Before I get started, if you want to know about my entire experience walking a Winter Camino solo, then you might like to read my post on Travel Charm, my travel website – What you need to know before walking a Winter Camino, solo.
Are you thinking about walking the Camino?
Perhaps when this global pandemic is over.
If you are thinking about it, then my experience might help you to decide. Feel free to contact me if you would like to chat.
Last year I walked the Camino Frances starting in St Jean Pied de Port on 31 October and finishing in Santiago de Compostela on 14 December 2019.
It’s taken me a while to write these posts – I arrived back in Australia as the bushfires raged and we evacuated two dates later. We didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until well into January.
Then it rained. A lot! Railway tracks were out due to landslides and roads were closed.
And now we are facing COVID-19 and experiencing a lockdown. It certainly has been an interesting six months.
But back to my Camino.
It was the ultimate experience in living life simply. Forty-five days carrying everything I needed in my backpack.
The Camino is a pilgrimage to St James Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Many walk the Camino as a religious pilgrimage or like me for non-religious reasons.
There are many routes, the most popular being the Camino Frances starting in St Jean Pied de Port, France, and crossing Northern Spain.
The Camino has gained massive popularity with thousands of pilgrims making the trek each year, mostly between April and October. I have read that the summer months can be crazy. Very, very busy.
As a comparison, the daily average of pilgrims arriving at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago de Compostela in September 2019 was 1408. On the day I arrived in December, there were a total of 68 pilgrims.
I took longer than the average pilgrim, but I had the time.
Luckily that I did. I got sick twice. Once with a chest infection and again with a gastro bug. Together with rest days and shorter days to accommodate my poor blistered feet; it was a blessing to have extra time up my sleeve.
It also meant I didn’t have to push myself harder than I already was. Because of the unseasonal and extreme weather we experienced, flexibility was a significant factor in my finishing.
The Difference Between a Winter and Summer Camino
Walking a Winter Camino is very different. Come October in Spain, albergues, cafes and restaurants in Spain start to close. That means limited options on where to stay and eat.
It meant always carrying food in my pack, just in case. And it also meant a certain degree of planning to ensure I found a place to sleep at the end of the day.
Some days I found myself alone in an albergue, other times there could be up to 40 people, but that was rare.
The weather changed dramatically as the days passed including storms and fierce winds that pushed us sideways. But mostly it rained. Northern Spain is known to be rainy in Autumn, but we experienced so much rain that by the end of my walk creeks were rising, and I was worried about how I would make it.
I walked through snow and along dangerous icy paths. We also experienced rare sunny days, something we were all grateful for when they happened.
In comparison, summers are hot in Spain.
During Summer there is the opposite issue for accommodation and cafes, or so I have read. There are plenty of places open; however, because of the large number of pilgrims walking the Camino, they fill fast and it can be hard to find a bed.
I hate the heat, don’t like crowds, and have no issue with cold weather (although the extreme weather was a bit of a shock) so doing a Winter Camino appealed to me.
I always knew I would walk in the cooler months, but my partner, Dan, turned 50 at the end of October so I wanted to be home for him. I left for Spain a few days later.
The Hardest and Best Thing
There were many, many lessons the Camino taught me but none more than how tough I can be and how much I can tolerate.
I turned 50 last year, I was unfit and overweight. I did not exercise much, only starting to seriously walk as part of my training (I did not train enough by the way).
I started doing yoga again after many years, and I believe that helped a lot.
For the last few years, I have given myself a challenge – like travelling solo overseas (read about my experience over at Travel Charm) in Italy in 2018. I don’t know why I decided to start challenging myself, but it has helped me push past the anxiety and fear that held me back most of my life.
Growth comes from discomfort, and you find discomfort by stepping outside your comfort zone.
I must have grown a hell of a lot because of the Camino! Here are just some of the ways I stepped outside my comfort zone:
- Not being able to eat due to constant stomach issues.
- Walking! Every day was painful and hard.
- I was homesick every bloody day.
- Sleeping in albergues/hostels with snorers and farters. Oh, wait I may have been one of those – I did have a lot of stomach issues after all.
- Shared/Unisex bathrooms – not my favourite thing (yep, especially with stomach issues).
- Pushing myself when I was at my limit.
Would I change anything? No.
Walking the Camino de Santiago was hands down the most grueling, challenging, yet rewarding experience of my life.
I would not change a thing although I spent the entire thing vowing never to walk it again.
And yet, here I am thinking of walking another one or two – walking the Camino Frances again (and getting to enjoy some of the locations this time) and maybe the Camino Portuguese.
But with COVID-19 dictating our lives, who knows when that will be?
The Great Equaliser
There seems to be a set of questions pilgrims ask each other:
- Where are you from?
- Where did you start walking from? (initially and that day)
- Why are you walking the Camino?
- And for my winter Camino – What made you choose this time of the year?
No one cared about your age or occupation.
The Camino strips everything away. You are just you.
My closest friend on the Camino was a girl 18 years younger than me, and other pilgrims I walked with often averaged 70 years and over.
But mostly I walked on my own, or for a day or two with others before parting ways. I am so glad it turned out that way. I learned a lot about myself.
Everyone’s Camino is Different
This post is an account of my Camino experience. Walking the Camino is extremely personal.
Some people share their experiences as if theirs is the only way to walk. It’s not.
What do you want from walking the Camino?
That should be your starting point when planning.
For me, I wanted to challenge myself, not plan ahead. I wanted to be open-minded about where the journey would take me.
Give yourself as much time as possible.
There were a lot of people I met along the way who had limited time to complete their journey, and when things went array, as they are prone to do on the Camino, they had to compromise by not finishing or skipping entire sections.
There is nothing wrong with that, but by giving yourself more time, you have more options.
When I finally walked into the cathedral square in Santiago de Compostela and stood in front of St James Cathedral, the feeling of accomplishment and pride was indescribable.
As I cried from overwhelming emotions, I knew the only reason I had completed the journey was because of my willingness to take my time and listen to my body and mind.
Take what you read here not as gospel but as a guide. Take the parts that suit you and leave the rest.
Because this was my journey, you will create your own.
And it will be incredible!
Cindy x