coffee.

Those REI talks? We’ve got one the first Wednesday of every month from April til October. (And this Wednesday yours truly is giving the Camino 101 talk there with one of the original retirees who welcomed me into the group when I first moved to Asheville.)

And that Asheville Camino? We now call that the Asheville Camino Francés, as we’ve also got a Norte route (and soon a Primitivo route!). And we’ve spread into the surrounding area--we’ve got routes in Brevard, Black Mountain and Hendersonville.

So what’s next?

That’s why I was writing on a whiteboard in my living room.

Since returning from Spain, I’ve had impromptu conversations with various members of the group.

• It turns out we have just one official coordinator (we used to have three). And he’s been doing the newsletter, and coordinating the REI talks, and finding volunteers for the monthly Asheville Camino walks.

• Our Facebook group coordinator recently passed away. He recovered our group from hackers and now we need someone to follow in his footsteps.

• Some people have stopped attending the Tuesday walk because its pace has increased to a level they no longer enjoy. How can we bring them back?

• There may be interest in a weekend walk that only lasts an hour (for those that can’t attend Tuesday mornings and/or those that don’t have the time for the longer monthly weekend walks).

• Some of us are interested in starting a Spanish (and/or French) conversation group. (There are options locally, but none of them fit my schedule, so I may have hatched this idea with my own goals in mind!)

And . . . well, it was just time. To gather together. To thank those that have lead walks, given talks, helped others plan their Caminos. And to look to the future.

The group members didn’t disappoint. We had at least 4 tortillas, a roasted chicken, tostada con tomates, chips and crackers and cheese spreads and guacamole, salads, and desserts.

And then we gathered in my living room. In front of my whiteboard. To celebrate what we’ve done so far. And to plan for the future.

With love,

Rebecca

**One of my hosts when I first moved to Asheville passed away a couple years ago. The other no longer remembers who I am. I am forever indebted to them and pass on their generosity whenever I can. Consider this a reminder to say “thank you” (whether for the first time or the 50th) to those that have helped you along the way.

**To find a local Camino group near you, Google your country and “Friends of the Camino.”

🥾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.

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.

I knew what they were doing: trying to find a place to eat.

But it was 5 p.m., or sometimes 6—not dinner time, nor really mealtime at all in most of Spain. This is the time for a glass of wine. Dinner? Restaurants don’t open for dinner until 8 p.m.!

These hungry pilgrims would see a menu displayed out side a restaurant, think that was a good sign, walk in to inquire about food, and be told the kitchen was closed.

I would see them sometimes point to some tables in front of a restaurant across the square. I imagined them saying, “Look! There are people with plates of food over there!” If they had asked, I would have explained that those diners were just enjoying a really long lunch. The group probably started around 3 or even 3:30 and are now enjoying their sobremesa.

Sobremesa is one of those Spanish words that doesn’t exist in English. It designates the lingering one does after a meal, chatting with the others at the table. It can last for hours.

I know. I lived it.

Within months of moving to Spain, I learned that if I was going out to lunch with friends at 2, making plans to meet someone else at 5 was not a good idea. 6 p.m.? Maybe. But risky.

So allow me to educate you on Spanish meal times. You’ll thank me later.

Breakfast

7 a.m. is early in much of Spain. Good luck getting a cup of coffee at that hour. Unless you’re on the Camino Francés — that route has gotten so popular that some businesses now open early to catch the under-caffeinated morning pilgrims.

But sometimes you’ll have to walk a couple hours before you find an open bar for your café con leche.

I’d recommend getting some food while you’re there, as well. If you’re lucky, they’ll have some tortilla — think crustless quiche made only with eggs, salt, and potatoes.

And sometimes onions.

There is great debate over whether a true tortilla should be con cebolla o sin cebolla (with or without onions). There’s even a name for those of us who prefer it with onions: cebollistas.

If you want to really look like you know what you’re doing, ask if the tortilla is con cebolla o sin cebolla? Then smile and order it whichever way they have it — because they’ll only have it one way and that’s the way they think everyone should serve it.

(On rare occasions I see a variety of tortilla options. This still strikes me as odd as it’s so uncommon.)

Some places have the tortilla out on the bar under a plastic display case. On the Camino—and in many Spanish towns—they go through it so quickly that I’ve never worried about how long it has been sitting out.

But if you don’t see it on the bar? Ask. If they have it, perhaps it’s in the back.

For those looking for a carb fix, I highly recommend tostada con tomates. I look around to see who else has toasted bread with tomatoes in front of them as I want the freshly grated tomatoes. If I have any doubts, I’ll ask “El tomate es fresco?”

Often the toast is served with a small ceramic bowl of freshly grated tomatoes, a packet of salt, and a packet or bottle of olive oil. You pour olive oil over the toasted bread, then spread the tomatoes, then a bit of salt. Heaven.

Tostada con mantequilla (y mermelada) is also an option. This is toast with butter and jam. I recommend the peach, if you’re given a choice.

You usually order tostada until 11:30 or 12. Can you order it later? Sure. It’s just not when we commonly eat it in Spain, so don’t be surprised if you get some odd looks.

And as for the tortilla? It’s available until it’s gone.

