It is hard to convey the feeling of the Camino to those that haven't walked it. It is like I escaped Earth's atmosphere for 33 days and was in another world. For 33 days everything I owned was carried
in my backpack. When I had both water bottles filled I had about 15-16 pounds total weight in my backpack. Luckily, I had read and heeded the advice of not brining unneeded items. Many of my fellow pilgrims either gave away or mailed home items that were unneeded and added weight to what they carried on their backs every day.
There was a strong feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood with my fellow pilgrims. There were people from all over the world with many languages spoken. Somehow we all were able to communicate enough to establish that we knew we were in this together sharing a unique experience. Just the fact they had made the effort to be there, climbed the Pyrenees and other mountains, waked through rain, mud, sun and exhaustion qualified all for acceptance in our fraternity/sorority. When short time pilgrims joined for a week or two all knew they were different, respected, but not included in this group that were walking the entire pilgrimage. There was a Korean couple that knew no English, but every day on the trail we greeted each other as old friends and at the end we hugged. There was a group of young people that I started with. They told me they had my back. Omar, a special young man, actually came to my aid twice, but I think I earned their respect as the old guy that kept up with them and sometimes was ahead of them. During the day, many walked alone or in pairs, but in the evening everyone became part of the group. You were welcome and also welcomed anyone at dinner tables or for drinks with those that you had walked with. This was the way of those that stayed in Albegues, the communal living hostels provided for low cost to pilgrims. I am not sure if those that choose to stay in hotels also had the feeling of community.
There were Camino angels, people that appeared and provided needed items or support. Most of us sometimes were served by an angel and sometimes we were the angel for someone else.
I think one of the most misunderstood is the spiritual part of the pilgrimage. There is unspoken but widely understood that everyone does their own Camino. This means there is no religious or spiritual expectation. Many have very strong spiritual experiences while others have minimal experiences. Many have many hours of meditation on the Camino. I have talked with Roman Catholics, Protestants,, Buddists, Shintos, deists, atheists, agnostics, Wiccans, Pagans and adventurers. Absent from most conversations were doctrines, political positions and occupational concerns. As everyone there was going into themselves, those things were unimportant. People were working on their selves rather than the world. People that can't get out their need to promote their brand of faith, their brand politics, etc were felt sorry for, as they were missing the blessings of the Camino. The distractions of the world were close to absent.
Personally, I came to understand why thinkers were often burned at the stake in the middle ages. When you have many hours to meditate and think, your beliefs are no longer complex, but soon get broken down to simple. I listened to God, as I put into the advice, "Be still and know I am God".
Things got very simple the more I listened. The first though that came is that all I need to know is that God is "I Am". Soon I also realized that in one form or another God has told all people this. In the primitive he did it in the wind, the sun, etc. No group is chosen or preferred. God said if he is all powerful, he didn't need others to write down what he wanted man to know. The writings, like the Bible were a product of meetings of Bishops where favorite books were included and other left out due to compromises, etc, just like most political meetings. Doctrines are developed by leaders in order to order civilization in the direction they feel is right. As you can see, I would be a good candidate for burning at the stake. That said, most people are sincere in their beliefs and they are okay as long as they don't make a believer feel they are the only ones chosen by God or they are better than others that believe different.
If anyone is thinking of doing this I will give my very biased advice. The first is to go alone to the Camino. Friends and relatives you speak to often, so on the Camino it is your opportunity to meet and know new people from all over the world. I noticed the young people that arrived alone soon found like thinking friends from all over the world. I noticed that most of these young people acquired many skills to qualify them to be the future leaders of our world! I would encourage parents to encourage and support your children if they wanted to do the Camino or similar treks. I also would encourage a couple thinking of a life together walk the Camino. You would learn important things about your future partner, such as are they able to function both on their own and as a team to overcome obstacles. It is impossible to mask your true self over 500 miles especially the tough times where they are exhausted, dirty and things don't go according to plan. If they finish the Camino both respecting and loving the future partner, by all means, go ahead and make it permanent. Also, couples or groups traveling together should allow the others to do their own Camino. By this I mean let each one to walk at their own pace and maybe arrange a meeting place halfway from the day's walk or the end of the day's walk. That way everyone is responsible for their own walk and what they get out of the Camino. Also, they can meet all the interesting people on the Camino. As I (Janice) went back into our blog after being absent about 2 years, I see that this post was left as a draft. I will post this as I reread it, it pretty much reflects Joel's thoughts.
