In July of 2019 our family packed only what we needed to get by into four small backpacks, handed the house keys to a couple that we had met for the first time just two days before and walked away.
Walking would become our primary focus in the days and weeks ahead. We would spend our days walking 10 to 25 miles at a stretch, sometimes under beautiful blue skies and, sometimes in the rain, and sometimes in the blistering 105° sun with no shade as far as the eye could see.
At night, for a minimal fee or a simple donation, we would sleep in large common rooms with dozens of others on a similar journey, though we each had our own reasons to be there. We would endure the crowded spaces filled with rustling and snoring of every imaginable variety, getting what sleep we could, waking up as early as 4 am on some days but always before seven to pack up and move on again.
While walking, resting by the roadside, or eating communal meals together we would make fleeting acquaintances as well as lifelong friends along the way.
It would be 500 miles before our journey would come to an end, tired, sunburned and not without injury. But this time spent together as a family would change each of us in ways we would recognize immediately and in ways we would not discover for years to come. We had walked from St Jean Pied-de-Port in France, over the Pyrenees and across the breadth of Spain to reach our destination at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela or “campus stellae,” “the field of stars,”. We had walked the Camino de Santiago along the Camino Frances, together as a family. The Camino has a way of staying with you and it would remain with all of us for the rest of our days.
We had started our Camino on Saturday, July 6, 2019. Now, in 2024, the days and dates have aligned again as this year July 6 falls again on a Saturday. With the Camino calling me back and the coincidence of the dates falling on the same days, I was compelled to return to the Camino again in 2024, though this time I would be going alone.
Will walking the Camino alone take something away from the previous trip with the family? Am I up for another 500 miles or more on foot across Spain? Can you capture lightning in a bottle twice? There were so many questions running around in my head, but the only way to answer them is to return to St Jean Pied de Port, throw a pack on my back and walk through the Pilgrims gate that marks the beginning of the Camino Frances.
So, today I am boarding an airplane destined for France to walk this inspirational journey for the second time. I will try to post updates along the way but remaining in the moment, experiencing the Camino again will be my priority. Keep an eye on this space for any updates along the way and I welcome any encouragement you can spare.
If you would like to follow along, don’t forget to like this video, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to receive more postcards from the trail. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you out there! Buen Camino.