4 Things I Love About the Camino de Santiago

Reflections from the first hundred miles of the Camino de Santiago

Time Moves Slowly

Time on the Camino is measured in steps.  One foot in front of the other 25,000 to 35,000 times a day.  It forces you to come to terms with yourself.  The truth is that life well lived is a deliberate process and nothing underscores this more than a journey that cannot be hurried, avoided, or wished away.  I love that the Camino takes time.  Time to think. Time to pray.  Time to hear what others are saying.  Time to listen to that still small voice within that calls you to a deeper journey.

Second Breakfast

Tortilla de patata and zumo de naranja natural.  Can't say much more about this one.  It must be experienced.  Everything tastes better when you burn 3,000 plus calories a day.

Simplicity

The Camino breaks you down.  It asks..."What do you really need?"  What is so important that you must carry it upon your back all day every day?  Each path will ask it's travelers to reconsider what is most essential to their lives and happiness.  The answer is that most of the happiness on the Camino is not found in backpacks.

Friendship

Friendships are comprised of hours spent together over time.  On this journey pilgrims spend a year's worth or more time together in a month.  The common bond of shared adversity and the sheer number of hours spent together each day creates a continuous community of care.  Here come the rich and the poor, the titled and untitled, men and women, young and old.  The Camino takes all of them and treats them as equals.