YOU on the Camino de Santiago

Sometimes it takes more than one try to complete a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. That’s what happened with my guest this week, Mark, who is headed back to finish the Portuguese route this month.

Mark had a tough time with blisters and had to cut short his first pilgrimage. What does it feel like to not be able to finish your first Camino? That’s one of the topics we will be exploring, along with some logistical realities of ending your pilgrimage early.

Your pilgrimage can start today, just by saying yes and putting the dates on the calendar. Walk with me in May or September next year and let's get you off to a great start.

There is space available in all 2027 Camino Experience groups. Dates and details available here.

I have the pleasure of leading two groups of first-time pilgrims from Saint Jean Pied de Port this year in September. If you'd like to see what starting your pilgrimage with the Camino Experience is all about or simply reminisce about your own Camino memories, please follow along.

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I know that many pilgrims feel nervous about traveling to the Camino alone and starting out alone. That’s how my guest this week, Jan, was feeling when she reached out to inquire about joining one of my groups.

As it turns out, she had a giant plot twist that nearly threw her Camino plans in the trash bin, and she ended up revising her plans to go on her own. But not without some trepidation.

It’s when these plot twists happen that we find out just how badly we want our Camino dream to become a reality. For Jan, there’s nothing she wants more. This is one determined pilgrim, and she suspects that this is going to be a hugely transformational journey for her.

If starting the Camino alone feels like a no-go for you, I can help. And your pilgrimage can start today, just by reaching out to let me know you want 2027 to be your Camino year.

There is space available in all 2027 Camino Experience groups. Dates and details available here.

I have the pleasure of leading two groups of first-time pilgrims from Saint Jean Pied de Port this year in September. If you'd like to see what starting your pilgrimage with the Camino Experience is all about or simply reminisce about your own Camino memories, please follow along.

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on Tik Tok

#youonthecamino

In this week's pilgrim conversation, Maura is in the process of writing her Camino story. I had the pleasure of speaking with her back in June, as she was getting ready for her pilgrimage.

Maura has had her share of nerves, mostly around how physically rigorous the pilgrimage is and whether she would be able to complete it, given the physical challenges she has experienced in the past five years. She has literally gone from the couch to the Camino in an inspiring story filled with determination, resilience, and family support.

Watch Nancy's message of walking with her shadow, setting intentions on the Camino, and slowing down to the pace of walking. Don't miss the songs before and after the message!

In the August 30 Sunday service at the Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa in California.

If you prefer not to watch the entire service, jump ahead to the 14:15 mark for the songs and the message.

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One of the trickiest descents on the Camino Francés comes on the first day or two, when you have to decide which route to take down the mountain into Roncesvalles. This video shows you how to choose the path that's right for you.

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Your pilgrimage can start today, just by saying yes and putting the dates on the calendar. Walk with me in May or September next year and let's get you off to a great start.

There is space available in all 2027 Camino Experience groups. Dates and details available here.

#youonthecamino

In my experience, plot twists are all part of the Camino experience. You make a plan, and then you leave home, board a flight to Europe, and see what happens. Then, inevitably, not everything goes according to plan.

Some plot twists we like, some we don’t. But it turns out that they are all part of the Camino experience.

This week on the podcast I am talking with Christine who had, shall we say, a pre-Camino plot twist. That’s a plot twist that happens long before you ever board your flight. It’s the one that takes your Camino dream on hold until . . . whenever.

The important part of this story is that Christine didn’t give up. And she even has a word to identify what’s happening as she counts down to her start date, makes her way to Europe, and takes on this potentially life-changing pilgrimage.

The word is my new favorite word. It’s a word you’ll use when you need to make a big change in your life and you discover that walking the Camino is the way to bridge the gap between the old and the new.

For many people, the hardest part isn't walking the Camino - it's taking that first step. And the idea of doing that alone can be daunting.

That's why I created the Camino Experience. We do this together, from the very first planning steps to our first steps out of Saint Jean Pied de Port and on to Pamplona. 

Learn what it means to start your pilgrimage with the Camino Experience and to let me know you are interested here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/2027

Or you can email me here: [email protected] 

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Will walking the Camino de Santiago change your life? Will it change you?

My guests this week, Mark and Krista, put together their Camino plan with that very hope in mind. After over a year dealing with some near-debilitating mental health challenges, Mark allowed himself to be inspired by Krista’s experiences on the Camino Primitivo, and they booked a pilgrimage on the Francés route.

The first decisions they had to make were how much time to take and where to start, two questions every first-time pilgrim must answer. The answers to these questions are important, as you need to know them before you can book your flights to Europe. And for Mark and Krista it wasn't as easy as "start at the beginning."

It's easy to become consumed with the logistics of planning a pilgrimage to Santiago, but the logistical questions were not the only ones Mark was wrestling with.

What if you've never stayed in a hostel or albergue before - will it work for you? What if you're an introvert who easily becomes overwhelmed in social situation? These are just a couple of the questions Mark was sorting out.

For many people, the hardest part isn't walking the Camino - it's taking that first step. And the idea of doing that alone can be daunting.

