When did you first become 'camino conscious'?

[Jan_D]

This is following a post yesterday, where someone was trying to track the name of the film that marked his initiation into 'camino consciousness'. Thought it would be a fun thread on its own! So, when did you first become conscious of the Camino? When was that lovely little seed first planted?

 

[mspath]

In graduate school 50+ years ago I attended courses by the great medieval art/architecture historian Meyer Schapiro. Several erudite lectures focused on the architecture along the Camino Frances, not only great monuments but also simple vernacular buildings. He stressed the importance of carved shells as the major iconic motif for identifying all related to Saint James as well as the immense social impact of the camino path across northern Spain; the path became the 'main street' with ‘burgos de francos’ or independent neighborhoods settled by former pilgrims nearby and, thus, the towns developed. ... Bingo I was hooked and decided that someday I would walk that path myself. Forty+ years later I did; fifty+ years later I still am.

Margaret Meredith

PS. See this earlier Forum thread re camino inspirations

 

[Jan_D]

In graduate school 50+ years ago I attended courses by the great medieval art/architecture historian Meyer Schapiro. Several erudite lectures focused on the architecture along the Camino Frances, not only great monuments but also simple vernacular buildings. He stressed the importance of carved shells as the major iconic motif for identifying all related to Saint James as well as the immense social impact of the camino path across northern Spain; the path became the 'main street' with ‘burgos de francos’ or independent neighborhoods settled by former pilgrims nearby and, thus, the towns developed. ... Bingo I was hooked and decided that someday I would walk that path myself. Forty+ years later I did; fifty+ years later I still am.

Margaret Meredith

That's lovely.... I think hearing about the Camino is a moment one cannot forget, like the opening of a whole new world... I first heard about the Camino while backpacking around Romania: I stayed in a hostel where there was a nineteen-year-old Spaniard, who had finished the Camino and decided to spend her 'gap year' walking to Jerusalem. An amazing young women: walking alone through Europe, with nothing but a tiny bag and a LOT of faith. Some of the stories she recounted were amazing; I knew I'd have to head off to Spain as soon as possible... not sure I'd ever be brave enough to do the Camino del Alma though!

 

[jsalt]

Hi Jan, nice to see you back on the forum. It was great to meet you in Edinburgh in June; the supper we had together was the best food (and company) on our whole trip to the UK (no kidding)

As to “camino conscious” I really can’t remember, except that I knew the first camino I wanted to walk was the Portuguese from Lisbon, because the Portuguese people are so gentle, helpful and friendly. Jill

 

[thomasdutchie]

The first time I heard about the Camino was from my father, who completed his Camino by bike in the eighties.
This was probably when I was about nine years old and thinking back I can only remember thinking, that's impossible to do! ca
Years later, a professor in the history of the arts on the Camino came to my highschool giving a lecture about his expertise.
As so many good things begin, I jokingly said to my friend next to me: "I'll do that someday", not actually planning to do it at that moment.
That moment did come back to me, however, when I quit the university study I was following a few years later.
I suppose that's when I really became 'Camino conscious', but the seed had been planted at those two other moments in my life as well, I suppose. Looking back I'm very glad to have completed my Camino. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

 

[wayfarer]

An article in a magazine, National Geographic I think, some twenty odd years ago. That one covered Le Puy to Santiago and I thought yes that's for me. I took a long time to make it a reality but thankfully it happened. When I finished I said that's it, been there done that but I didn't bank on the strong draw of the Camino. To loosely quote a famous line in a movie, Just when you think your'e out it drags you right back in.

 

[David]

I have tried to remember .. I was living in south-west France, the Charente, and was driving down to the Spanish Med for a week or two. In Spain I saw people with packs walking along a track some distance from the road. I pulled over and stopped and was just somehow gripped by the image. I had no idea who or what they were. More would come over the hill, and disappear off into the distance westwards. I used my binoculars and saw that almost all of them had a scallop shell tied to their packs. A year later, driving down to have a look at the French side of the Pyrenees I saw three people with packs, and those shells! walking along .... they seemed so free to me, so unburdened somehow, so timeless. It resonated deep within me. So when I got home I looked up walkers with shells and found the pilgrimage - from that moment (actually from the very first moment) I was hooked - I still am!!

 

[KerrieG]

I only became 'Camino conscious' around June last year (2014) when an online acquaintance announced she was going to walk over 700km on a pilgrimage route called the Camino de Santiago in Spain! She would 'feed' me and several of her other online buddies tantalizing tid bits of information over the next few months before her departure in mid October. I think it was the very same day that my friend made her announcement that I began googling and researching the Camino and well before she left, I had decided that I was going to do this too, I felt I had to. Plan to go September 2016.

 

[RobertS26]

In 2010 I was at the Rome airport, getting ready to board an airplane for the United States. As I moved toward my gate I recognized a stand-up comedian I had seen on television a couple of times in the United States. He was dressed as a Catholic Priest. I was offended and almost walked over to tell him I was offended. But I was tired, and in a hurry, so I continued to my gate.

After boarding my plane I was shocked to find out that my seat mate was going to be the stand-up comedian dressed as a priest. After we took off, I turned to him and said, "Haven't I've seen you on television?" He immediately shot back, "My brother is a stand-up comedian--I'm really a Catholic priest!"

After a good laugh, we began discussing sights in Rome that I had visited. This led to a discussion of the three greatest pilgrimages in the Catholic faith--Rome, Jerusalem, and Santiago. I of course knew about the first two but had never heard about the third. He told me if I was interested in walking the El Camino de Santiago I should read a book called To the Field of Stars: A Pilgrim's Journey to Santiago de Compostela by Father Kevin Codd.

After getting home I ordered Father Codd's book. I was shocked to see that he lived just 30 kilometers from my house. I called him and we became friends. He instilled in me his love for the Camino.

On my third Camino I met my wife. And all because I sat next to a Catholic Priest on an airplane.

