057: The Camino We’re Finally Finishing

Six years, 500 miles, and one very special walking partner

An Unexpected Stop

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

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

Left: Puente La Reina; Right: Los Arcos

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• 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.

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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!).

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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.

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