And then there’s the orange juice (zumo de naranja). It doesn’t come out of carton. Nearly every bar in Spain has a machine into which they dump whole oranges. They press a button and the oranges are cut and squeezed into the waiting glass or pitcher. I don’t even have the words to describe how delicious it is.

I’m sure those of you who have already walked the Camino have had a variety of breakfast experiences. I don’t mean to say everything above is 100% true everywhere all of the time — it’s just the general pattern I’ve seen after doing more than 15 Caminos and living 4 1/2 years in Spain.

Might you find a place on the Camino Portugués for 6 a.m. coffee, for example? Sure.

Or maybe you get to the only bar in town and find it closed. You see a local farmer, chat with him, and he takes pity on you, and opens the bar—because he’s the owner but was out feeding his cows. It happened to me. On the Camino Invierno. There was no tostada, no tortilla, but that was the best coffee I’d ever had.

And what about those pilgrims wandering the town in which I used to live that I mentioned above? When such pilgrims wandered by my table, I would certainly help them out—there was one bar in town that had bocadillos (sandwiches) available at that hour. But if they simply stood there studying their phones, I’m afraid I wasn’t much help. If you think your phone will be more useful than asking a local, by all means, give it a try. You might eventually find your answer. The question is: For how long do you want to go hungry?

With love,

Rebecca

A word about Google Maps information: In general, don’t trust the hours listed on anyone’s Google Maps profile in Spain. If it says the hours were updated recently by the owner, you’ve got a better chance of the information being true. But in my experience, the only way to truly know if a place will be open is to call or walk by.

For those of you saying, “Wait! That’s only breakfast!” I already covered lunch and dinner in this earlier post:

Share your Camino food-related experiences or questions 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.

• Age isn’t the issue. I talk about why 55, 65, 75, or even 80 isn’t automatically too old for the Camino. What matters more is your current physical ability and what you’re willing to do to prepare. 03:41–06:02

• You don’t have to be an athlete—or walk huge distances. I explain that the real challenge is walking day after day, but you can build a Camino around shorter walking days and a pace that works for you. 06:02–10:02

• Start training where you are. I recommend gradually increasing your walking rather than trying to suddenly become a 10-mile-a-day walker. And you don’t need all your Camino gear before you start training. 10:02–14:20

• There is no single “right” way to do the Camino. I talk about poles, backpacks, walking speed, breaks, luggage transfer, and all the other choices that can be personalized. The Camino needs to work for you, not for the person walking next to you. 14:20–20:16

• Prepare for hills and the unexpected. I explain why mileage isn’t the whole story, why elevation matters, and why the Camino will probably challenge you in some way—physically, emotionally, or otherwise. 20:16–24:12

• You have options if you get tired or something goes wrong. I talk about taxis, buses, health centers, pharmacies, other pilgrims, and simply asking for help. You don’t have to figure everything out alone. 24:12–31:33

• You don’t have to carry everything. I explain luggage transport and why carrying a lighter daypack can make the Camino much more accessible for people who don’t want to haul a full backpack. 33:16–35:07

• Train without hurting yourself. I emphasize starting slowly, listening to your body, getting professional advice when needed, and testing shoes, socks, blister remedies, and other solutions before you leave. What works for somebody else may not work for your feet. 35:07–38:59

• Flexibility is part of the Camino. Things won’t go perfectly. I talk about having travel insurance, knowing how to get medical help, and having enough of a plan that you can deal with problems without panicking. 39:07–43:05

• You can’t control the weather, so practice in it. I explain how to prepare for heat and rain and why training in less-than-perfect conditions can teach you what your body and gear actually need. The goal isn’t to be prepared for everything—it’s to be prepared enough to know what to do when something happens. 43:29–49:54

  ---

More Camino Conversations

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

🥾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.

Get more from Rebecca Weston in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

• The Camino can stay with you long after you finish. It isn’t necessarily a vacation you simply return from; for Rebecca, it became an ongoing pilgrimage and exploration. 02:00–02:21

• How the Camino first captured her imagination. She discovered it through Sonia Choquette’s Walking Home, and the map of the different routes immediately hooked her. She decided she would someday walk it alone—even though she had young children and a full-time job. 02:39–03:57

• Sometimes life creates the window for the Camino. Her 2020 Camino was cancelled, but three years later, with her daughter leaving for college and a buyout from work, she suddenly had the time, freedom, and resources to go. 04:08–04:22

• Walking alone can build confidence rather than isolation. Although she was initially nervous, she discovered that traveling alone made it easier to meet people, trust her instincts, and realize she could handle herself. 07:10–09:02

• It’s okay to acknowledge fear. Rebecca describes two situations that frightened her—walking in the dark and staying in a room full of men—but neither became a bad experience. She learned to pay attention to what made her uncomfortable and adjust accordingly. 09:02–09:44

• The Camino isn’t always magical. Sometimes it just sucks. Five days in, after walking 40 miles in four days, Rebecca was exhausted, lonely, and questioning why she’d undertaken the journey. She ultimately chose to commit fully and accept the experience as it came. 11:01–13:09

• You have to walk your own Camino. A fellow pilgrim realized he wasn’t there simply to finish; he wanted to slow down and enjoy the journey. Rebecca connects this to the people who accidentally end up doing someone else’s Camino by matching another person’s pace. 13:10–14:37

