Five things that shocked us about walking the camino for the first time
So, what it is really like to walk the Camino de Santiago? Over a year ago we finished our first ever Camino de Santiago. We walked the full French route from St Jean Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela. We read endless blog posts, watched every YouTube video and consulted all of our friends who had experienced it too. Despite all of this, nothing could have prepared us for what the ACTUAL experience was like. Please bear in mind that these are OUR experiences.
1. There aren’t that many young people
We had pictured late nights drinking beers and shared stories with others in their 20s and 30s. While this did happen once, maybe twice at a push, it was really not the reality of walking the Camino. People go to sleep as early as 9pm to prepare for another long day of walking so understandably it was less ‘party party’ than we had expected.
2. You don’t talk about serious life-changing topics
Perhaps it was down to the misrepresentation of the Camino by Martin Sheen’s ‘The Way’, but the Camino, as mindful as it is, does not equate to thought-provoking, deep meaningful conversations with everyone you meet. People will barely tell you what they do for a living, don’t mind their deepest darkest secrets and what they’re struggling with right now.
3. It is really physically demanding
Before Emma and I walked the Camino we were frequent runners, avid yogis and seasoned walkers. However, nothing could have prepared us for the gruelling physical challenge of walking across Spain for five weeks. Our legs were in constant pain during the first week. We were absolutely exhausted. It did get easier, but not without a lot of blisters and muscle pain.
4. The food is absolutely crap
Everyone raves about the Spanish tortillas and the tapas and the wine on the Camino. I love Spanish food, I actually live IN Spain. BUT, the food quality on the Camino routes is not good. Perhaps it is because the restaurant owners know we will never be in these cafés or restaurants or bars again, so they fail to deliver on a good quality and service. We oftentimes were served food clearly from a tin, barely heated up, as part of our pilgrim’s meal. If you’re a vegetarian, you will really struggle.
5. You don’t have a life-altering experience
Walking is mundane at times. The views could be too. Some days you weren’t very stimulated. The Camino is sold as this spiritual journey. I certainly didn’t have any life-altering realisations and nor did Emma. Contrary to this, we will be doing it again, it is just that we enjoyed the challenge.
Interested in Walking the Camino?
If you want to walk the Camino with people who have done it before then you can express your interest in joining our organised walks for Spring / Summer 2024. We will be walking in a group so there will be time to bond with people and hopefully have some of those life-altering conversations and realisations.
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