 

[Former member 22438]

I used to work in Spain for some years untill my retirement. Once back in the Netherlands we visited my former director in Madrid once in a while , being a good friend. During our stay in Madrid in 2011 we visited him again and told us he had walked the camino and showed us a lot of pictures. This caught us directly and we decided to do the same. Bought some books about the camino Francès ,read them but after a while we found out that Portugal attracted us more and we discovered that there existed a caminho Português from Lisbon.
In 2012 we walked a long distance path here in a the Netherlands (so called Pieterpad) as an endurance training with backpacks.
In 2013 we started our first caminho from Lisbon.the second was in 2014, the camino Inglés and this year we walked the Portuguese from Porto.
Very addictive !

 

[NJ McKay]

For me it was watching the documentary "Walking the Camino: 6 Ways to Santiago" back in January of this year (2015) with my dad. Coming out of the theatre I was really inspired to walk the camino. I don't think my dad was planning that sort of reaction from me, but i've been reading up, researching and buying books to help me plan my future Camino.

 

[Felice]

We were on holiday in northern Spain in 1978, and we visited both Leon and Burgos. I had a guide book which mentioned the Camino but there were almost no pilgrims walking then. I thought the idea of walking across northern Spain sounded wonderfully romantic and would love to have done it, but life was too busy then.
Fast forward 36 years and with my husband retired, we finally found the time to go.

 

[peregrina2000]

My story is similar to Margaret's. I was a junior year abroad student in Madrid in 1970-71 and took a class on Spanish Art History. I fell in love with romanesque architecture and painting and heard many mentions of the camino, but it never really occurred to me that there was a way to walk it. Then in the 1990s our whole family was living in Madrid for a sabbatical year and we did some hiking and met some people who had walked the Camino. That was it for me. To celebrate my 50th birthday in 2000, I walked the Camino Frances and have been walking every year since except for one. I have no good answer to the questions I always get about why I keep going back, but it is now such a part of my year that I can't imagine the hole its absence would create -- even though that day will probably come. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[C clearly]

I don't remember how, but I was aware of the camino when I saw Shirley Maclaine's book on the library shelf in 2000. As I read the dust jacket, I immediately knew that was something I'd like to do. (I do remember that moment standing in the library aisle.) Even reading that terrible book did not put me off!

 

[Tia Valeria]

In 1994 we were staying in Santillana del Mar and drove across Spain to Betanzos and then to Santiago to see the baroque cathedral, purely for the architecture and as a historic site. There was a sign hanging on the gates of the Cathedral announcing 'Pilgrim's Mass 12.00' so we thought we would go, although we didn't realise it meant modern day pilgrims. In those days the pilgrims paraded in, or at least they did that day, and we decided then that one day we too would walk as pilgrims. It took 15 years for Terry to walk (alone) and 17 years before we could walk together as we had to wait for retirement.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

A friend of a friend was talking about it some 13 years ago. The way she described it seemed remote, wild, waht turned out to be comfortable albergues with beds and mattresses sounded like remote shacks in the mountains with no electricity. I thought it would be like the last scene in The Sound of Music when the family crosses the mountains with nothing than more mountains around. Daunting!

When my mother passed away unexpectedly 8 years ago I decided to revisit her roots, my roots, Northern Spain. To trully go back to our roots I should have walked el Norte but the guides and info I found were for thr Frances, so off I went. Diring that walk I leaned about the Norte, but the albergues were too few and far from each other that I would not have been able to walk it anyway. But now distances are manageable so I have started walking it and added the Primitivo this spring.

I would love to do a guided Frances with an art historian to understand what I'm seeing, where I'm walking.

 

[Pelegrin]

I had never consider doing the Camino despite beeing a Spaniard. But in 2013 my daughter, who was 15, told me that she was planning to do the Camino from SJPP with some friends. I thought that it was just a fantasy of her because she didn´t like to walk and in the end she would leave the idea. But as a result I began to think about it and finally I chose the Primitivo because I´m a mountaineer and I'm also very interested in the Galician and Asturian cultures.
My daughter, that year didn´t do the Camino, but to my surprise (and pride) this year (2015) has completed the Norte from Ribadeo to Santiago.

 

[clearskiescamino]

2010 for me..

 

[Sailor]

I learned about it many years ago while tracing my family's roots. Two of my family's last names are from Galicia, the other two are from Castile. As a history aficionado I read everything I could find about those cities and towns; this was prior to the internet years so I had to do a lot of digging. Now I have a tired mind, but I continue to read (slowly, because slower is faster) about Spain. For history aficionados I recommend reading the book "A Concise History of Spain" by W.D. Phillips & C.R. Phillips (even if you know everything there is to be known about Spain this book offers a good refresher). Que la luz de Dios alumbre tu camino.

 

[Jan_D]

Thanks for all these wonderful anecdotes; it seems the Camino has inspired journeys of discovery on so many levels! Please, keep 'em coming!

 

[whariwharangi]

I was taking Spanish classes at Don Quijote school in Granada. (I was planning to go to hiking in Patagonia and wanted to be able to get on the right bus) Part of the offering included evening cultural classes. One of those cultural classes was about an instructor's experience on the camino. I came away with the incorrect impression (due to my limited ability with Spanish) that one had to have a religious reason to go on it.

 

[Former member 42123]

Thanks for all these wonderful anecdotes; it seems the Camino has inspired journeys of discovery on so many levels! Please, keep 'em coming!

I've posted previously that it was reading a book 40 years ago ,but having to wait until I retired to achieve my dream.Like so many others,I have become an addict,and plan to celebrate my 70th back on Camino in 2017.

 

[Barbara06]

For me, it was about 15 years ago when I heard a friend say "when I retire, I'll walk to Stg de Compostella".
I started looking for information, at that time I thought the only existing way was the one leaving from Puy-en-Velay.
Since then I have walked from Le Puy to SJPP and the via de la Plata, they are both so great. I didn't know there were so many ways and that they would be so addictive. My next will be the Portuguese.