• A profound moment at the Cruz de Ferro. Feeling sick, exhausted, and disconnected from the significance of the day, Rebecca unexpectedly experienced a powerful sense of connection to the earth, spirit, and herself. She says that moment carried her through the rest of the journey. 15:30–17:28

• Walking changed how she experienced herself. Rebecca talks about the idea of bilateral stimulation and how sustained walking may engage different aspects of the brain. More importantly, she personally returned less driven by her analytical/type-A side and more willing to listen to her feelings and intuition. 17:52–19:44

• Post-Camino re-entry deserves more attention. Coming home can be surprisingly difficult. Both Rebecca and Rebecca recommend creating a buffer after the walk rather than immediately jumping back into normal life. 19:52–22:16

• You can bring the Camino home. Long walks with friends, time in nature, and simply creating space to process can help preserve the Camino mindset. Walking side-by-side can also make deeper conversations easier. 22:29–24:39

• The simplicity of Camino life reveals what matters. Walking, talking, eating, and sleeping stripped away many of the distractions of ordinary life. Rebecca found that this opened up a more creative and exploratory part of herself. 25:13–27:44

• Creativity became a way to “continue on the way.” She connects writing, Substack, improv, and other creative pursuits to the Camino’s spirit of discovery, improvisation, connection, and being present in the moment. 26:23–27:44

• Not everyone wants to hear your five-hour Camino story—and that’s okay. People may be interested in youwithout being fascinated by the Camino itself. But the people who genuinely engage can become much deeper friends. 28:11–29:40

• The Camino helped her separate herself from her roles. At 57, as an empty nester and after leaving her job, she was at a natural point of asking, “Who am I really?” She realized she is still a mother, wife, daughter, etc.—but she is not her roles. 30:15–31:26

• Your body can adapt—but be kind to it. The first days may be difficult, but Rebecca emphasizes starting gently, taking shorter days or rest days, and trusting that the body will adapt. 32:41–34:18

• Don’t let other pilgrims’ pace become your measuring stick. Seeing people walking 20–26+ miles a day can create enormous peer pressure, but their Camino isn’t yours. Slowing down can actually create opportunities to meet different people and experience things you would otherwise miss. 35:36–38:36

• A week can still be a real Camino. The transformation isn’t necessarily dependent on walking for 40 days; Rebecca argues that intention and mindset matter more than duration. A shorter Camino can also allow you to integrate the experience gradually and return again later. 38:31–40:57

• There is no single “right” way to do the Camino. Even though experienced pilgrims may wish everyone would slow down and notice the history, nature, and stories, ultimately each person has to have their own Camino. 41:00–42:48

• If you can’t stop thinking about the Camino, listen to that. Rebecca’s closing message is that if the idea keeps calling you, there may be a reason. You don’t have to wait for retirement or find a month of free time—you can find a way to do even a week. 42:51–44:14

• Her writing is part of her ongoing Camino. Rebecca is documenting the experience through Walking the Earth, A Camino Journey, telling the story one day at a time—not just the logistics, but the struggles, insights, and raw reality of the walk. 44:29–45:15

A big thank you to Rebecca for sharing her Camino journey with me!

Rebecca writes at Walk The Earth where she promises, “a weekly escape as you travel along with me on the Camino de Santiago. . . share my discoveries and immerse yourself in the utterly heart-stopping and soul-nourishing beauty of the Camino.” Click here to read her work.

Get more from Rebecca Weston in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

This could be because:

• It got to 104 degrees here in Estella, Spain yesterday. Not too many pilgrims want to walk the Camino in this kind of weather!

• Most pilgrims who stay in hostels look for the cheapest one. Ours is 12 Euros for the night. The municipal hostel is 8 Euros.

• We are a few minutes walk off the main Camino route. Most pilgrims prefer something as close to the Camino as possible and the municipal albergue (hostel) is on the route.

I like volunteering at Camino hostels for the camaraderie. But how much of that would I get with just one pilgrim? Well, it would turn out quite a bit!

Our guest last night was Michel — a Frenchman from a town just outside Bordeaux.

He’s actually not going to Santiago de Compostela; he’s headed in the exact opposite direction!

Why?

Because he and five others just rode Mobylettes (1960s French mopeds) from Bordeaux to Santiago de Compostela—over 1100 km (684 miles) to commemorate the 1984 voyage done the same way and to celebrate 40 years of their local Friends of the Camino association.

After all the fanfare of their arrival (you can see a news clip about them here), the Mobylettes were put in a van, Michel grabbed a backpack, and started his walk back to Bordeaux. He has walked dozens of Caminos, but never the most popular route—the Camino Francés.

**

One of my jobs as a volunteer is to give each pilgrim who arrives a stamp in their Camino credential. Each country has its own and over the course of my years of volunteering I’ve seen ones from a variety of countries. But this is the first time I’ve seen a Camino credential that someone made personally thanks to ChatGPT!

For their vintage moped ride, Michel made this one:

And now for his Camino “in reverse” he made this one:

By the time 2 p.m. came and went I was hoping we wouldn’t see any more pilgrims—not because I didn’t want the camaraderie but because I hoped no one was still walking the Camino in the 100 degree temperatures.