That's why I created the Camino Experience. We do this together, from the very first planning steps to our first steps out of Saint Jean Pied de Port and on to Pamplona. 

Learn what it means to start your pilgrimage with the Camino Experience and to let me know you are interested here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/2027

Or you can email me here: [email protected] 

#youonthecamino

If you've been dreaming of walking the Camino, my conversation with pilgrim Danya will likely push you over the edge and inspire you to get your Camino on the calendar.

If you're a mom who wants to walk the Camino but can’t see how to juggle everything to make it possible, Danya’s family has a message for you.

And, if you have already walked the Camino, I think you will find yourself in Danya’s story somewhere.

You may remember Danya from episode 148. We talked shortly before she was leaving her home and family in Colorado to join my May Camino Experience group. Danya is going to share how her pilgrimage went, what she learned, and why starting this way was the perfect choice for her.

For some people, starting the Camino with a guide and a small group is the perfect way to walk through the overwhelm and uncertainty that is part of every first pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. 

Learn what it means to start your pilgrimage with the Camino Experience and to let me know you are interested here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/2027

Join me for a Q & A call on Tuesday, July 28, at 4 pm PDT (if you are in a different time zone, you can confirm your time here)

RSVP to my email and I will send you the Zoom link shortly before the call: [email protected]  

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There are so many different ways to answer the question, what is the Camino? Do we define it? Do we explain it? Do we talk about what it is for me?

We know that the Camino is an ancient pilgrimage route. Or more specifically, it is a collection of routes that end at the Cathedral in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, and we know that millions of people have made this pilgrimage over the last thousand plus years.

But what is it? 

In this episode of the YOU on the Camino de Santiago podcast we explore what the Camino is and what happens when you say YES to the call of the Camino.

I also share about how I support people in making their Camino dreams a reality.

I have just announced the dates for my 2027 Camino Experience groups. You can learn all about what it means to start your Camino with one of my groups and let me know you are interested here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/2027 

Registration for the May 2027 groups opens on Monday, July 20th and on Monday, August 3rd for the September groups.

#youonthecamino

Let’s just say you have exactly four weeks for your Camino trip. Not just the walking part, but out the door from home . . . to the Camino . . . walk . . . travel back home . . .  and then back at your desk at work on day 29.

Is that enough time to walk the Camino Francés?

My guest today worries that it’s not. So what are his options? And how does he make the right decision on how to put together your Camino itinerary, given what feels like a limitation?

That's what we explore in this episode of the podcast, along with other interesting questions like:

Is it cheating if you don't walk the whole way?

What are you really afraid of when you feel fear around your Camino plans?

Want to walk the Camino Francés 2027? I will have the dates on the calendar in July for my 2027 Camino Experience groups. You can let me know you're interested in joining me here: https://forms.gle/zMS8hVbKJZwsoYRaA 

Or reach out to me at [email protected]

And here is the whole story on the Camino Experience program: https://thecaminoexperience.com/walk-with-me/ 

#youonthecamino

When you feel called to walk the Camino de Santiago, what are you being called to? And what is this thing, the pilgrimage to Santiago?

I ask myself that question a lot, especially when I am on the Camino. And it turns out that I am not the only one asking these questions.

In this episode I am talking with Neil from the United Kingdom. Neil has the gift of a long lead up to his pilgrimage, allowing him to contemplate meaning and motivations, and to take his time choosing which route to walk.

That might be the biggest challenge of all – which route to walk first, when you suspect you are going to want to eventually walk them all.

You don't have to start the Camino alone, even if you ultimately want to walk the Camino solo. You don't have to figure out everything yourself just to get packed and to your starting point. Instead, begin your pilgrimage with the Camino Experience and get yourself off to a great start!

Let me know you are interested in walking with me from Saint Jean Pied de Port in 2027 here: https://forms.gle/py2bcdQqtqKvJT1e6

You can also drop me an email: [email protected]

This May I was blessed to have an assistant guide with me and my Camino Experience group in Saint Jean Pied de Port and on the trail to Pamplona. You can hear Maurice's Camino story in season 2, episode 12 and in episode 107.

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Sometimes what drives people to go on pilgrimage is the need to make sense out of an unbearable loss and to heal our hearts so we can move forward with some sense of peace.

Losing a loved one can be disorienting, devastating, knocking us to our knees and throwing us off course. Now imagine losing not just one person who is dear to you, but instead losing multiple people and having that happen in an unusually short period of time.

My guest today, Bec, is in the unenviable, awful position of grieving the loss of several family members over too short of a time and to be coming out of some very difficult years. The Camino is the perfect place to take her broken heart.

The pilgrimage is going to give her the chance to slow down, take it all in, and heal.

Some of my pilgrims would never walk the Camino without this support.

Others just want the camaraderie that comes with starting with people they already know and who are equally passionate and excited about the journey.

Still others love that starting this way takes the edge off of the fear and anxiety that comes with taking on something like a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago.

Others love planning and preparing and appreciate doing that in an organized, linear, and thorough way.

How can I support you in making your Camino dream a reality? Walk with me in 2027! Go here to let me know you're interested.

#youonthecamino