 

[joeboybollo]

I first heard of the Camino many years ago,I'm not sure where and it would come into my conscious mind every now and then,but I did nothing about it. However a couple of years ago my daughter announced that she was going to walk a section of the 'Frances' with a friend and I thought 'I'll believe that when it happens'.
Some weeks later she tells us it's all off as the friend now cannot make it. So,Dad, she says, will you do it with me? I said I would only do it if my wife would also come with us. Lo and behold my lovely wife actually agreed and not only did we walk the Sarria section last year,we are doing the Inglese walk in 3 weeks time. Yes the Camino finally caught up with me. Also I am retiring(again-I'm 71 now) in a couple of months and we will have a lot more time to ourselves next year!!!! The wife would like to go on a cruise and I,possibly, would also like a very long walk. Here's hoping.

 

[AbbyDee]

This is following a post yesterday, where someone was trying to track the name of the film that marked his initiation into 'camino consciousness'. Thought it would be a fun thread on its own! So, when did you first become conscious of the Camino? When was that lovely little seed first planted?

About a year ago, I was diagnosed with diabetes, so as part of my "life style adjustment" was a need for regular exercise. I have no problem with that, but felt I needed a goal of some sort. Coincidentally at that time, the Camino started popping up in my life in the form of a couple of documentaries on CBC, then the movie "The Way" and the friend of a friend who announced that she was going to do the Camino when she retired. All of these things seemed to conspire together to deliver me a "whack upside the head" and the message of maybe I should be paying attention to this. It was then that I realized that there comes a time in one's life when one needs a greater challenge physically, mentally and spiritually than slow room service. And so I began seriously to train: spending the cash to get good hiking shoes, trekking poles, expanding my walks to serious hikes of extended lengths, and challenging terrains (over the hills and up old logging roads, dodging bears) I hope to make my Camino in 2017.

 

[eileene]

Well, I worked with a volunteer who had completed the first part of the Camino in Navarra but had to give up due to contracting pneumonia. I buried his account into my subconscious for about 10 years. Then after our son died & I felt stuck in grief I remembered his account of the Way. So I researched the route & decided to walk in 2012. It was the best thing I ever did. I came back with my husband in 2014 & he has caught the bug too. We're planning to do the Camino Portuguese in 2016.

 

[pastorsharon]

One Saturday afternoon almost 5 years ago I watched an episode of "Rick Steve's Europe" in which he did a little 5 minute commentary on a 500 mile ancient pilgrimage across northern Spain. Instantly I knew this was what I had always wanted to do my entire life... I just hadn't known what it was until that moment. I told my husband, who didn't believe me because I've never been much of an adventurer. We walked from SJPP to Santiago in May/June 2014 and hope to do it again in 2019 for my 60th birthday.

 

[Betty Bauer]

My father is an Anglican priest, and at some point in the 90s, when I was a teenager, he and another priest were happily watching a treasured (by the other priest) video clip of the botofumerio (sp?) swinging, while pointing out to me what was so exciting, particularly that it was so heavy, the guy chosen to stop it almost went flying in an alternative direction. The bug didn't really bite though, until I read Fr. Dave Pivonka's book, "Hiking the Camino: 500 miles with Jesus," in 2011. I had known Fr. Dave from when I was doing a study abroad program in 2005, in Austria during my undergrad. Most students that do the 'Austria program' never want to leave ... so this seemed like a perfect next step. Another aspect is that one of my nephews actually has 'Santiago' as his middle name ... the connections didn't really come together until I came to this forum though.

 

[Maryimelda]

In 2001 I read "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho and I was so impressed that I went searching for more of Coelho's books. The first one I found was "The Pilgrimage" and by page 7 I knew I had to walk this road. In 2002 I drove along it to see what was entailed. Time passed and many infirmities set in and so I had to accept that I could never do the Camino on foot. My son however, decided that he wanted to walk it and he invited me to go too and to travel on buses and trains and meet up with him every few days in the major centres. It was probably the best 37 days of my life. I made so many Camino friends of my own and even more of his friends as we went along. I felt when we left Santiago to head home that I had done the Camino in my own way and I was so glad of that. Next year I am headed back to SDC to be there when a friend of mine walks in. I can't wait.

Probably the best part for me was when my son came out of the Pilgrim's Office with his compostela and handed it to me and said, "This is for you, Mum".

 

[nackyann]

In 2002 I had a French roommate. Her son came to visit and was planning to do the camino after reading Paulo Coelho's book "The Pilgrimage". (Also read Shirley Maclaine's). I had never heard of it and asked to borrow the book. After reading it I told my roommate I wanted to walk it and she said she had been wanting to walk it ever since she read the book 7 years ago. We made a pact to walk the Frances the following year. It was so much more amazing than I could've imagined! Dying to go again someday.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

Although a "Norteamericano" I grew up in Mexico City in the '60s, and got a heavy dose of Spanish history and culture there. So I was aware of the Camino from a fairly early age....

But it was not until I saw the film "The Way" in late 2011 that it dawned on me, as an adult, that people still, really, actually walked it! I knew immediately that I had to walk it myself, and nine months later I set off from SJPdeP....

I'm Camino haunted. In two weeks I go back. And as soon as I finish that trip I'll start planning the next one....

 

[Anamya]

When I was 9 yo (25 years ago), I went with my parents to visit a friend of theirs that had just returned from Spain. He was telling how he walked all the North of Spain to reach a cathedral. My parents and the guy's wife were having fun and saying how crazy he was.

And I could just think that that was the "coolest thing I've ever heard in my (9-year-long) life". That day I decided I would do it too, someday.

But life happens, and I just fulfilled that dream last May . Beside my husband, who as a kid dreamed about being a Knight Templar. I can't say which one of us was happier.

