Hike a pilgrimage route like the Camino

“I can’t even put into words how unbelievably loud the snorers on the Camino are. I’ve stayed in hundreds of dorm rooms as a backpacker and yet, I’d never heard anything quite like this. While I had some excellent ear plugs that eliminated 90% of the noise, I also have tiny ear canals and all ear plugs leave me in pain after a few hours. Over the first three nights, I was walking on four hours of sleep and suspecting I was on the verge of a panic attack. I felt terrible.”

“Dave and I set off from Oviedo and we walked and walked and walked, and for the first eight days, we met nobody. The only other pilgrims we ran into were Spanish speakers who we couldn’t communicate with in any real depth. We didn’t get to walk with a single American, Canadian, Australian, Brit… at all. Most days, we didn’t even see another walker all day. It was surprising considering how many of these nationalities choose to walk the Camino Frances. For eight days straight, Dave and I had each other and nobody else. Guess what? I hated it. After days of solitude, I wanted to make friends so badly! I was so disheartened that my Camino experience was family-less, and that I hadn’t been able to have a conversation with anybody apart from Dave.”

“Like most fellow pilgrims, I found walking the Camino a deeply personal and thrilling experience. For the first time, I allowed myself to slow down and appreciate the simplicities of daily routines. The byproduct of slow travel is that we often attach meanings to ordinary objects or encounters.”