But at 8 p.m., I got a call. “Can I make a reservation for tonight?”

“Tonight? There’s no need! We have plenty of beds.”

And so it was that J arrived 20 minutes later. She told her story to Michel—but in French, which I can usually understand. But her story was a bit convoluted so I later asked Michel if I heard it correctly.

Indeed I had.

J had taken a cab to our albergue from a town 10km away. She was wondering if she should take a cab back to that point again tomorrow so as not to miss any of the Camino.

Why had she arrived at 8pm? It wasn’t clear.

When I went to stamp her credential, I saw she her last stamp was from Roncesvalles — which meant she hadn’t gotten any Camino stamps in the last 4 days. She also asked about how one gets Camino stamps, which I thought an odd thing not to know if she’d been on the route for five days.

Michel volunteers at the Camino hostel in his town in France. So we’ve both seen some unusual things. Was J really walking the Camino? Or was she actually one of those people who, for whatever reason, decide to live on the Camino for a while? She talked about camping her first two nights, which is common among the 20-something Camino crowd, but J was 50.

“It seems a bit odd,” Michel said to me. “But we’re all a little odd.”

Indeed we are.

The next morning, J left in the Birkenstock clogs in which she’d arrived—not the ideal walking shoe, but who am I to judge?

And this is perhaps one of the reasons I return to the Camino year after year: to be reminded of these important life lessons. How often do I build a story about someone based on only a few pieces of information? How often do those stories become judgement?

Is there a place in your life you making a judgement based on very few details?

With love,

Rebecca

“Are those the chickens from inside the church?” my father asked.

“It can’t be—the chickens are way inside the church. We wouldn’t hear them out here.”

And then I saw it—a man carrying a pet carrier, walking away from the cathedral.

As we approached, the hens clucked again—louder this time.

“They’re in there!” I said excitedly.

—

Let’s go back a little bit here and cover why there are hens in a church along the Camino de Santiago to begin with.

Back in the 14th century, a German couple and their son were traveling the Camino on their way to Santiago de Compostela.

An innkeeper’s daughter became infatuated with their son, but he did not return her advances. Angered, she hid a silver goblet in his belongings and then accused him of stealing it.

He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by hanging.

(Note to young women: If a man resists your advances, just walk away. Having him killed isn’t good karma.)

So the German parents, obviously deeply grieving, continue their walk to Santiago de Compostela.

In those days, once you got to Santiago, you turned around and walked home. (Some pilgrims still do this today. Like the guy I wrote about a few weeks ago with his donkey.)

Anyway, back to our story.

When the parents returned to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, they found their son still alive—apparently held up by St. Dominic.

They immediately went to the judge, who was in the middle of a chicken dinner, and told him their son was alive in the gallows. The judge said, “Your son is no more alive than the chicken on my plate.”

At which point a rooster and hen sprang to life in front of him.

So since 1350 (according to written documents), there have been chickens in the church at Santo Domingo de la Calzada—to commemorate this miracle.

—

I’d heard the chickens were kept at the pilgrim hostel and rotated out every week or so. So I inserted myself into the conversation the chicken-carrying man was having with two other women.

I asked if those were indeed the chickens that had just come from the church and if they were the group responsible for moving them. The women pointed to the chicken-carrying man and said, in essence, “It’s all him.”

The Spanish women, apparently having had all their questions answered, excused themselves. But I had more questions, and Javier’s huge smile indicated he loved answering them.

Javier was delighted to tell us he changes the chickens out every four days. As he has been doing for eight years.

“And when you go on vacations, someone takes over for you?”

Turns out Javier never leaves town for more than 3 days.

He asked if we knew the story of the chickens.

“Yes, my father and I ended our first Camino here in 2019,” I explained.

“Your first?”

“Yes. This is our sixth together.”

Javier looked at my father. “How old is he?”

Javier only speaks Spanish, so I had been punctuating our conversation with English translations for my father. But I already knew Dad’s answer.

“How old do you think he is?” I asked Javier.

“70.”

“He’ll be 79 next month.”

After Javier’s stunned look and congratulations, conversation continued—with clucking chickens as our background music.

—

I knew St. Dominic (Santo Domingo in Spanish) founded the town now called Santo Domingo de la Calzada back in the 11th century.

“So why did he choose here?” I asked.

Javier explained that when Dominic García arrived (in the early 1030s), the area was forested and the only structure was a king’s hunting lodge that had fallen into disrepair.

Dominic was looking for a place to settle as he’d been kicked out of his previous order. (Research tells me this could be a hagiography—a story written about a saint centuries after his death to dramatize his life and basically make a better story. But I like a good story. So let’s stick with this one.)

Anyway, Dominic comes upon this hunting lodge. He knows pilgrims walk through this region, but there isn’t much infrastructure for them. Nor one clear route.

So he takes his sickle and starts clearing a path in the forest. And he fixes up the hunting lodge. And builds a church.

Pilgrims prefer to take the easiest route, so upon seeing a cleared path, they follow it.

Dominic eventually turned his “path” into a stone road. And built a bridge over the nearby river Oja. And that hunting lodge? It became a hospice/hospital/place of hospitality welcoming pilgrims.

Dominic spent the rest of his life serving pilgrims walking to Santiago de Compostela.