 

[Magnara]

I read about it in the newspaper and thought, "I'm going to do that." My husband thought I was crazy but came with me anyway and we both were addicted from then on, our first was Spain in winter, then the Via Francigena a couple of years later , and last year Le Puys to St Jean. All fantastic, all different.
Maggie Ramsay

Edited by moderator

 

[Darren John]

2011 I watch "The Way" and it wasn't the story that captured me but the scenery! Incredible views stretching far as the eyes could see. I've never seen such incredible sites and the idea of walking through this land being part of something bigger than me just wow me! Since seeing the film I've read dozen of books on the camino and seen video from people all over the world who have taken part in this amazing experience. But after awhile I wanted not just to see others or just read about it, I wanted to experience it for myself! In 1 week I will be taking my 1st steps along the french way and after nearly 4 years of wanted and dreaming I will be doing! Buen Camino to all!!!....

 

[domigee]

What a lovely thread!
For me it started at school and later atUniversity, the Camino is everywhere in Medieval history. Architecture, literature, art, politics, you name it, the Pilgrimage to Santiago played such an important part. (Peregrina 2000: I studied in Madrid just a year after you, 1971/72!)
I had to wait many years though before I was 'free' to take 5 weeks off! My youngest child was at Uni so I thought 'Now I can do it'. The reaction from my husband was 'You ...what? Where??? Alone???' He really thought I'd 'lost it'! My kids giggled and betted I would be back after a few days.
I of course thought it was a one-off, I would attempt to walk it to see what it was all about but that's it. I bought the minimum and often the cheapest I could find as I was so sure I would never need it again.
HAHAHA!

 

[JennyH94]

Great thread Jan_D!

I'm with C Clearly in that Shirley MacLaine introduced me to the Camino via her book 'The Camino' in 2000. I quite enjoyed the book as I'd read most of her other books - really entertaining and quite insightful in her zany way. I admire her for her openness, her honesty and the fact that she has no fear of being ridiculed for her beliefs. The thing that always gets me about Shirley is that she was never an ordinary person in any of her past lives and wow, did she have some stonkingly spectacular past lives in 'The Camino'!

The account of her pilgrimage really stayed with me and it absolutely opened the door to the Camino for me. In the several years afterwards I read many more Camino memoirs but the book that made me stop thinking about it and GO was 'The Year We Seized The Day' by Colin Bowles and Elizabeth Best. I read it in the Autumn of 2011 and was on the Camino in April 2012. Life DEFINITELY has not been the same since! I have the Camino microchip firmly inserted just under my skin, very close to my heart.

Cheers - Jenny

 

[gracethepilgrim]

Yes, I agree Jan_D, wonderful thread. I started my journey with the Paulo Coelho book in the late 90’s. His book 'The Pilgrimage’ piqued my interest. Soon after that I discovered Shirley Mclaine’s book of her camino. From there it was a series of newspaper articles, strange coincidences and conversations something like ‘I have a friend who has a friend who has done that. . . .’ until I finally got the message. Sometimes it is a tap on the shoulder and sometimes it takes a few years of consistent punches until you get the message. My first camino was in 2003 and I’m still going! No plans to stop as long as my body holds out.

 

[nalod]

Five years ago was the first I ever heard of the Camino (an internet advertisment) and as you can see from the little panel on the left I have made the very most of the last four years and still going strong.

 

[Biff]

A couple of years ago I found a book in the local library - 'The Hairy Hikers'. They did a coast-to-coast walk along the Pyrenees (north to south, Altantic to Mediterranean). I thought it was a great idea. Mrs Biff did not!!!

Young Miss Biff left home to go to University. Tidying her room, I came across a book - 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho (mentioned above). So I read it (nothing better to read at the time). I quite enjoyed it. Several of his books were advertised in the back - one being 'The Pigrimage'. I bought and read it. I think the Fates were pointing me on a Path, perhaps long ignored. This time I followed.

Mrs Biff and I did the Spanish half of the Portuguese earlier this year. I hope we can do the English Way next Autumn. One day I hope we will walk the Frances (although I suspect it will take more than one day ).

Biff

 

[Dave2525]

A couple of years ago I had never heard of it. One of my colleagues asked if I had ever considered doing it and of course my reply is "what is it?" Once I found out what it was I dismissed it....but the seed was planted.

It then started growing but I was still hesitant until I dived in and booked the international flights. Once that was done the rest kind of fell into place and I did the Frances last year.

 

[Kanga]

Lost in the mists of time. I was about 26 when new husband and I visited Santiago de Compostela. We were young Australians seeing Europe. In a VW Combi-van, of course. A few days before we'd spent the night lying outside on wet grass watching fireworks during a festival in Portugal. By the time we reached SDC I had a raging fever and could not get out of the van. But I saw the pilgrims. Later, having recovered from the by-then diagnosed pneumonia, I remembered those pilgrims. Fast forward - children, career, life. I read a couple of books by long distance walker John Hillaby. Loved them. Then I read a book by a woman who rode a bike on the pilgrimage road, from Paris to Santiago. The idea took hold.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

the Paulo Coelho book ... 'The Pilgrimage’ piqued my interest.

That was the first time I heard of the Camino, too. Then Shirley MacLaine.

 

[dcorrea951]

In 2011 "The Way" with Martin Sheen was recommended to me by a friend. I watched it and my girlfriend and I were hooked ! I am volunteering at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago in October from the 1st to the 15th to "give back". If anyone will be entering Santiago within those dates, ask for Dave from NH. I would love to talk and share retrospectives and experiences. We will do the Camino Portuguese (god willing) next year, then back to the Camino Frances in 2017.

Buen Camino to you all !

