Long before I ever stepped foot on the Camino, I was sitting in a café in Trieste, Italy with a local girl named Sveva. It was my first time in the city, in the middle of February. The weather was brutally cold and windy, so cold I could feel it cutting through my face like tiny slaps every time the wind blew. I knew nothing about the Camino then. We were talking about our travels, and I was telling her about my experience in Jordan when, out of nowhere, she brought up the Camino de Santiago.
I asked her with genuine curiosity, “What is the Camino?”
She began telling me a story about her brother, who had been angry with everything, the society, the Italian government, and life in general. She said if he hadn’t left for the Camino, he probably would have punched holes in the walls and destroyed the whole house. Worried about him, their father decided to follow and walk the camino with him. Off they went.
Later, she told me she wanted to prove to everyone that she could do it too. “Everyone looked at me like I was just this short, fat girl who couldn’t possibly do something like that,” she said. “So I went on the Camino, and I walked 300 miles. In the end, I realized I walked just to prove it to myself.”
I stared at her, stunned. At that time, I couldn’t even imagine walking 5 miles, let alone 300. Listening to her describe her Camino, the friendships she made, the peace she found in nature and the beauty of the Spanish sky, I felt something I didn’t expect: I was inspired.
Before we got up and walked away from our table, she joked and said, “Maybe we will meet again someday on the Camino.” I smiled back, but honestly, I never gave it another thought.
In early April, I suddenly got a notification from United Airlines: my flight to Brussels was in one week. I was shocked. I had completely forgotten that I had booked a return ticket the year before. I had just come back from France a month earlier and I definitely wasn’t planning to return to Europe anytime soon, especially not in a week.
But after seeing that reminder, the Camino somehow found its way into my mind.
Then came the argument with myself:
“You must be joking. You? Walk the Camino? Eight hundred kilometers? When was the last time you even walked a mile?” I doubted I would even survive the first day. Sending someone straight from their couch to walk 20–30 miles a day? Not impossible, but definitely unlikely.
But a part of me knew I needed time alone. I needed space to clear my head from some of the things I had experienced in France. Maybe the Camino could help.
So I went to YouTube, searched “What to pack for the Camino,” made a list, went to the store, and grabbed everything I thought I needed. Just like that, one week later I was on a United flight to Brussels, on my way to walk the Camino de Santiago.
I was absolutely not prepared. I knew nothing about being a pilgrim or what was waiting for me.
After walking about 800 miles and completing the Camino de Santiago, here’s my honest advice:
Don’t do what I did. Don’t go straight from your couch to the Camino without preparing.
And yes, you can still finish it without any preparation. I did it! But I struggled physically almost the entire way. It was painful, exhausting, and at times emotionally overwhelming.
If you’re planning to walk the Camino, I strongly recommend doing some basic training or regular hikes beforehand. Prepare your body even just a little, you will enjoy the journey so much more.
But if you’re wondering whether it’s still possible even if you feel completely unprepared, the answer is yes. You will struggle, but sometimes, that struggle is exactly what changes you. It might even help you learn how to face the hard things in real life.
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