When he died in 1109, he was buried in the church on the site. Fifty years later, a cathedral was constructed on that same site and St. Dominic’s remains are there to this day.

—

“And do you know about the tower?” Javier asked, pointing to the structure across the square.

“Nooo. . .”

“It’s collapsed twice.”

I translated for my father who said, “I’m not going up there.”

“When was the last time it fell?” I asked.

Javier blew air out through pursed lips, tossing his hand back to indicate quite some time ago.

He told us a story about poor foundations and the eventual use of bulls horns buried three meters down to make the ground more stable. What’s truth and what’s local legend?

Who knows.

But I like Javier.

And, as I said, I like a good story.

Especially when there are chickens clucking nearby.

We are standing outside the former hunting lodge—now a 4-star Parador hotel in which Dad and I stayed back in 2019. A man has been standing on his hotel room balcony above us listening in. A couple having a drink in front of the hotel are also clearly interested in either the Spanish or my translations.

I decide I’ve held up Javier and those poor chickens long enough.

Before we go, however, he pulls out a gift for us: a small card. St. Dominic is pictured on one side—a chicken and hen at his feet, a sickle in his hand. On the other side, the prayer of St. Dominic.

—

Did I mention Dad and I haven’t even started walking yet? And did I mention Pedro— whom we met at the convent by the other 4-star Parador hotel (in which we’re staying)?

Well, that will have to wait for another time. It’s nearly midnight here. And we’re due to start a loooong walk tomorrow.

Wish us luck.

Note: Dad and I are doing a 7-day walk on the Camino Francés starting in Santo Domingo de la Calzada and ending in Fromista.

It’s nearly midnight here—but there are so many interesting people to meet and things to do, and I wanted to capture this story! Here’s hoping I find time to write earlier in the day so I can get to bed at a reasonable hour!

Yet here I am.

Not retired.

But with more than a dozen Caminos completed.

The Camino Was Supposed to Be a One-Time Thing

My first Camino (2012) was thanks to a self-funded and self-appointed sabbatical year. I spent thirty-seven days walking over 500 miles walking the Camino Francés.

It was love at first sight. French food and the Pyrenees will do that to you.

By Day 3, I was in Spain and was thinking what I’d do differently for my next Camino.

But I wasn’t even 40 yet. I had to get back to work! Who knew when I’d be back on the Camino. . .

The Worst Camino

My second Camino was because my then-boyfriend (of a mere 3 months) said, “Let’s move to France.”

I explained that unless we could get ourselves a visa or a European passport, we could only stay for 3 months.

My boyfriend worked online, but I hadn’t figured out how to do that yet.

I had saved up money so that I didn’t have to work for a few months. Entertaining myself wasn’t usually a problem, but after just a week in Aix-en-Provence, I panicked: What would I do with myself for 3 months?

So I took off for a familiar path: the Camino de Santiago (but this time: in Portugal).

It was my worst-ever Camino experience.

There was daily rain.
A lack of trail markers.
A lack of pilgrims.
A lack of open places to eat.
A lack of towns.

And that boyfriend? I really liked the guy. And missed him.

But I made it to Santiago, then back to the boyfriend waiting patiently for me in Aix-en-Provence.

The Camino Companion Who Said Yes at 73

After my first Camino, I said to my friend Lois, “You’d love the Camino. If you ever want to do it, I’ll do it with you.”

In 2015, she said yes.

She was 73.

Over 500 miles later, I walked into Santiago de Compostela for the third time in just over three years.

And then Lois and I kept going. (We walked out to the ocean at Finisterre.)

But I’m not the story, here.

Lois! 73! Over 500 miles!

(Watch her side of the story here.)

I should point out that I’ve always lived frugally. I don’t like shopping. Nor spending my money on much of anything except travel. And thanks to my decision not to have children nor buy a house (at that point), expenses were few.

And work? I’d work until the job no longer held any interest for me, then I’d ask my employer for something different, they’d usually be unable to help me, so I’d resign and head off to do some traveling (because beyond throwing money into some retirement accounts and paying my expenses, I didn’t have much else to use my money for. . . so travel it was!)

Summers Changed Everything

Then I took a teaching job.

They say you don’t take a teaching job just for the vacations.

But don’t let anyone fool you: those vacations certainly don’t hurt.

For the first time in my life, money was getting deposited into my account while I was traveling for the summer.

Thus Camino #4 and #5 happened—and I expanded into routes in France. This is also when I started volunteering annually on the Camino.

The Year Dad Understood

2019 was quite a year for me on the Camino.

I started in Aire-sur-L’Adour, France and spent a week walking to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port—arriving just a few days before I was due to start volunteering in the pilgrim office there.

A few days after I finished that, I went to meet my father in Pamplona. He wanted to see what the Camino was all about and why his eldest child was seemingly obsessed with it.

Little did I know Dad would turn into a Camino addict himself.

The Year the World Changed

In 2020, I realized my style of teaching was not going to work if I had to be 6-feet away from my students at all times (we did lots of hands-on activities).

So I resigned from my teaching job, started an online business, and by July, 2021 my husband and I (yes—the aforementioned boyfriend) were living in Spain.