 

[LauraK]

In January 2004 I read a short story that mentioned the camino (don't remember the story) and I think it registered in my brain somewhere...then read an out of date woman's travel book where it was mentioned sometime around May. I thought it sounded interesting but it never entered my mind that I would ever want to or could walk that far. Then lost my job in June (a good thing having been on a plane for three years straight and living in an apartment during the week over 1500 miles from my husband - on total burn out). Told my husband I needed to go sit on top of a mountain somewhere and just chill out. Ended up taking my daughter to Machu Picchu in June...great vacation but not what I needed.
In September I decided to head to Southeast Asia -alone this time. I had my itinerary planned and was about to buy my airline tickets when I read a cover story in a travel magazine titled "five vacations that will change your life". Some vacations listed were volunteer vacations, but one was on the camino. The moment I read it I recalled that I had read about this twice over the past year and had this unusual feeling that I was being "called" to go.
I am not a religious person so it was very strange. It was not a feeling I had ever had before. I just knew I needed to go...now. I was a little embarrassed to tell my husband since I hadn't backpacked since I was 19 years old and certainly wasn't spiritual or religious (the article emphasized the religious aspects). I thought he would think I was nuts, especially since I had been planning my other trip for over a month. I showed him the article and said I had to go. He read it and said it was exactly the trip I had been describing.
In less than three weeks he helped me buy all my gear (REI was great) and was 100% supportive although worried about his out of shape wife trying to hike across Spain. I went in complete faith knowing that everything would be okay...and it was. I have since returned 3 times and will be back again. My husband says it is not a vacation, it's my personal retreat. He sees such a huge change in me every time I return and enjoys hearing about my new revelations. Unfortunately he cannot do the camino but is always there with me in spirit and, thanks to improvements in technology, on text every day as he tracks me walking across Spain.

 

[David]

This is such a WONDERFUL thread! It really does show that we are all called to Camino - and once it gets into our minds that it just won't let us go.
Rather reminds me of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, where some people just had to get to that mountain but didn't know why. No aliens on Camino - well, not yet!

 

[Jan_D]

This is such a WONDERFUL thread! It really does show that we are all called to Camino - and once it gets into our minds that it just won't let us go.
Rather reminds me of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, where some people just had to get to that mountain but didn't know why. No aliens on Camino - well, not yet!

I agree! It's almost like the triggering of an ancient memory, something you had almost forgotten, but then you 'remember' and you can't imagine a time when the Camino wasn't part of your life! It really is a calling; and it's wonderful to see how many people have been touched in such a similarly profound way... It's a real gift to read all these amazing testimonies; been getting some serious goosebumps... (and possibly also a blister on my finger from pushing 'like' so often...

 

[domigee]

Yes and I must add... My husband did the camino francés only because I'd done it, to see for himself what I had experienced. ( I did go on about it ) Then he started on his own from Le Puy, then he joined me the second yr from Astorga...
This yr we walked from Mérida to Santiago and he did it for me. He made clear he was 'pilgrimed out' , he did it to be with me and basta.
Ok.
So now he tells me he HAS TO do the Camino del Norte....it's calling him....

 

[ShellsG]

In 2007 I was a crew member aboard a barquentine sailing vessel for 6 months that sailed and docked into A Coruna, Spain for a few days. We did a day trip to SdC to see the cathedral and take in the sights. We only had the day to tour the cathedral and the city and while there I learned about the Camino. It was enough to whet my appetite for learning more and making it a mission to walk the Camino when I turned 50. I missed it by a few years (not many). I have since talked to a number of friends and acquaintances that have walked the Camino Frances. It is very interesting how each of them talk about it and what they took from it.

 

[movinmaggie]

When I moved to Victoria, BC last year, I joined the Victoria Women's Newcomers Club. During the Christmas season meeting, rather than a scheduled speaker (as they do monthly), they had a few women get up to speak briefly and share a meaningful experience they had that year. When the second woman began to speak about her experience on the Camino, before she got to her second sentence, I KNEW that it was something I was going to do, and soon. Don't ask how I knew; it came to be when I heard 'Camino'. Today I am 36 days until my departure for St. Jean.

 

[C clearly]

Shirley MacLaine introduced me to the Camino via her book 'The Camino' in 2000. I quite enjoyed the book as I'd read most of her other books - really entertaining and quite insightful in her zany way.

To be fair (in case she's reading this, haha!), I should say that I hated her book on the Camino but have enjoyed Shirley Maclaine's other books.

 

[Biff]

Rather reminds me of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, where some people just had to get to that mountain but didn't know why. No aliens on Camino - well, not yet!

View media item 3197

Biff

 

[nellpilgrim]

I had heard of the Camino and other long distance pilgrimage routes from my parents when they were encouraging us 5 kids to make some of the more challenging Irish pilgrimages up Mount Brandon, Croagh Patrick and to Lough Derg etc. I guess it was in response to some sulky teenager asking why we had to trek up Mountain X barefoot in the lashing rain of an Irish Summer that that particular conversation arose. But the Camino seed was really sown, as for many others on this thread, when as a student studying Romanesque art and architecture at Trinity collage in the late 70's early 80's I attended a course on the 'Churches of Pilgrimage Routes" given by Roger Stalley. On the back of that myself and my good friend Frances said "we'll do that when we're old…" (when you're 17 or 18 that's a pretty wide range!) So with children reared mortgages paid, or nearly paid, off and approaching 50 years old we reckoned we were officially old enough to keep that youthful promise to ourselves. For Frances walking the CF was a joyful but once in a lifetime (well so far) thing-but for me it was the start of an ongoing journey-I just keep walking.

 

[David]

"we'll do that when we're old…" (when you're 17 or 18 that's a pretty wide range!) - hahaha!

At the Millenium New Year I was 52 years old and drank quite a lot of fizzy - great night. During the night I suddenly remembered being at a New Year party when I was 20 and remember at one point sitting on some stairs feeling a little sad and when asked why telling people that I had just realised that when the Millenium came I would most likely be still alive but much too old to enjoy myself - hahaaaa!

