Camino Trail Quotes

Blaze a trail!

The Camino points to something more fundamental, to a way of thinking about self and others that looks inward past window-dressing and the usual social identifiers. Pilgrims leave behind professional and social tags when they enter the Camino. Here we're fellow human beings. Period. Often I know only the first name and nationality of people I meet on the trail, sometimes not even that, and with our standard pilgrim attire, we don't offer the usual visual cues to who we are and what we do in life. Yet we affect each other in profound ways. On this level playing field, we talk easily about whatever is on our minds, and the insights from strangers can be surprisingly perceptive. The French pilgrim at Compostelle 2000 (the Paris pilgrim association) was on to something when she told me that the Camino is more than a physical place. It does present breathtaking encounters with the land itself, but it also pushes me to look beyond the physical world.

By the time we reach the top of the trail, where it reunites with the mountain road, we are greeted by two volunteer police officers in a bright yellow truck. They had heard about our climb and were waiting for us on the road. No words are exchanged, except a gruff but sincere “¡Buen Camino!” as one of the officers grabs the red nylon harness at the front of my chair and begins to pull me the rest of the way into O Cebreiro, while his partner drives the truck behind us with lights flashing. When we finally make it to the top, all I can do is look around at the people who have given so much for me today. As we gather together for a photo, “thank you” doesn’t seem like nearly enough after all they’ve done, but it’s all I can give.

People who walk all the way to Santiago from France or somewhere beyond are usually considered pilgrims, but people who skip past the boring bits on a bus or train are lightweights, sight-seers, tourists. “Real pilgrims” take the good with the bad, they accept whatever the trail throws at them. They’re respectful, they carry their necessities and not an ounce more, in a bag strapped on their backs. They keep it simple, they don’t take the easy, or posh alternative. Rain, blisters, fierce dogs, bedbugs, blinding heat or deep snow, they keep walking. They’re vagabonds with a peculiar respectability, and a great deal of self-regard.

Life is simplified on a long walk such as the Camino. You learn to appreciate the simpler aspects – fresh spring water, a smooth trail free of rocks, the sun on your back or just a simple hello from the locals.

Practical Advice for the Trail Electricity Many electrical devices in Italy use plugs with three round pins, requiring outlets such as the one pictured below.  The outlet will not take the usual two round-pin European plugs, but most rooms have at least one outlet that will, such as the outlet below.  Electricity in Italy is 220 Volts, 50 cycles.

Since Rome is the last stop on the pilgrimage trail, the hostel allows pilgrims to stay for up to two nights, if there is enough room. The volunteer staff is welcoming and the accommodations very clean and comfortable.  Normally, this hostel separates men and women, housing each in large rooms with bunk beds.  Occasional exceptions are made to this house rule when work is underway in one of the rooms.  Leave your shoes outside before going upstairs into the hostel.

El objetivo puede ser un kilómetro vertical, una ultra-trail, un maratón, pero también tocar una pieza de música, terminar de pintar un cuadro, resolver una teoría, unos estudios. Lo importante no es el resultado, sino el camino andado para llegar a él.

Later I realize that every time I deviate in the slightest from the path, the butterflies disappear. No sooner am I back on the pilgrims’ trail than I see swarms of colorful butterflies.

The fifth member of the team preferred to work at home. Ahmed was the hacker, the forger, the creator of all illusions, but he didn’t have the nerve to carry guns and such. He worked from his basement in Buffalo and had never been caught or arrested. He left no trails. His 5 percent would come off the top. The other four would take the rest in equal