Some thought it only logical that I move to Camino Central. But my response was always, “The only things I know about Spain are from the Camino. I have no idea what life is like in the rest of the country.”

We chose Spain not for the Camino, but because it was the second easiest place for us to get a visa at the time. (The easiest was Portugal. But I wanted to learn another language, and Portuguese didn’t appeal to me.)

Camino #8 was monumental. I met my husband just after I finished Camino #1. In his vows, he promised to one day walk a Camino with me. And in 2022 (less than four years after that vow) it finally happened.

Even if I wanted to stop walking Camino routes, it would have been hard to do because it’s hard to say no to my father.

After his first Camino (2019), he decided he wanted to do the route from St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela (over 500 miles), but not all at once.

So nearly every year since his first Camino, we’ve done a week together.

Learning Spanish for a Different Kind of Camino

In July, 2023, I decided I needed a solo Camino again.

But I wanted to do one of the lesser-known routes.

I knew I’d meet fewer pilgrims on these routes, let alone English-speaking ones. In January of 2023 (a year-and-a-half after moving to Spain), I had committed to studying 2 hours per day of Spanish. By July, I felt I finally had the level I needed to embark on a route where I may not find anyone with whom to speak English.

That was the Camino Invierno (#10). I loved it—and can’t wait to lead a group on that one!

When the Camino Became Part of My Work

Speaking of groups. . . In 2025, I had planned to do the Camino Baztan (from Bayonne to Pamplona).

But by that time, I had started The Camino Calls—helping people plan their walks on the Camino de Santiago.

So I decided I’d do the Camino Inglés instead—to see if that would be a good walk on which to lead my first Camino Walk with Rebecca.

The majority of people on the route that summer were Spaniards, but I knew the popular time for English-speaking retirees to do the Camino was spring and fall, so I held my first Camino Walk with Rebecca in October, 2025 and we had a wonderful time!

Still Walking

So here we are. . .

In two weeks, Dad and I will embark on our sixth Camino together. Once he’s finished, he’ll be able to say he has walked the entire Camino Francés—over 500 miles across Spain to Santiago de Compostela.

After he heads back to the US, I’ll head off on my own Camino.

And in September, I’ll be leading a Camino Walk with Rebecca once again.

With love,

Rebecca

P.S. I’m hoping to announce details for my next Camino Walk with Rebecca in early June. If you’d like to be the first to hear about it, you can join the interest list here.

P.P.S. For those of you keeping track, the numbers won’t add up—there are a few Caminos I didn’t mention!

🎥Camino Conversations

And to continue the theme of people walking lots of miles/kilometers on the Camino, this week on Camino Conversations I’ll introduce you to Gideon Enok who left his home in Denmark to walk to Santiago de Compostela. He now has 7000+km/4350+ mi of Caminos under his belt—and a Camino love story to share.

• Stay tuned to your email for the invitation to join us :)

Note: There were some technical difficulties that prevented last Wednesday’s live conversation from happening, so apologies to those who tried to join. I’m hoping this week things are better!

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

From the Archives:

🥾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.

What happens when ticking sights off a checklist stops being enough — when you start craving something deeper from your travels but can’t quite name what it is?

In this episode, I reflects on the shift from checklist tourism to transformational travel: the idea that the most unforgettable trips aren’t measured by the landmarks you see, but by the people you meet and the way they quietly change you. At the heart of it is the Camino de Santiago — a 1,200-year-old pilgrimage that draws walkers from 183 countries, open to every faith, age, and ability.

Along the way, I share the stories that have stayed with me: a chance conversation on a train, the retired couple who took me in when I first moved to Asheville, the stranger who taught me that accepting a gift is itself a gift, and the numerous Caminos I’ve now walked—alone and with others. I dig into the lessons the trail keeps teaching — gratitude, slowing down, simplifying, and the surprising art of talking to strangers — and why the Camino doesn’t always give you what you want, but it gives you what you need.

Love of Hiking Isn’t Required. . .

I hated gyms.

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.

More Camino Conversations

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

Join us live here on Substack every Wednesday at 11am.

🥾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.

Get more from Rebecca Weston in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

You’ve ticked some—or all—of your most desired destinations off your bucket list.

There are more places to see, but the traditional “vacation” just doesn’t excite you like it once did.

You know the routine:

• a flight to a destination

• seeing all the must-sees

• eating the local food

• staying in a hotel room that looks like most other rooms you’ve stayed in everywhere else

There must be more to travel, you think.

Then You Learn About the Camino

Then you learn about the Camino de Santiago. It’s unlike any trip you’ve taken before. It’s not about seeing a destination, but about having a transformational experience.

It’s challenging, but not in a “let’s climb Everest” way. It’s just enough that you feel like you could make it happen.

But then you start to look into it.

There are thousands of YouTube videos—mostly showing twenty-somethings carrying huge backpacks and staying in rooms with 20 people. Is this the only option? (Spoiler alert: no!)

There are Facebook groups—even some for people in your age range. But every question asked gets dozens, if not hundreds, of responses. How do you wade through them all?

Imagine This Instead

Now fast-forward a bit.

Imagine you don’t have to wade through answers for hours or watch YouTube videos that never quite answer your questions.

