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 nancy@thecaminoexperience.com

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

#youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

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: nancy@thecaminoexperience.com

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.

#youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

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 #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

What comes after the Camino de Santiago? What do you take on next, after you’ve shown yourself that you can do big and hard things and when you realize that you are physically, emotionally, and mentally strong?

And what do you do when you realize that the practice of pilgrimage is now completely a part of you, and your favorite way to travel is to move at the pace of walking?

You do what my guest today, Fiona, has done, and you find other pilgrimage and trekking routes in other parts of the world, and you keep walking.

Fiona refers to herself as a “rogue pilgrim” – someone who walks to explore life’s deeper questions but who doesn’t have a religious reason for going on pilgrimage.

In this episode, Fiona is sharing about her Kumano Koda pilgrimage in Japan, plus an extraordinary story of survival and camaraderie on her journey to Everest Base Camp.

Here are some helpful links:

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 #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

What is the story of your life that you’re writing right now? That’s one of the questions my guest this week is asking as she counts down to her pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago.

Today I am talking with Danya, who is starting her pilgrimage with my May Camino Experience group in just over a week.

As a wife and mother of two daughters who is approaching the end of her 40’s, Danya is asking some big questions – some profound questions that will accompany her on her pilgrimage.

Questions like, “is it selfish to ask, what do I want?” “What does it mean to be a real pilgrim, and am I one?” And, “what is the story of my life that I’m writing right now?”

I love the conversation Danya and I had, and I especially love that her family was able to join us at the end, to weigh in with their perspective on what mom is heading out to do and how they can support her in making this significant journey.

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 #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

If there’s one thing we don’t talk about enough when we talk about walking the Camino de Santiago, it’s the courage it takes to take on something like this pilgrimage.

For many people, walking the Camino is unlike anything else they’ve ever done before. It’s the first time they’ve traveled alone. The first time they’ve traveled internationally. The first time they’ve been away from home for so long. The first time they’ve carried everything they needed for the trip in one small backpack on their back.

It was no different for my guest today, Carie, who is walking the Camino Portuguese this spring. The fear and the anxiety are, I think, why we need to hear these stories from other first time pilgrims, from people who are in the exact same head and heart space – feeling all that uncertainty, feeling fear and anxiety, yet bravely doing it anyway.

My conversation with Carie takes us through all that plus some practical considerations. We also touch on the modern-day pilgrimage planning phenomenon called AI. Be careful with that, by the way, as AI doesn’t always understand the needs of walkers on the Camino de Santiago, and you may get some wacky stage and accommodation suggestions.

Here is the book Carie recommended: Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking 3 Ancient Ways, by J.F. Penn

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 #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

It seems as though the default choice for walking the Camino de Santiago these days is to walk either the Francés route or the Portuguese route.

Now, that does oversimplify things, but the statistics from the pilgrim’s office in Santiago de Compostela do show that those have been the two most-walked routes in recent years.

My guest on the podcast this week,Chad, has walked both those routes, and now he has taken his pilgrimage practice to other less traveled routes.

What I love about talking with Chad is that he loves the spiritual practice of pilgrimage as much as I do, and it’s become a regular part of his life and his family’s life.

This time Chad will be talking about what he calls his “connector Camino”, which he shared with his 25 year old daughter and regular pilgrimage partner, Bonnie. What does that mean, connector Camino? Well, you’ll see.

Here are the routes Chad is sharing about:

• Camino Lebaniego
• Camino Vadiniense
• Camino San Salvador

The church he talks about with the the relic of the cross of Jesus Christ is at the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana.

The mountain location he talked about is called Fuente Dé, and it is located inside the Picos de Europa National Park.

If you'd like to get to know Chad from his first Camino experience to now, check out these previous episodes:

• Season 2, Episode 18: “A Conversation with Pilgrim Chad Before His First Pilgrimage on the Camino Francés”

• Season 3, Episode 12: "After the Camino with Pilgrim Chad”

• Season 5, Episode 6: "Chad writes the next two chapters of his pilgrimage story"

#youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

If the Camino starts when you say YES, which I think it does, what are the implications of that? If the moment you decide you are definitely going to do this thing is when the journey begins, what can you expect to happen next, after you commit?

In my experience, when I say yes to something big, something bold, something that will take me way outside my comfort zone, I have to expect some plot twists along the way. And that’s exactly what has happened for my guest today, Dara.

P.S. Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

If you're planning to walk the Camino with a friend, family member, or a group, you may want to have some specific conversations before you get too far in your planning. Check out this episode of the podcast - season one, episode 12 to sort out who will you walk with and what you'll want to talk about beforehand.

#youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast