Around 2012, my wife Betsy and I saw a film, The Way, starring Martin Sheen, about the Camino de Santiago in Spain. We were intrigued about walking for nearly 500 miles through northern Spain in the company of other hikers (pilgrims). Later, we saw two other films about the Camino. We put it on our bucket list.
Caminos are ancient pilgrimage routes in Europe, some dating to the Middle Ages, along which ardent Christians traveled to strengthen and demonstrate their faith. Many of the Caminos culminate in Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, where pilgrims could pay homage to St. James. The cathedral in Santiago harbors his bones. Needless to say, conditions along the Caminos were far different back then including roving bandits, uncertain sources of food and accommodations, and no internet connections.
In April, 2023, Betsy and I decided to experience the Camino for ourselves. We thoroughly enjoyed our hike on the Camino de Santiago (also known as the Camino Frances, even though it’s in Spain) and the Camino Finisterre in Spain. Why not walk another Camino this year?
In 2024, we decided to walk the Camino Podienses in southwestern France. This Camino starts at Le Puy-en-Velay, about 300 miles south of Paris and ends 450 miles later at St. Jean-Pied-de-Port near the France-Spain border where we began our Camino walk in 2023.
On June 19, we flew to Paris, took a train to Lyon then caught two other trains to Le Puy. Betsy previously reserved two beds for us in a former convent near the cathedral. Such accommodations for pelerins (the French word for pilgrim) along the Camino are called gites. Both of us use hiking poles but didn’t bring ours from home to avoid $200 checked baggage fees each way on our plane rides. We inquired with gite host where we could buy hiking poles in Le Puy. She generously gave us a pair that a hiker had left! Then she directed us to a store where we bought another pair for a bargain price compared to the US. A wonderful way to start our adventure.
Starting the next morning, we settled into a daily routine. Wake up about 6:30 am and eat breakfast typically consisting of bread, jam, butter, and coffee at the gite. We often bought granola and yogurt from grocery stores to supplement the light breakfasts. We’d chat with other pelerins about their experiences. About 7 or 7:30, we’d leave the gite and search for red and white route signs painted on buildings or for metal plaques embedded in sidewalks and pavement. Outside of town, we looked for signs painted on trees, the sides of buildings, or sometimes stenciled on official route signs. We walked across rolling landscapes with mixtures of forest, cropland (wheat, alfalfa, sunflowers), and cow pastures. About mid-morning, we’d look for a café in a village where we’d enjoy a cup of cafe-au-lait and savor a croissant. More walking until lunch, which usually consisted of bread, cheese, and fruit that we bought the day before. More walking until mid-afternoon when we’d arrive at the gite where we’d reserved beds. Phone apps and Dave Whitson’s guidebook helped us plan our nightly stops. We made a point of selecting gites that offered a communal dinner and breakfast. One of the delightful aspects of walking the Caminos is taking a shower each afternoon. After that, Betsy would often explore the town, while I would take a nap. Dinner usually began at 7 pm and was always a highlight, chatting with our English-speaking compatriots, plus the food was always wonderful. A short after-dinner walk then in bed by 9 pm. A wonderfully simple life.
Our adventure supported five of the nine healthy lifestyle choices in my book, Choose Better, Live Better – Nine Healthy Choices that Nurture Body, Mind, and Spirit. The pertinent choices include Keep Moving, Eat Better, Sleep More and Better, Cultivate Social Connections, and Develop a Positive Mental Attitude.
Keep Moving is obvious. According to Betsy’s cellphone, we walked about 35,000 steps per day but at a relatively relaxed pace. These steps translated into about 15 miles per day with something like 1,500 -3,000 feet of elevation gain on surfaces (gravel paths, two-track farm roads, narrow paved roads with little traffic) usually with easy footing.
Our communal meals helped us Eat Better. We nearly always ate fresh foods with interesting ingredients. The gite hosts usually cooked the multi-course communal dinners and were justly proud of their creative culinary skills. In France, dinners were less about eating massive quantities of food and more about enjoying the company of our fellow hikers and hosts. Dinners usually lasted about an hour and a half. Much of the time, the host served the food family style, such that hungrier hikers could have seconds (or thirds). Even if family style wasn’t offered, we almost always had the opportunity for a second helping. I always accepted second helpings gratefully much to the satisfaction of the host.
A regular sleep schedule from about 10 pm to 6:30 am aligned with Sleep More and Better. Our daily exercise also promoted better sleep.
Eating communal dinners with fellow hikers helped us Cultivate Social Connections. We met other hikers during the day at breaks and while walking. We had lots of delightful social interactions with other pelerins. The language barrier was not a big deal for the most part. People along the way were more than willing to help us Americans find our way.
The spirit of the Camino helped us maintain a Positive Mental Attitude. Betsy and I (and other hikers) were grateful to be on the Camino, feel upbeat and cheerful, enjoy the usually pleasant, lovely weather, take a shower every day, sleep in a bed, and eat a memorable dinner. I got grumpy on two occasions (mainly related to techno issues of finding grocery stores), but those episodes cleared up quickly,
Sometimes things don’t work out according to plan. We ended our hike 6 days early due to severe pains in my left lower leg front compartment, something akin to shin splints, but that didn’t cast a dark cloud on our trip. We ended up sight-seeing in northwestern France for those 6 days. The most tiresome parts of our journey came from the long airplane flights, sitting in cramped quarters for 9 hours each way.
Hiking one of the Caminos in Europe can be a life-enhancing event. For Betsy and me, the journey was a wonderful experience. Plus it promoted better, healthy living. The prospect of hiking yet another Camino (maybe Camino del Norte across northern Spain next year) motivates us to continue embracing healthy lifestyle choices at home. Do you have something in your life that helps you embrace healthy lifestyle choices? If so, great! If not, can you find something?
