Pilgrims Way

When it came to his backpack, one pilgrim set a rule: “Add nothing.” But during a chance connection with a grandfather and granddaughter on her first Camino, the girl presented him with a small blue plastic hand to adorn his backpack. In making an exception to his rule for this gesture of friendship, both his backpack and his spirit felt lighter.

A pilgrim meticulously choses the items she would carry and the pack in which she would transport them, balancing need against weight. Along the way, she discovers that the real measure of these carefully selected items went beyond the practical—they were talismans for her journey, tokens of comfort and resilience.

At the start of their journey, a Camino angel bestows upon a woman and others in her group each a necklace of religious medals. A year and a half on, she still wears this necklace often as a reminder of her Camino days, when she learned to be present and savor this moment.

Carrying an immense load of grief and anger after her mother’s death, a pilgrim walks the Camino with a 1.6-pound rock painted by her niece in memory of her mother. When she finds the perfect spot to finally set down the rock, she feels lighter than she has in months.

Sitting on the side of the trail nursing her blisters and inflamed calves caused by an overburdened backpack, a woman meets a Camino angel who offers her a vital insight that changes her pilgrimage and ultimately her path in life.

More and more, pilgrims are lightening their load by discarding worn-out boots, trash, and even human waste on the trail. A new tradition encourages pilgrims to pick up just one item of litter each day of their pilgrimage, to help lighten the load of trash on the Camino.

Miserable, burned out, and on the verge of breakdown from the stresses of running a small business, a husband and wife watch the movie The Way and are compelled to sell their business and set out on the Camino to reclaim their life.

A pilgrim returns to the Camino to heal after an extended period of chaos, loss, and overwhelming grief. A communal activity one night at an albergue unexpectedly changes how she sees herself, and is all the stronger for it.

His Camino cut short by an ankle sprain on Day 1, an overweight Type 2 diabetic embarks on a new diet and exercise journey to shed pounds and get healthy to walk another Camino.

As she works through her estate planning, a Camino enthusiast considers what to do with all the Camino treasures she has collected over the years.