Camino De Santiago: September 8 - October 20 2022
From St. Jean Pied de Port to Fisterre, Spain
41 days, 550 miles, 2 pairs of shoes, LOTS of wine
The Beginning
On September 8, 2022, a large group of people from across the globe departed St. Jean Pied de Port in France, heading south into Spain, beginning a journey that would prove to be transformational in their lives. That evening, roughly 50 of us stayed in Auberge Orrison after hiking up the Mountain and at dinner, one by one, shared their name, where they were from, and why they were hiking the Camino De Santiago. The reasons were many. Below are some examples.
Faith-focused reason: Multiple people shared that for them, this was truly a spiritual pilgrimage, intent on following the path of literally millions of people who have walked it before them for well over 1,000 years. For this group, the commonality sounded like the following: “I’m here to walk with Jesus”. “I am here to get closer to Jesus”.
Personal struggles: Others shared they were there to cleanse themselves from some demon in their lives. “This is my 60th day sober, and I am here to regain my life and freedom” is one that stands out in my memory. ““My husband and I always wanted to do this together. He died 5 years ago and I am here to finish this for us”. “I have Parkinson’s Disease and I want to do this while I can still walk.
Life transitions / family focus: “I’m here with my 70 year old day on a Father / Daughter adventure”. “We just retired and are taking this time to just be together”.
Random one-off’s: “I really don’t know why I am here”. “My Buddy asked me in a bar one night if I wanted to go for a walk….”. “I lost a bet”.
Point is, everyone had a reason.
How to get there