31 Day Writing Challenge: My Westward Walk Across Northern Spain via the Camino del Norte to Santiago De Compostela

After 29 days of walking I arrived at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Welcome!(English) Bienvinido!(Spanish) Ongietorri!(Basque) Benvidos! (Galician)


This past summer I walked for 32 days following the ancient pilgrimage route of the Camino De Santiago from Bilbao to Santiago de Compostela Spain. While walking I posted pictures and some first draft writing to my Instagram account @rebeccasbuencamino, but there is so much more to say. The Write 31 days challenge is the perfect opportunity to make sure I follow through with unpacking this life changing experience.  If you are unfamiliar with the route and its significance please check out some of the links at the bottom of the page, as there is much that has been written on this already, far more accurately and fully than I could hope to explain. There are many ways to get to Santiago, as over the centuries new groups of people began to make the pilgrimage and old routes became impassible due to regional conflicts. I chose to walk the Camino del Norte or the Northern Way due to its proximity to the ocean and it is much less crowded in the summer time than the much more well known Camino Frances or The French Way. The photos of pristine beaches drew me in, and ever since I heard Guggenheim museum in Bilbao opened in 1997, I had wanted to visit. I chose to start there rather than at the beginning of the route in Irun, near the French boarder, due to time constraints and frankly I was a little concerned about going through the mountainous Basque region at the beginning of the trip while I was still adapting to the weight of my pack and hours upon hours of walking. I am not a camper or a backpacker, nor am I a solo traveler. I had never done anything like this. The first time I heard about the Camino was in 2009 and the idea has followed me ever since. Over the past few years, as I have learned more about the benefits of silence and the contemplative tradition, the idea of solitary walking to quite the noise and listen for answers became more and more attractive. Upon turning 40 I needed to do something momentous, I needed the physical challenge, and more than I knew at the time, I needed the mental and emotional challenge too. There are handfuls of blogs about preparing to walk the Camino, there are Facebook groups galore, there are local pilgrim clubs and travel guides and memoirs, movies and  even a few podcasts; but none of them could fully prepare me for the journey. It is like trying to describe the taste of chocolate. Yet, here I go, trying to describe it, the way that best spoke to me: through poetry. Last fall I attended a poetry reading by David Whyte, (if you do not know him, please stop reading me and make his acquaintance immediately, his Facebook page is amazing too). His poems about pilgrimage came the closest to capturing the  essence of what I was to experience. And so it is my hope that through the next 31 days that I might more fully process the lessons learned;  that you will be able to share in some of my experiences and..... perhaps... you might be inspired to make a pilgrimage of your own.



Day 1 Alicante-Bilbao
Day 2 Catro Uridales -Liendo
Day 3 Liendo-Noja(via water taxi from Laredo)
Day 4 Noja-Güemes 
Day 5 Gümes-Santander (via the ferry from Somo)
Day 6 Santander A rest day
Day 7 Santander -Caborredondo
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17
Day 18
Day 19
Day 20
Day 21
Day 22
Day 23
Day 24
Day 25
Day 26
Day 27
Day 28
Day 29
Day 30
Day 31
Day 32

**All milage totals given are actual steps walked as recorded by my Fitbit**
History of the Camino
A How to Website Describing the Routes
Join the fun!






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