Imagine you found someone who has done dozens of walks on Camino routes and knows the concerns and needs of people over 45. Someone who understands that you want the experience of the Camino, but don’t want to spend your precious days wading through information to find the one nugget that finally answers your question or addresses your fear.

Imagine that person, within minutes of your first conversation, puts you completely at ease and makes Camino planning go from “overwhelming” to “attainable”—or, dare I say it, fun!

Imagine getting on the Camino sooner than you thought possible because you’ve got someone in your court. Someone you meet with regularly who helps you with everything from accommodations to luggage transfers. Someone who has spent years living in Spain, knows how to navigate the health system, and knows to tell you things you never even thought to ask about.

Well, here’s the good news: you’ve found me.

How can I help?

With love,

Rebecca

P.S. If you’re reading this and thinking, “Hey Rebecca—can I just go on a Camino with you?” the answer is yes! I’ll be announcing my fall Camino Walk With Rebecca soon. If you’d like to be among the first to hear about it, click here to join the early-access list.

P.P.S. On my Camino Walk With Rebecca trips we stay in private rooms and only carry daypacks.

Live from Camino Walk With Rebecca 2025

If you want to hear from someone that has done one of my trips, watch my conversation with Margaret Faure below. (She did the Camino at 70 and just 11 months after having a knee replacement!)

🎥Join me live on Substack!

• Wednesday, May 23, 11am ET: “Why Do We Keep Returning to the Camino de Santiago?” with David Howard. David walked his first Camino in 2003. Twenty years later, he was on his 7th. What keeps us returning to the Camino de Santiago? Join us to hear our answers—and be prepared to be inspired!

• Thursday, May 21, 4pm ET: “What If Your Next Trip Changed You? A Live Talk About the Camino.” Join me for a live conversation about what happens when traditional travel stops feeling like enough—and why the Camino de Santiago keeps calling people into something deeper, simpler, and surprisingly accessible to so many.

To join us live, click the link above at the designated date/time.

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

🥾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.

In this episode of Camino Conversations, Rebecca Weston — owner of The Camino Calls and a 15-time Camino veteran — walks you through exactly how to pack for the Camino de Santiago when you’re 45+ and sending your luggage ahead.

She tackles the questions that fill every Camino forum: which shoes actually work, how to handle rain and brutal heat waves, and how to avoid the rookie mistake of “fear-packing.” Along the way, she shares real stories from the trail plus tips on laundry, foot care, electronics, and the small comforts worth their weight.

Whether it’s your first Camino or your tenth, you’ll come away with a clear-eyed, no-nonsense packing philosophy that prioritizes lightness, flexibility, and trust in the trail.

      •     00:00 — Intro & who this episode is for (45+, sending luggage ahead)

      •     01:21 — Core packing philosophy: “Don’t let your fears load your pack”

      •     02:13 — Why you still pack light even when sending luggage

      •     04:38 — Luggage size & weight limits; sending a bag ahead to Santiago

      •     06:41 — Shoes: hiking shoes vs. boots, why Hokas work for her

      •     09:21 — Second pair of shoes & sandals

      •     10:32 — Breaking in shoes & training mileage recommendations

      •     11:22 — Socks: wool, dry-wicking, toe socks, last-minute gear changes

      •     14:20 — Training on uneven surfaces (not just paved roads)

      •     15:36 — Town shoes & why heels are a bad idea

      •     16:02 — Clothing: hiking pants (the zip-off kind), skirts for heat

      •     18:43 — Sundress vs. hiking clothes for the evening

      •     19:13 — Dry-wicking shirts & buying gear secondhand

      •     20:06 — Layering strategy (short sleeve + long sleeve + rain jacket)

      •     22:00 — More on toe socks

      •     22:41 — Rain gear: jacket vs. pants vs. ponchos

      •     24:49 — Sun gear: sun hats and sunscreen

      •     27:29 — Umbrellas (yes, for sun!) & cooling towels for heat waves

      •     30:07 — Guidebooks (Brierley, French guides) vs. Camino apps

      •     31:55 — Journals & writing on the Camino

      •     33:33 — Medical: prescriptions, first aid kits, emergency contact cards

      •     35:57 — Spanish pharmacies & language expectations

      •     36:57 — Laundry: washing in the sink, the towel-roll trick, drying time

      •     40:07 — Electronics: phones, iPads, chargers, EU plug adapters

      •     41:57 — Passports & important documents

      •     43:04 — Cash, credit cards & ATMs

      •     44:17 — Foot care: Moleskin, Compeed & treating hot spots

      •     47:13 — Toilet paper in your pocket

      •     48:37 — Pajamas & non-hiking clothes

      •     50:19 — Water bottles & Camelbacks; drinking from fountains

      •     52:25 — Kula Cloth recommendation

      •     53:02 — Clothespins — do you actually need them?

      •     54:14 — Toiletries, scissors, credit card notifications

      •     55:04 — Earplugs & eye masks (and Spanish noise levels)

      •     56:32 — Hiking/trekking poles: usage, getting them through airport security, buying them in Spain

      •     59:29 — Binder clips, safety pins, snacks, headlamps, backup eyeglasses, swimsuits

      •     1:01:17 — Closing recap & goodbyes​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

More Camino Conversations

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

Join us live here on Substack every Wednesday at 11am.

