It started with a chance encounter.
Our nomadic journey recently took my wife and I on a cruise through the Panama Canal. One day at lunch, we struck up a conversation with a woman in her mid-sixties who was traveling alone. When we learned she was a frequent traveler, we asked what some of her favorite trips had been. She glowingly talked about walking the Camino de Santiago.
Having never heard of it, Lisa and I were intrigued. The woman described a walk of hundreds of miles across northern Spain to the city of Santiago. We didn’t get into much detail, but the idea stuck with us long after the cruise.
A few months later, we were having dinner with our daughter’s neighbor whom we pet sit for. We were already booked to stay at her place to watch her cat Pixie for five weeks this fall, but didn’t know where she would be traveling. When we asked, we were stunned by her answer—she will be biking the Camino de Santiago.
Fascinated by the coincidence, we plied her with questions:
1. What is the Camino de Santiago? A 500 mile trek traveled by pilgrims for more than 1200 years.
2. What’s the route? Start in St Jean Pied de Port in southwest France, cross the Pyrenees Mountains and head west across northern Spain to the city of Santiago.
3. Where do you sleep? In hostel-like albergues or small hotels.
4. What do you eat? The “pilgrims meals” provided by albergues or in cafes along the route.
5. Where do you go to the bathroom? In the towns or fields along the way.
6. How do you get drinking water? Fill your water bottles from innumerable public fountains of potable water.
7. How long does it take? About 30 days to walk depending on your speed.
As we left that dinner, Lisa and I looked at each other and realized we both had the same mildly insane question—should we walk the Camino de Santiago?
For the last few weeks, we’ve talked extensively about the Camino. We’ve watched a movie about it starting Martin Sheen called The Way (highly recommended) and three documentaries. We’ve started reading a guide book to the Camino, and Lisa has done a deep dive on a Camino sub-reddit.
We were hooked. We booked our travel to France for mid April 2026 and our return trip from Portugal at the end of May 2026, leaving forty days in between to walk the Camino de Santiago.
A few days ago, we completed our first training hike on a mountainous loop trail in northern Arizona. We have a lot of work ahead of us to prepare for this extraordinary and challenging adventure. Will we walk the full 500 miles? I have no idea. But as we’ve heard over and over from people who have done it, you have to walk your Camino, not anyone else’s. Your length. At your pace. In your way. For your reasons.
Not knowing exactly what our Camino will be like is part of the fun. All I know now is that we’re incredibly enthused and motivated. Committing to some version of this adventure has filled us with focus and excitement, giving us a wild goal to shoot for and something meaningful to share. What will happen? Watch this space. We’ll find out together.
What motivates you? What out-of-the-box idea makes your heart beat faster? Research it. Start a plan. Find someone to share it with. Make a commitment. If you do, you’ll feel more deeply alive, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.
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