Camino de Santiago Day 27 Wrap up

Day 27, Camino de Santiago Wrap Up

It's our last day in Spain and we have loved every minute of our time here, the ups, the downs, the discomfort, the beauty. We are grateful to have met so many wonderful people and seen such beautiful sights along the Camino de Santiago. We highly recommend this experience to anyone! The small discomforts are worth the beauty experienced along the way. As a group we reflected on our time on the Camino with one another and shared what we appreciated:

• The Camino was an amazing way to see countryside and small towns of Spain we wouldn’t have known about or come across in other tours. The Spanish countryside and cityscapes are so varied and beautiful - rolling hills, tree covered hills, endless forests, concrete, cobblestones. We came to appreciate it all.

• We loved meeting other pilgrims from all over the Spain and from other countries. The diversity of pilgrims walking - singles, families, retirees, church groups, school groups, friends, etc. We loved seeing the same faces at each stage and we cheered each other on.

• The Camino is supported by generous and hardworking folks working in the albergues, restaurants, cafés, supermarkets, bag transport companies, medics, guardia civil, etc along the way. We are so grateful for each and every albergue manager who welcomed us, gave us tips, and restaurant/café staff who were so patient, especially those in small towns in the middle of nowhere, who fed us when we needed them. Bag transporters made sure our bags ended up at the right place each and every time. The warmth of local community members was overwhelming and we did our best to pay it forward.

• We especially appreciate those local angels who appeared out of nowhere just at the right time when we were about to veer off the Camino and go the wrong way, which would have cost us more time and distance on already tired legs. This happened on 3 separate occasions that we recall.

• The Camino gave us an appreciation of the historical timeline in Spain and the Iberian peninsula from the Celts, Greeks to the Moors, Romans, and ancient to medieval times to present day Spaniards and Portuguese. It was so illuminating to pass through ancient ruins, churches, and connect history, religious, and cultural traditions.

• We liked the walking itself. It gave us time to think, talk, ask questions of each other and brainstorm plans for the future

• We grew stronger, carrying our bags and going up hills in all kinds of weather

• We liked being in the albergues and meeting people

• We liked the mid-size towns like Muxia, St. Jean, and Puente de la Reina most. We could see the entire town during our visit and meet locals

• We learned a lot about our interaction as a family and what works and works not so well- always shower when getting to the albergue. A good shower makes us all better people!

• We liked that we could walk at a leisurely pace. We did not have to hurry to get anywhere. We had no timeline to meet. We knew we could not complete the entire Camino Frances given our timeline so the pressure was off to go in a specific order

• Gratitude on the Camino was expressed and palpable and this helped to stay positive when the walking was difficult due to distance, heat, or both.

• The logistics planning started out hard and stressful but got easier. We got into a rhythm of knowing how far we could go by when, where we’d end up and how to book an albergue quickly.

• We liked that everyday we could have new conversations together or just walk in silence while listening to an audio book or music.

• As a group, we were all open to whatever happened. This made walking together as a group fun and easy.

• Our flexibility muscle with regards to eating different foods and having to wait to eat really got exercised. We had to get really creative sometimes…pringle nachos anyone? Siesta was a challenge at first (everything closes in the afternoon so it's easy to miss lunch) but we learned to work around it by having the right snacks. We also learned it's best to eat lunch first, then check into the albergue, instead of the reverse.

We would definitely be open to doing more of the Camino Frances or different Caminos and are keen to return! We have definitely learned from this experience what we’d do differently:

• Pack lighter, a lot lighter. It was doable to do laundry by hand every other day and it pretty much dried over night. We only had to walk in wet clothes 2-3 times.

• Shipping bags ahead really worked. We should have packed more in one bag, leaving all other bags lighter, which would allow us to walk more miles each day

• Hiking poles are MUST from this point onward for any hiking - a MUST to preserve our knees and recruit our arms in some of the climbing.

Thanks for reading and all the support along the way! We head to Italy tomorrow to continue our travel journey. We’ll start by doing 3 days of the AV1 hike in the Dolomites then on to Rome! Stay tuned.