 

[jdpiguet]

Since my childhood and a looong (3 weeks!) hike organized by my parents, I had always this "pressure" to go further, only to look over the next hill and to know what is coming next.
In 2001, after having founded a family myself, while doing some shopping in the village next to our new house, I suddenly stopped by seing that:



I was really stunned: from here, there was a way to Santiago, some 2000 km away??? I kept this in my head and gone finish the shopping. But it does not left me and 3 years later I was starting with my wife and my 2 kids (7 and 5), heading west. Two weeks and 160 km later the vacations were over and we were back home... Wife and kids everything but convinced to start again

3 years later, in a used books shop I found "Priez pour nous à Compostelle" from Barret and Gurgand, who went from Vézelay to Santiago in 1977. Just 2 weeks later, my boss informed me that I could take up to 2 monthes off this year...

Now it was clear for me, some discussion with my wife, say goodbye to the kids and that was it: 13. of August 2007 I was leaving the "eternal" hill of Vézelay...

Buen Camino to all,
Jacques-D.

 

[rubyslippers]

What a wonderful post. Thanks. I had heard about this Trail you could take in Spain that ran all the way from the border with France to the Atlantic Ocean! The story lived somewhere in my brain. I knew there were places to stop as you went and that you had the freedom that afforded. When my life took a tragic turn I needed a long walk. I began looking for the Trail. I knew it had something to do with St. Joseph i thought, but since I'm not a Catholic, I wasn't sure. I began going into bookstores asking about the St. Joseph's Trail. Hiking stores had no idea. We looked under the Religious, the Hiking and St. Joseph. Finally, my Catholic daughter-in-law asked her Priest and he told her to tell me that it was called the Camino. Eureka. Funny how people ask, did you find the Camino or did the Camino find you? Well, first it found me and then 30 years later I searched and found the Camino. My life has never been the same. <3

 

[CaminoDebrita]

I was called to the Camino while in church. It was September of 2014, and I did NOT want to attend the talk after the service. I had my mother-in-law in tow, and caring for her--an Alzheimer's patient--wore me out every weekend. By Sunday at 1 PM, I was ready to hop in my car and go home, and fast. "Let's just stay for awhile," reasoned my husband. With him on one side, and my brother-in-law on the other, along with mother-in-law, elderly aunt, cousin, we began the slide show.

Within five minutes of hearing Buen Camino and hearing of the arduous climb over the Pyrenees, I was hooked. Everyone had backpacks on--just like I'd travelled with through SE Asia in the 90's. The weather, the skies, the churches, the mud, the boots all appealed to me. Immediately, I turned to my brother-in-law: I'm doing that. Wanna do that? Let's do that...

It was just the anecdote for my final teaching year. Every evening and weekend found me watching youtube clips of men saying "G'day mate" and then launching into the trek. I probably watched about thirty of them, including clips showing "how to" pack, how to get there, and of course, then came the movie The Way. I watched everything, and I read everything I could.

As my high school and college language was Spanish, I began studying anew. The excitement carried me through what could have been a difficult last year teaching, and it saw me through the summer. I am now approaching the one-year anniversary (September) of that presentation at church. I'm also approaching my departure to Spain....September 28th.

 

[Mooncat]

Thirty some years ago, I was aimlessly watching TV when I happened upon a movie that involved a young Englishman who was wandering solo through Spain. He had no gear and was depending on the kindness of strangers to supply him with his meals and lodging. He was living from day to day, and doing great. I never learned the name of the movie, but I have always remembered how it made me feel. I was in my 20's and was myself searching, for I don't know what. I had no direction, but that movie touched me and I wanted that Englishman to be me. So, I resolved to take a month and wander Spain. But, then reality set in and I finished school, got jobs, got married, became a widower, raised kids, endured the passing of friends and family, settled into a routine, and got old. Two years ago, I saw "The Way" and something inside me woke up. It was like a fresh, fragrant breeze in the morning, full of promise, or when your eyes meet the eyes of an attractive stranger, and they lock and both of you smile. Unexpected but certain. I knew that I MUST walk The Way. Mooncat

 

[Siobhan02]

I can't remember the first time I heard about it, but I do remember thinking it was a crazy thing to do! Then, just as I NEEDED the Camino I was cropping up everywhere...travel pages in the newspaper, travel shows on TV (without wanting to sound like a 'tourist' because that is the last type of holiday that attracts me), it was like the Camino was calling me. And now...I'm an addict...Le Puy 2016!

 

[LoneStar]

A few years back I was hiking the Appalachian Trail and ended up hiking some time with a Polish woman who told me about the Camino. As a long-time wilderness backpacker it sounded too much like concierge level hiking and I was not sure it would be worth it. I saw "The Way" and decided that it did look like it might be fun. I also thought that if I did hike it it would be a one time experience. The Camino, for me, was much better than portrayed in the movie. I was wrong about it being a one-time experience. I am now looking for a Camino, twelve step program or maybe a patch. In the mean time I am off to SJPdP this September. I still do long distance hikes in some very beautiful wilderness areas in the western US but the Camino is still a standout experience. The food, the culture, and the history are all wonderful parts of the Camino but the very best, the people both pilgrims and locals.

 

[dandagenais]

Wow... These are just amazing stories... Just like the people you meet on le Chemin!! As many different stories, as people, as reasons for walking/doing a pilgrimage... Awesome...

 

[Juno]

In 2010 I was at the Rome airport, getting ready to board an airplane for the United States. As I moved toward my gate I recognized a stand-up comedian I had seen on television a couple of times in the United States. He was dressed as a Catholic Priest. I was offended and almost walked over to tell him I was offended. But I was tired, and in a hurry, so I continued to my gate.

After boarding my plane I was shocked to find out that my seat mate was going to be the stand-up comedian dressed as a priest. After we took off, I turned to him and said, "Haven't I've seen you on television?" He immediately shot back, "My brother is a stand-up comedian--I'm really a Catholic priest!"

