YOU on the Camino de Santiago

THE NATURE OF CAMINO CONNECTIONS In my favorite book, The Art of Pilgrimage, author Phil Cousineau talks about "bringing back the boon." What does that mean?  What are the key elements of the Camino experience, and how do you keep them alive in the weeks, months, and years after your pilgrimage? Join me as I chat with pilgrim David and learn how he brought the pilgrim spirit back into his communit...

LIVE SIMPLY AND DO COOL SH*T That's Kathy's motto, and walking the Camino del Norte certainly fits. Through her preparations for this long walk across Northern Spain, Kathy is finding her courage and learning that it is okay to be the person she wants to be and truly is. For Kathy, the Camino began the moment she said "yes!", and she has embarked on a journey of discovery that will take her to San...

PILGRIM TIPS, INSIGHTS, AND HOW TO GIVE BACK Maurice from Asheville, North Carolina, shares his thoughts on getting ready for his first pilgrimage on the Camino Francés, along with his three tips for other first time pilgrims. We cover a number of topics, including another long answer from Nancy - this time on travel insurance.   CONNECT WITH NANCY If you will be attending the annual Gathering of...

THE SACRED PRACTICE OF PILGRIMAGE With special guest, Father Michael Barham. In 2001, Michael made the Camino pilgrimage by foot, walking 500 miles from the French border town of St. Jean Pied-de-Port to the shrine of St. James the Greater in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.  And that was just the start. After completing several more pilgrimages to ancient, holy sites in Europe, Michael wr...

HOLAAAAA! It's time for Spanish for the Camino with María Seco. In this episode we will be learning some language rules for how to correctly pronounce words in Spanish. Specifically, we will focus on place names on the Camino Francés, learning tips you can use to pronounce any word in Spanish.   FOLLOW ALONG WITH OUR SPANISH LESSONS Go to the How to Pronounce Place Names page of Nancy's website fo...

QUESTIONS, ANSWERED! Pilgrims Andrea and Jason ask all the questions you are probably also asking by this point in the podcast series. Grab your notebook and a pen, pour yourself a beverage, and plop into your favorite chair, because we are about to cover a lot of ground.   WALK WITH ME Are you thinking of walking the Camino Francés in September? LET'S TALK! I will help you get off on the right fo...

A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE MEETS FOMO How do you plan but don't over plan for your first pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago? How do you make sure you don't miss out on any of the best sites and stops on the trail? Find out how Andrea and Jason answer these questions as well as how they went from planning a two-week walk on the Camino to stepping out of their daily routine to spend five weeks wal...

NANCY'S CAMINO TRAINING GUIDE . . . for the non-athlete regular person who wants to walk all or part of the Camino de Santiago How do you prepare for the physical challenges of walking the Camino de Santiago? Do you really need to prepare? How much training do you need to do? What do you need to do – is it enough to just walk around your neighborhood a couple times a week? We will find out in this...

WALKING THE CAMINO WITH FAMILY Meg from Tacoma, Washington, USA, is planning a walk on the Camino Francés with her mom and sister - in the heat of July. How does the weather impact your Camino? Is it better to walk alone or should you be recruiting family and friends to walk with you? And if you do walk with "your people", how do you ensure each person has the experience they are seeking? In this...

HIKING CLOTHES & RAIN GEAR - Know what's right for you for your pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain When you walk the Camino de Santiago you will be outdoors walking for hours each day. How do you dress for walking the Camino? And what will you wear when you are not walking, in the evenings? How do you protect yourself from the elements? What gear will you need for walking? Our goal...

A CONVERSATION WITH PILGRIM KATHIE Join me as Kathie from Dallas shares her experiences walking the Camino Francés in Fall 2022. Last summer I had the pleasure of talking with Kathie as she was getting ready for her first-ever Camino pilgrimage. We talked about her fears, doubts, and concerns about walking the Camino de Santiago, plus her hopes and aspirations as she headed off into the unknown on...

SELECTING YOUR BACKPACK, PLUS GOALS FOR PACKING FOR THE CAMINO Walking the Camino isn’t “normal” travel, it isn’t a weekend away, and it isn’t backpacking. It is something in between, something so different that it brings up all kinds of fears and self-doubt in people who already know how to travel. And for first-time travelers, the task of packing for the Camino may be completely confounding. Thi...

