In May 2009 I walked the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrimage route across Northern Spain, several years after first hearing these mystical words. To consciously embark on the pilgrimage was to blend my deep love of travel with my passion for the spiritual path.

I set out with the sense that walking 800km would be the most challenging intention I’d set myself so far, both physically and emotionally. It was also a life changing experience, being immersed in nature and walking carefully upon the earth.

Two years on, my understanding of the experience is still unfolding. A traveller all my life, I believe in ‘home as a state of being’. The walk played an important role in coming home to the self, discovering love as our natural state of being, and the joy and enthusiasm possible when living truly in the moment.

pilgrimage and community

The pilgrimage became an extended walking meditation; an opportunity to practice gratitude, impermanence and surrender to the unknown. I listened to my body more deeply and developed my intuition or ‘inner guidance’ along the way.

I embraced the simple life, just walking – eating – sleeping. Walking alone, inspired by a deep yearning for inner peace, the contemplation of the personal experience was perfectly combined with the camaraderie along the way.

Here at walkingthecamino.com I share my experience of the pilgrimage, continuing onto my experience of now living and working in a spiritual community. You can begin reading the journal here…

pilgrim’s quotation

“Those who are happy are living a well kept secret that the real measure of success in life is not in the destination but in the amount of joy we feel along the way.”