3 What is a Camino

This is what I learned before walking the Camino:

"Camino" is a Spanish word that translates to "path" or "way" in English. It is often associated with the Camino de Santiago, a network of pilgrimage routes leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. The Camino de Santiago is a significant pilgrimage route for Christians, and it has been traveled for over a thousand years.

The most famous and traditional route is the Camino Francés, which starts in the French Pyrenees and extends approximately 800 kilometers (500 miles) to Santiago de Compostela. However, there are several other routes, known as "Caminos," that crisscross Spain and lead to Santiago. Some examples include the Camino Portugués, the Camino del Norte, the Camino Primitivo, and the Camino Inglés.

Walking the Camino is not only a religious journey but also a cultural and personal experience. Pilgrims, known as "peregrinos," walk or bike the route, staying in albergues (hostels) or other accommodations along the way. The Camino offers opportunities for introspection, meeting fellow pilgrims from around the world, and experiencing the natural and historical beauty of the regions it traverses.

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This is what I learned about the Camino after completing it:

The Camino is a simple act of walking along a designated route, taking one step at a time.

Some describe the Camino as a journey walking from one Medieval town to another, occasionally including larger cities that surpass the size of a small town.

On the Camino, your daily task is straightforward: pack your bag in the morning, walk, pause and rest at a small town to enjoy a cup of coffee, resume walking, sometimes taking a break to have a packed lunch. Eventually, you reach your destination for the day, a town that provides accommodations for showering and sleeping. These places are known as hostels or albergues, and they come at a minimal cost (around 8-15 euros) for a bed shared with other individuals of both genders. Facilities typically include a shared shower, communal spaces like a living room for socializing or writing, and a kitchen for preparing simple meals. Occasionally, albergues offer dinner for an additional fee (10-15 euros), while others provide a kitchen where you can cook your own dinner using groceries purchased from a local store. Additionally, there are restaurants available for meals.

Upon arriving at the albergue, you unpack your toiletries and a change of clothes, take a shower, and wash your clothes to dry overnight for the next day. In the evening, you have dinner while engaging in conversation with fellow walkers, forming connections. Before 10:30 pm, it's customary to prepare your sleeping bag and settle down for the night since most hostels and albergues have curfews set around that time. It's important to note that these accommodations usually do not provide bedding or towels, so you must bring your own, although they do provide disposable bed and pillow covers. You share the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and shower facilities with other pilgrims. The following morning, you pack your belongings into your backpack, exit the door, and begin walking again (it's necessary to leave the albergue before 8 am).

This routine repeats each day until you reach your final destination. Some individuals walk the Camino for one or two weeks, while others embark on longer journeys. For some, walking the Camino is driven by curiosity, while for others, it becomes a way of life.

There are various approaches to walking the Camino. Some people only walk a section of the entire route and switch to another Camino, while others complete a specific section. Some individuals walk the entire Camino, while others decide on their preferred distance, ranging from 5-10 km per day to 20-40 km per day. It's your Camino, and you have the freedom to choose how much you want to walk and where you want to go.

On the Camino, you encounter different types of walkers:

Some peregrinos individuals walk alone.

Some peregrinos walk with their partners.

Others walk with their entire families (I once encountered a family of seven, including a young couple with their two children, one in a stroller, accompanied by their grandparents. They utilized buses and taxis along the way).

Some peregrinos carry their backpacks, while others opt for a small bag containing only water and snacks, arranging for their luggage to be transported to their destination by bus.

Certain individuals have their entire trip planned and stay exclusively in hotels, avoiding shared bedrooms or bathrooms.

Some peregrinos meticulously map out their walking distances and nightly accommodations.

Others, like myself, approach the Camino without a fixed schedule.

During your journey, you meet fellow pilgrims along the way. Some encounters are brief, lasting only a few minutes, while others extend for hours or occur intermittently over several days.

Each day brings new faces from different countries. Some peregrinos speak English, or Chinese or Spanish, so I can have some level of communications with them. Some you meet speak none of above languages, so we simply nodded our heads and smile simply says "Buen Camino". Some peregrinos you meet, and they become your "Camino family".  When we get separated along the way I miss them.