🥾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.

Get more from Rebecca Weston in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

I’d met her on the trail a few days earlier. “Are you okay?” I asked her, knowing the answer before she told me about her knee pain.

“You know,” I said, eyeing her backpack, “there are companies that will transport your pack for you—maybe you need a day of walking without so much weight on your back.”

“No,” she said, “it’s not my pack.”

But I didn’t argue.

I’d chatted with her enough times to realize she was one of the people who, for reasons that were unclear to me, felt suffering was a requirement on the Camino. She always had a problem to complain about, but never wanted to implement the solutions others around her offered.

This is hard for me to see in life in general, but especially on the Camino. Some pilgrims have been dreaming about this trip for 10 years or more. Why risk not getting to Santiago de Compostela?

When I meet injured people on the Camino, I only offer advice if asked. I tell them to:

1. Visit a pharmacy. They have everything pilgrims need—they know their audience. And in Spain, they can diagnose and give you potions from behind-the-counter. If their assessment indicates you need to see a doctor, they’ll tell you where to go.

2. Send your pack—if you’re carrying one. There are dozens of companies offering this service for about 5 Euros per day. (See how to do it below!) They’re reliable and can be fully booked before your trip or as late as 8pm the night before you want to use them.

3. Take a rest day. Or, if you feel like you want to keep moving forward, do a shorter day. If you already have a place booked for the night and can’t imagine arriving there on foot that day, go to the nearest bar (they’re not hard to find in Spain) and ask them to call you a taxi. (Side note: “Taxi” is one of the most universal words around the world!)

If an injured pilgrim rejects all of my ideas, I throw one final thought out there. “Is your goal to get to Santiago de Compostela?” I ask. “If so, you need to take care of yourself.”

But here’s the thing: luggage transfer on the Camino are not just for the injured.

If you are not interested in carrying all your belongings on your back on the Camino de Santiago, you don’t have to!

The Camino will challenge you in ways you never imagined. There’s no need to bring more suffering upon yourself—unless you want to.

So below is your guide to using the luggage transport services on the Camino.

With love,
Rebecca

How Luggage Transfers Work on the Camino de Santiago

Once your accommodations are booked, you can set up luggage transfers from the comfort of your home computer. Here’s how.

(Note: As part of my Full Camino Experience planning package, I’ll help you book your luggage transfers during one of our planning sessions, after we’ve finalized your accommodations.)

Before leaving home:

1. Get your accommodations finalized. (You need to know where your bags are going before booking a luggage transfer company!)

2. Go the the website of the company you want to use. (Just google, “Luggage Transfer on the Camino ______” — filling in the route you’ll be taking. I and my client have used Correos, Taxi Camino Inglés, Jacotrans, Pilbeo, Top Santiago, Camino Facil, and TuiTrans.)

3. Follow the directions to input your dates and destinations. Triple check that you have the correct dates and locations!

4. Pay for the service.

5. You should receive an email confirmation as well as the luggage tags to print and attach to your bag. I recommend printing them and taking them to an office supply store to get them laminated. Don’t affix them to your bag until you get to your Camino starting point—you don’t want to lose them before you even start!

6. Take a picture of the luggage tag and/or make note of which company you are using and their phone number.

When you get to your Camino starting point:

1. Affix the luggage tag to your bag.

2. Contact the luggage transfer company to confirm that they will be picking up your bag the next day. (This is not always required, but highly recommended for piece of mind.) Most of the companies are on the messaging app WhatsApp (free).

3. Confirm with your accommodation where you need to leave your bag in the morning. (The front desk, at the bottom of the stairs, etc.)

4. Get your bag to the location by 8am. Do not be late! I have seen luggage transfer services arrive exactly at 8am to start their rounds.

When you arrive at your next accommodation for the night:

1. Ask if your bags have arrived. Depending on the company you use, bags may not arrive until as late as 4:30.

2. If your bag has not arrived by the designated time—relax. Contact the company or ask someone to contact them on your behalf. Having used this service hundreds of times, this has only happened to me twice and both times my bag was delivered to me within the hour.

3. Confirm with your accommodation where you need to leave your bag in the morning. (The front desk, at the bottom of the stairs, etc.)

4. Get your bag to the location by 8am.

   

Is this safe?

Yes. My clients and I have used these services thousands of times.

• Don’t pack your great-grandmother’s pearls. You won’t need them on the Camino.

• If you’re bringing electronics, be prepared to carry them with you in all kinds of weather. (E.g. If I’m working while on Camino, my laptop is in my daypack in its case and that case is in a couple layers of plastic bags in case it rains.)

• Some people buy AirTags or similar and put it in their bag to know its location at all times.

• You could also lock your luggage. I never have and have never had anything go missing.

🎥Join me live on Substack!

• Wednesday, May 13, 11am ET: “Camino Conversations: What to Pack for Your Camino.” I will specifically address those that will be sending their packs with luggage transport services and staying in private rooms. (E.g. I won’t be talking about sleeping bags and camp towels!)

To join us live, click the link above at the designated date/time.

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

Leave a comment

If you’re planning a Camino, you should read this. (And if you’d like my help planning your Camino, click here.)

If you have other Camino safety concerns, this posts may be of interest:

🥾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 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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.