After a good laugh, we began discussing sights in Rome that I had visited. This lead to a discussion of the three greatest pilgrimages in the Catholic faith--Rome, Jerusalem, and Santiago. I of course knew about the first two but had never heard about the third. He told me if I was interested in walking the El Camino de Santiago I should read a book called To the Field of Stars: A Pilgrim's Journey to Santiago de Compostela by Father Kevin Codd.

After getting home I ordered Father Codd's book. I was shocked to see that he lived just 30 kilometers from my house. I called him and we became friends. He instilled in me his love for the Camino.

On my third Camino I met my wife. And all because I sat next to a Catholic Priest on an airplane.

That's a perfect story which is hard to trump! I must read the book and maybe some of the magic will be passed on!

 

[ortemio]

I was visiting some friends in San Sebastian, Spain. Their south fence is part of the camino del norte. One morning I saw a couple of nuns with hiking boots and backpacks going by, curiosity got the best of me and I went after them. After a few minutes listening to them I was hooked. I was in the camino Frances in less thatn 3 weeks. Frances in Sept 2014, frances again March 2015 and heading out to camino Salvador from Leon in a couple of weeks. Talk about getting hooked...

 

[LeAnn Blackert]

In March of 2009 I attended a workshop led by Arthur Paul Boers. In it he shared a bit of his Camino experience, and mentioned a book he had written about it entitled "The Way is Made by Walking." I picked up a copy of the book and knew I would be Camino bound one day. It took six years but I walked part of the Via de la Plata and the Camino Frances this spring (May 17 - June 16), and am now working on my partner to walk with me next time. I understand the need for a Camino addiction group or a patch. I have been profoundly changed by my experience! Blessings on your own Camino!

 

[MJLatour]

I first heard of the Camino de Santiago when a writer for the Ottawa Citizen ( Robert Sibley) wrote a series of articles about his camino taken in approximately 1999 - The articles were published on a weekly basis and they got me hooked. Ever since reading them I have been wanting to do a Camino, and am finally on my way in 10 days!

 

[tmentzer]

My husband and I were preparing for our move to France after retirement and desperately trying to get through all of the Rick Steve's Europe episodes we had recorded. In an episode about Spain there was a three-second mention of the Camino de Santiago, Rick had pointed out that the scallop shell denoted that the person was a pilgrim.

Months later while sitting in the window seat of our apartment watching the neighborhood in the historic district of Carcassonne, I saw a man with a backpack go by and noticed the scallop shell. I reminded my husband that we'd heard about that on a Rick Steve's Europe episode and asked him to find me some additional information.

When he did we realized that there is a route that lead right up our street to the citadel of "La Cite de Carcassonne" less than a kilometer from our apartment.

We had only been in France for four months when we walked the Camino the first time in 2013. I went back and did it with my aunt last year for my 50th birthday and my husband and I are walking it again starting next week.

It quickly gets into your soul once you've traveled it.

 

[Leah C. O'Leary]

I don't remember how, but I was aware of the camino when I saw Shirley Maclaine's book on the library shelf in 2000. As I read the dust jacket, I immediately knew that was something I'd like to do. (I do remember that moment standing in the library aisle.) Even reading that terrible book did not put me off!

Yes, that was a terrible book!

 

[FurnessTravellers]

In October 2013 my husband and I sold our family business that had been a big part of our lives for 21 years. We had worked and saved very hard during the year leading up to the sale so that we could have a much needed year off. Our children called it our "Gap Year" and we were determined to make it a year of change. We were both in our 50's and looking for a challenge, some thoughts being to learn a language for me and for hubby to buy and do up an old car with a mate and drive the Oodnadatta track in outback Australia. One of our daughters had given us a copy of "The Way" for Christmas in 2012. We had watched it and enjoyed it but it wasn't until the reality of having a year off became real that the thought that maybe, just maybe, this might be the challenge we were looking for began to take shape. Soon it became an obsession. We devoured articles, books, DVD clips, anything we could find on "The Camino". And we went! September 2014 saw us on the track, loving every minute. Sadly we had to pull out before we finished due to a health issue, but immediately began planning the next attempt. Roll on 2016.
PS My husband leaves with his mate for the outback mid-September and I have begun Spanish lessons....
Buen Camino

 

[Bob Carlsen]

I recently wrote the following in my blog about planning for the Camino:
"As a goal oriented person, I have been fascinated for a long time by the idea of walking the eight hundred kilometer, one thousand year old Camino Frances (French) pilgrim Way from St Jean Pied de Port in the Pyrenees of southern France to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwest Spain. I don't know exactly when the idea transitioned from being a fascination to becoming an obsession. As with many pilgrims contemplating this walk, certainly the movie "The Way" provided me with inspiration and enough details to make me believe that not only was the walk feasible, but it was something I had to do.

As an extrovert I looked forward to bonding with complete strangers just like Martin Sheen's character experienced, although with considerable resistance on his part. However, the spiritual dimension comes through strongly, which is what attracted me. After all, if I wanted to walk 800 kilometers I could just start walking east from my front door (which is how pilgrimages started before there were planes, trains, and automobiles) until I reached the invisible 800 kilometer mark somewhere in eastern Kansas. But the Camino is different. People from all over the world and from many different religions walk the Way looking for some deeper meaning to their lives and are open to spiritual answers. Someone noted that Jesus Christ only walked from place to place. Emulating his form of transportation, with its slow pace and simplicity, totally disconnected from the fast pace and stressful concerns of everyday life, is probably all I need to gain the benefits of a True Pilgrim."

 

[Kathy Beno]

My daughter studied in Pamplona for a semester in 2012. My husband and I visited her there and met an American couple on the Camino. I was immediately intrigued and the seed was planted. Last spring my daughter and I walked the first 3 days of the Camino and I knew I had to finish it. I will begin the Camino from SJPP in 3 weeks and could not be any more excited!! My daughter (who now lives in Madrid) will join me for the last 3 days. Anxious to experience all that is ahead of me!

