Lately, I’ve found myself reminiscing about my Camino journey last August, 2024 and scrolling through the many photos on my phone. Those fourteen days of walking were so full of new sights and the steady demand of covering miles each day to reach my lodging. I’m thankful that I wrote notes every night about the day’s journey and each morning before I left my lodging, I had a time of devotion, setting the intention for the day. In my materials from Prayerful Path, the company that arranged my trip, they provided a Daily Devotional and Journal with space to write “Your Thoughts . . .” following their prayer.

Yesterday, I pulled out my well-worn stack of the day’s instructional pages with the maps and reservation information. On the back, I’d recorded some of what I’d experienced. Now, reading those accounts and looking at my pictures I’m able to remember more of that 14-day trek. It’s kind of like you feel after a wedding if you’re the bride; you need the photos to show you what went by in a blur.

On Day 13, I’d underlined several of the verses of that devotional written by Sister Macrina Wiederkehr:

“May friends who are praying for you carry you along the way.

May friends who are praying for you be carried in your heart.”

I felt emotion building as I neared the end of my journey. The next day I would arrive in Santiago. I was on the precipice of realizing a dream that I’d tucked in my heart for twelve years.

I felt the peaceful knowing that there were so many people praying for me, thinking of me often, and wishing me success. While walking that path, my family and friends often came to mind. I could imagine them in their daily lives and was reminded of the challenges they were facing. Several asked me to light candles in the churches I entered, praying specifically for things named and unnamed. Those prayers closed the distance across the Atlantic between me and them.

On the final day of my walk, Day 14, Friday August 23rd, I walked from Padron to Santiago. This is what I wrote in my journal:

” Left hotel at 9:00 a.m. in the misty rain. Heard roosters when going through the village. That farm sound grounds me. So did the sound of chickens clucking, dogs barking.

Smelled freshly cut grass and recently bailed hay. Out of the city and onto the shaded lane. Glad for the quiet after being in the city.

Think of all the meaning of this journey. Now glad to see end in sight. Hips hurt from weight of backpack. Feet may be swollen. Legs scratched from briars from frequent jumps into the woods/shrubs/behind fences to use the bathroom– will be glad to ALWAYS have a bathroom to go to.”

I hadn’t forgotten that finding bathrooms was one of the biggest challenges of the Camino:)

That final day was a 16-mile walk. It went by more quickly than other long days because I knew I was experiencing the end of my journey. I wanted to savor those last steps and the build up I felt as greater numbers of fellow pilgrims were alongside me on the path.

That afternoon at 5:00, I walked into the huge plaza in front of the Cathedral and I felt my heart swell with gratitude that I’d made it. Tears were in my eyes, a lump was in my throat as I thought of how God had honored a dream tucked away in my heart for 12 years. And, while I felt a wave of sadness, seeing other groups who were celebrating together, cheering for each other while I was alone, I imagined all my friends being with me in front of the Cathedral. Each one had a place in my heart and was part of my Camino story.

Thanks, Friends both those I know in person and those online, for carrying me all the way.

Connie