PACKING FOR THE CAMINO What do you really need to take with you when you walk the Camino? How much should your pack weigh? What happens if you take too much stuff? Pilgrim David Guiterrez shares how he answered these questions while walking the Camino Francés in Fall 2022. There is some solid packing wisdom in this episode!   MAKE A DIFFERENCE David shares with us about his upcoming fundraiser to...

7 STEPS TO TRANSPORTING LUGGAGE ON THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO This is Part Two of a two-part episode. Did you miss Part One? One of the most frequently asked about topics in the Camino Facebook groups and on the online forums is the luggage transport services on the Camino. You have probably heard pieces of information on this topic but I bet you've been left with some questions. In this two-part epis...

7 STEPS TO TRANSPORTING LUGGAGE ON THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO One of the most frequently asked about topics in the Camino Facebook groups and on the online forums is the luggage transport services on the Camino. You have probably heard pieces of information on this topic but I bet you've been left with some questions. In this two-part episode, we are going to cover this topic from end to end. You migh...

Your Camino Plan This is the final episode of Season One of the “YOU on the Camino de Santiago” podcast, and I want to thank you for tuning in each week, and for joining me on this journey to make your Camino dream a reality. And when I say thank you I am sending that message out around the world. Do you know why?  People are tuning in from the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Italy...

How much does it cost to walk the Camino? How does the amount you spend for your pilgrimage influence, or even determine the experience you will have on the Camino? Or from another perspective, think of the experience you want: how much will that cost? The costs on the Camino are what they are, and in episodes 14 and 15 I shared with you what I paid for food and accommodations on the Camino Francé...

Where do You Find Food on the Camino? What is available, when is it available, and how much does it all cost? On the first day of my first Camino walk, I walked 17 kilometers powered only by pastries. Why? Because I had no idea where and, more importantly, when to find food in Spain. Eating on the Camino can be an exciting adventure and a culinary journey in and of itself.  Some days you will wade...

Where do pilgrims sleep on the Camino? And What is an Albergue? In this episode I give a full run-down on the what, the where, and the how-they-work of the pilgrim’s hostels, or albergues, on the Camino. And I explore the other sleeping options, in case sleeping in shared dorm rooms isn’t for you. What about the idea that the albergues are the heart of the pilgrim community, and that true pilgrims...

Someday-Pilgrim Kimberly Talks About the Idea of Walking the Camino de Santiago From the kindness of strangers to gaining an expanded sense of community to being connected to centuries of history - there is so much to be discovered and experienced by walking the Camino de Santiago. Join me for a poignant and uplifting conversation with Kimberly as she explores the possibility of someday being a pi...

When you imagine yourself on the Camino, who is there?  Are you on your own? Is your spouse or partner there with you? Are you with a big group of your favorite people, perhaps family, perhaps not? The question of who are you doing this with is, I think, broader than it appears at first glance. That’s because there are so many parts to getting ready for and walking the Camino, and so many points a...

Pilgrim Kathy Gets Ready to Walk the Camino del Norte in 2023 What does it mean to be brave for yourself? As Pilgrim Kathy prepares to walk the Camino del Norte in 2023, she shares about her regrets, fears, and being her own super hero.   We also cover a wide variety of practical pilgrim-centric topics, such as travel insurance, checking a bag on the airplane, how and when to find food on the Cami...

How to Get to the Most Likely Starting Points on the Camino Francés Tens of thousands of pilgrims start their pilgrimages in Saint Jean Pied de Port, France, each year, and many who have come from within France and other European countries finish in Saint Jean or pass through on their way to Spain. In addition to being a busy, bustling jumping off point for pilgrims, Saint Jean is also a popular t...

Pilgrim Amanda Talks About Getting Ready to Walk the Caminho Português Pilgrim Amanda is about to take her first steps on the Caminho Português as this episode goes live! Walk with us through her preparations and how she went from hiring a company to plan everything to using her super powers to do it herself. Amanda also shares with us the "ground rules" she and her walking partner came up with th...

How long does it take to walk the Camino? Well, that depends. In this episode we are going to continue on with our Camino planning roadmap, still working with step four, spend some time thinking about what you want. This episode is a big one. A really big one. By that I mean that it’s a bit on the long side. But also, I think it’s an important one, as this is where we really begin to design the Ca...