 

[Jodean]

Ever since I can remember, (and I do no know why) I have wanted to go on some kind of long trek, either going cross country by horse or by foot, or walking the Appalachian Trail, walking across Tibet, and so on. I devoured every book that people had written about their long distance treks which only whetted my appetite.

But, kids, jobs, move to Germany in '86, and trying to be a responsible adult put those walking desires on the back shelf. Living in Germany though, meant I have had a chance to travel much more than I would have if I had stayed in the US, plus gave me the opportunity to learn German. (hope this comes in handy on my Camino) and it satisfied my love of history.

In 2008, my husband and I created a walking tour company in Frankfurt and have been super busy with that every since we began. One of the stops on our tour is one of the oldest churches in Frankfurt, St. Leonhards, built in 1219. Standing out in front of it is a brass sculpture of 3 pilgrims, staff in hand, funny hats, and scallop shells. Since this was part of our tour, we read up on these pilgrims and found out that this church was a stop on the Jakobs Weg (the German name for the Camino Way) So, interest piqued, the thought of doing this walk has been perking and bubbling away on the back burner of my brain every since. Then along comes this movie on Netflix called "The Way" as well as my 60th birthday looming in front of me faster than I wanted it too, and the deal was sealed. I decided that I was going to go do this adventure to celebrate being 60.

Husband was cute though. About 2 weeks after I said I was going to walk to Santiago and we were busy shopping for all my gear, he says "you know you only have to walk that last 100 km to get your Compestela". I sort of laughed and said, "I want to walk more than 100 km honey, I walk that far at work in less than 2 weeks". He then asked "200 km?"
My answer,"Well no, I want to start in Pamplona and walk to Santiago, the Muxia and Finesterre, I will be gone for 5 weeks."

Fortunately, he is an understanding and supportive kind of guy who knows that I need to go do this. So, will be winging my way to Pamplona on the 21st.

 

[Sherrie]

This is following a post yesterday, where someone was trying to track the name of the film that marked his initiation into 'camino consciousness'. Thought it would be a fun thread on its own! So, when did you first become conscious of the Camino? When was that lovely little seed first planted?

I love this thread! I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful professor (from Spain) during my last two undergrad years. He made Spain come alive for me and others in his classes. My roommate and I promised ourselves we'd go to Spain to experience the places and history he'd made so vivid. The fall after I graduated I met her in Spain (she was doing a year in Madrid). We each got a month-long Eurail pass and wended our way through Portugal and on to Santiago de Compostela where we attended Christmas mass with the incredible swinging of the Botafumeiro. From there we went east and visited a number of places along the Camino (Burgos, Leon, etc.). I had been raised Catholic and knew something of the various pilgrimage routes; now this particular Camino raised my interest. That said, I didn't consider walking it until three years ago as my 70th birthday approached. I knew this was the way I wanted to mark the start of a new decade. My spouse and I had to defer the dream until this year. I feel it was in some ways absolutely essential to be "forced" to wait until the time was right to begin our Camino. Feeling fortunate! And beyond excited. To each and all of you, Buen Camino.

 

[movinmaggie]

I love this thread! I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful professor (from Spain) during my last two undergrad years. He made Spain come alive for me and others in his classes. My roommate and I promised ourselves we'd go to Spain to experience the places and history he'd made so vivid. The fall after I graduated I met her in Spain (she was doing a year in Madrid). We each got a month-long Eurail pass and wended our way through Portugal and on to Santiago de Compostela where we attended Christmas mass with the incredible swinging of the Botafumeiro. From there we went east and visited a number of places along the Camino (Burgos, Leon, etc.). I had been raised Catholic and knew something of the various pilgrimage routes; now this particular Camino raised my interest. That said, I didn't consider walking it until three years ago as my 70th birthday approached. I knew this was the way I wanted to mark the start of a new decade. My spouse and I had to defer the dream until this year. I feel it was in some ways absolutely essential to be "forced" to wait until the time was right to begin our Camino. Feeling fortunate! And beyond excited. To each and all of you, Buen Camino.

Wonderful story……Buen Camino. I am 16 days away from my first.

 

[yaying]

Forty+ years later I did; fifty+ years later I still am.

10+years, 50years ago and now continually going... mine is 10years ago still sowing indefinite still when to harvest to go...

 

[DeansFamily]

This is following a post yesterday, where someone was trying to track the name of the film that marked his initiation into 'camino consciousness'. Thought it would be a fun thread on its own! So, when did you first become conscious of the Camino? When was that lovely little seed first planted?

On HaLong Bay in Vietnam in March this year. We mentioned to an Aussie couple on board our vessel that we wanted to go somewhere that Spanish was spoken, as our daughter was learning Spanish. They suggested the Camino Frances as they had just recently completed it. After much investigation (especially on this forum) we started at SJPdP on the 18/9/17 and arrived at Santiago on the 16/10/17 and are continuing on to Finestrerre now. The first of more caminos to come hopefully.

 

[GodsGirl27]

I have a few friends that did short Camino trips. I wasn't interested at first but I became intrigued, especially when they spoke of how healing and transformative it is. That's what pulls me in.

 

[Hallonis]

I have a few friends that did short Camino trips. I wasn't interested at first but I became intrigued, especially when they spoke of how healing and transformative it is. That's what pulls me in.

Thank you GodsGirl for writing in this thread. It showed up under newest posts, otherwise I would have never found all these beautiful stories. Wonder how many more threads like this one are hidden, I guess they will reveal themselves in time...

I became subconscious about the Camino when my mother walked Sarria to Santiago in 2004 or 2005 and came back home with bloody toes and antibiotics. At that time I didn't really know or care what the Camino was all about. Some years later I saw a Camino documentary. I remember there was a scene showing warm and joyous communal meal. After that I became a little bit more conscious.