The Life-Changing Experience of the Camino de Santiago

Back in Aug 2023, I decided to go out for a walk. A very looooooO OOOOOOOOOOOO Ooooooooong walk. It was so ridiculously long that it took me from Porto, Portugal, to Santiago, Spain. That walk is called the Camino de Santiago, a spiritual journey leading its “Pilgrims” (the term for those on the pilgrimage) to the remains of the Apostle St. James.

I had it on my bucket list for years, so when my sister asked if I’d go, I took it as a call from God. “Hello from the other side~” or was it Adele? Anyhoo, preparing for the trip was hard work, but I told myself the life-changing experience would be worth it. Although I trained beforehand, nothing came close to the real Camino experience. I felt sensations all over my body that I had never felt before. And not in a good way. Every single one of those twelve days was challenging, demanding, and sometimes pure torture.

The Caterpillar 

If there was ever a right time to call on my MuseLis alter-ego, it was now. I trudged along the Camino at the speed of a caterpillar and put on my best caterpillar face. I, MuseLis, was the Caterpillar of the Camino! Even walking my fastest, covering ground still took about 5-6 hours daily. Random question: Do caterpillars smile? No. They can’t, so neither could I for 173 miles.

The Butterfly

I wanted to come out of the experience so transformed I’d be unrecognizable. More than anything, I wanted to walk away from the Camino as someone who would finally understand her true life’s purpose. Heimlich, the caterpillar from the Bug’s Life movie, said it best: “Someday, I will be a beautiful butterfly, and then everything will be better.” I had the same hope for myself. Sadly, the only flying I did at the end of the Camino was on a flight back to LA, cramped inside the main cabin.

The Cocoon

I arrived home disappointed because I felt the same as before the Camino. Then, it dawned on me that my big reveal would never happen in this lifetime. I should have known that every caterpillar must endure a cocoon phase. More change needs to happen in me before I can become that magnificent butterfly I always dreamt of being. And when I finally get to spread my wings and fly, it will be in heaven, not here on earth. In the meantime, I’m trying to make the best of my “cocoon time” here on earth.

3 Things I Learned From My Camino Experience

1. Don’t pack your fears when you travel.

One of the most important lessons I learned from the Camino journey was how little I needed to get through each day. I thought I was only bringing the bare minimum. The truth is, I carried something for every situation I feared—for example, I’m always scared of getting sick. So I packed lots and lots of vitamins to prevent that from happening and even more pills for if (or when I do) get sick. I used to pride myself in being a well-prepared traveler, but I realized that was only a cover-up for being a fearful traveler. I was scared of all the possible what-if scenarios.

2. Don’t store your fears at home.

I’m ashamed to admit that my home life was no different from my Camino life. I discovered I was living in a place surrounded by stuff discreetly covered in fear. I held onto countless things around the house for the unlikeliest situations. “Yes, I might need this monocular telescope just in case I spot a UFO outside my window. I won’t be able to report it unless I can identify which spaceship model they’re flying on.” I’ve been working on acknowledging my fears and letting go of the clutter tied to each “what if” item. 

3. Trust your “Camino” will provide.

I didn’t need to carry items for every “what-if” situation because the saying “the Camino provides” proved true. Whenever someone needed something, someone else had it. Knee brace, sports tape, pee funnel…GROSS! Did you say PEE funnel?! Yo, don’t knock it ’til you try it. Ironically, the owners of each item never needed it for themselves. That’s the importance of community. Although I’m off the Camino de Santiago, the Camino I’m following today provides for me even better. That Camino is God.

Travel tip: There’s so much info on how to prepare for the Camino de Santiago that people have entire blog sites dedicated to it. I can’t compete, so here’s a link to the Stingy Nomads site I used and highly recommend.