One Catholic Couple's Experience of Walking the Camino

My husband and I walked the Camino de Santiago during the first week in May. It had been a long dream, since I saw the movie The Way with Martin Sheen.

Last year things started happening that told me God wanted me to do this. We had an exchange person from Spain, and in 2014 we had a chance to go to their home. I was working on an exercise program and found this an inspiration and very motivating. I had heard that a group from San Diego was going after they attended the canonization of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII.

It was the time.

I knew it was 500 miles if we walked the route in Spain. I knew I wasn't up for that so I started brainstorming how I could make this work for us. After reading a book from Sister Joyce Rupp, I knew the hostels were not for me. I talked it over with my husband and thought we could do about 10 miles a day, without backpacks. That is what we did, as so many others did, too.

We hired a company to take our luggage from hotel to hotel each day until we reached Santiago. Each morning we were served breakfast the Spanish way -- ham, cheese, bread, juice, coffee. We tried to visit a church each day in one of the villages.

If you have any questions or concerns, I would love to share. One word of advice, make it your pilgrimage.

Kathy Cazin
St. Gregory the Great
San Diego, CA 92126
kcazin1@hotmail.com