Camino del Norte: My 787 Km Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

Have you ever seen a movie called “The Way”? If yes, you might have a guess what am I going to write about. But if you haven’t, I will try to explain it as well as I can.

Camino is a pilgrimage, a journey of countless days taken by foot. Some consider it as a religious trip because originally it is exactly that – following St. James steps from France to Santiago de Compostela, the final destination of a journey. In reality, it is a huge misconception. You can certainly walk Camino without being associated with any religion. As a matter of fact, I can't remember a single person who walked just to visit St. James bones or something like this. Everybody walks for their own reasons. Some know quite well why they are walking, some like me don’t. But I’m certain that nobody walks without any reason. Never.

There are many different ways you can choose to go, but I chose Camino del Norte which is one of the longest and most challenging ways to take upon yourself. The main reason why I went to del Norte is that biggest part of the way goes by the sea coast. Another reason is that you don't have to battle the hot weather that much compared to other ways where you walk through the middle of the country. Also, I figured there will be fewer people than, for example, in France way which is the most popular by far. I was mistaken about it though. There were a lot of people.

My own pilgrimage began in a city of San Sebastian which is 787 kilometers away from Santiago. I should tell right away that I didn’t take this journey alone. From the start to the end I walked together with my companion. To tell you the truth, at first I started walking just because I wanted to help her fulfill her dream. She always said "one day I will", but at the same time, she was scared of it. Scared of going alone. So I pushed her to do it. We left our jobs, bought our backpacks, plane tickets, other necessities and just left for Spain.

Map of Camino del Norte

Besides that, I had no other reason to walk. But eventually, I found my own reasons, even if they were not that clear in the beginning.

Why am I telling all of this to you?

Since I came home, I couldn’t say a single word about my journey. I stood silent and couldn’t figure out where to start, what’s important and what is not. It was so difficult to answer even a single question I got. Most of those questions didn’t even make any sense to me, because people had no idea what this journey is all about and what it makes you go through. I felt mute, overwhelmed and misunderstood from the time I saw a familiar face at home like I just came back from the war. Besides, it takes so much effort and time to choose and tell even a single story from the whole journey. It is impossible to tell and explain everything. Unless, of course, I write it down, step by step.

That is what I am going to do. I will share this amazing experience that made me a different person. I will paint a picture of everything that happened and everything you need to know if you decide you also need this journey in your life. That is something I had a lot to think about while I was walking and I want to do this. I feel like I have to, I need to.
This is going to be my second part of the journey. I will not judge myself if something goes wrong, or if my words will not lay down on a paper as I imagined them to be. I will not surrender to my creative block ever again, because writing is essentially the same as walking Camino.

Why?

Because at first, the final goal seems impossible and hard to imagine. You simply can’t and won’t know how your journey will end up being, you don’t even know if you will be strong and determined enough to finish it. Just like writing a book.

Every single word represents a step, every single kilometer a sentence and every day a bunch of words that are part of a bigger picture. But if you start running, you will miss the whole thing, the whole point. Because it is not about the goal. It’s always about the journey.

You can’t predict what is going to happen to you on The Way, just like you can’t know for sure how your mind will dictate the words that are needed to be said. If anything happens that you don’t plan or expect, it’s just part of the journey.

If I walked to Santiago, I can definitely write.

I want to finish this introduction with a short story that fits here perfectly.

On my 5th day, I ended up in Bilbao, the first big city on my Way. Then I already had to say goodbye to a couple of friends who only traveled a short distance. One of these friends was a French guy named Alexi. He didn't speak very good English, but we were able to communicate enough to understand each other.

He was supposed to get up early in the morning and catch a bus to France, early enough so we don't meet him in the morning. Before we all went to sleep he went to every single person he knew to say goodbye. Eventually, he walked to my bed, shook my hand and wished me luck. But before he went to his bed, he turned around, looked me in the eye and said one thing to me that got engraved in my mind for the whole journey, and he said it in perfect English like never before.

“Remember that Camino does not end in Santiago.”

And he was right.

This is my Camino now.