8 life lessons from the Camino de Santiago

In the six months since I boarded my flight from Spain to the United States, my mind has been filled with reflections on my experience walking the Camino de Santiago. When I first came home, I wondered if the 500-mile, 33-day pilgrimage would spark some major epiphany or make a huge life change when I returned to my life in Los Angeles, California.

Would I put on my shoes and take a long walk every morning? Would I stay in touch with fellow pilgrims I met in France and Spain? Or should I go back to my life and pretend nothing ever happened?

Since my return, I have answered those questions and gained further insight into the lessons the journey has provided for me and many others who have walked the Camino de Santiago.

What is the Camino de Santiago?

Before we start, let’s talk about the Camino de Santiago. Also known as the Way of St. James, it is a network of pilgrimage routes leading to the shrine of the Apostle James the Great at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.

This historic pilgrimage, which dates back to the Middle Ages, attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over the world every year. Traditionally undertaken for religious reasons, modern pilgrims also walk the Camino for spiritual growth, adventure and cultural exploration. The routes vary in length and difficulty, with the most popular being the Camino Francés, which starts in St. Jean Pied de Port in France and covers approximately 800 kilometers.

Here, Jen Pellerito shares the lessons we learned from walking this historic route, and now that we’ve read them, we’re more determined to tackle this incredible pilgrimage in 2025! As you plan your Camino de Santiago hike, read Jen’s post on Where to Stay on the Camino de Santiago

Time passes more slowly when you walk

Walking the Camino can cover a distance of eight to twenty miles in a day, which takes five to eight hours. It’s a stark contrast to routine life at home, where we might drive, fly or exercise.

When you walk, you travel at a slower pace. The result of literally moving more slowly contributed to the feeling of having more time left.

It felt like I could see the passage of time. I noticed how the sun fell at different times of the day, how the weather patterns changed, and how the flowers bloomed as the days passed.

I’ve learned that nothing ever stays the same. My daily routine keeps repeating itself, yet everything in the world continues to evolve, even through seemingly mundane moments.

You will never look at your feet the same way again

My feet took a beating on the Camino. It wasn’t just blisters that were a problem; it was the effects of walking on hard surfaces, especially going downhill. Read more tips to stay safe and healthy during a hiking adventure

I saw my feet swell like they had never swollen before. I saw my toes bleeding from blisters that threatened to cause an infection. And eventually I saw my feet healed.

I spent hours worrying, talking and, yes, complaining, about my feet. For the first time I learned how to care for them.

I applied Vaseline to my toes and heels several times a day and learned about the best type of fabric to keep them cool and as dry as possible in high temperatures (it’s wool, by the way)!

I bandaged my feet, prayed for them, and thanked them when they finally became stronger.

Your feet can take you many places, but only if you take good care of them along the way.

Community and connection

After five days of walking, I sat in my Airbnb host’s sweltering kitchen, sweating bullets. My toes were covered in blisters, and my host would puncture them for me. I was terrified. Checking out How to Pack a Travel First Aid Kit

Admittedly, I’ve never had much to do with blisters in my life. I knew nothing about how to care for them, how to treat them, or how to prevent infections. Especially in a situation where I wanted to keep running – without time to rest.

My host, who had been a nurse in her home country, spoke no English and very little Spanish. She used a translation app on her phone to help us communicate in bite-sized sentences, line by line.

My head was swimming, nauseous. Could this go horribly wrong?

Finally, after what felt like an hour of scrolling back and forth through her translation app, she popped my first blister. Then the next one. It hurts a lot less than I thought.

I had just met her, and she took care of me at my most horrific moment. It brought a whole new level of vulnerability and humility.

As you walk the Camino, you will see that we are all in this together.

The Camino offers

It’s not just about foot care. Sharing meals, medicine, language and simply the company of others creates a network of care. On the Camino, help is not only available; it is given.

People are ready to care for each other, proving that even when you walk alone, you are never truly alone.

This spirit of camaraderie and support is what makes the Camino such a unique and special experience. Whether you are a seasoned pilgrim or a beginner, you will find that there is always someone willing to lend a hand or say a kind word.

As you follow the path, you’ll meet people from all walks of life, each with their own story. Some are looking for spiritual enlightenment, while others are simply looking for a new adventure.

But whatever brings you to the Camino, everyone shares a common bond of kindness and compassion.

We all walk the same Camino

When I think back on my time on the Camino, I think of the days when I walked slower than many other pilgrims, even those decades older than me. But as I finally approached the final stretch towards Santiago, I found my stride, became stronger and ran much faster than before.

Yes, some people still walked faster than me – or twice as far as I did in one day – but eventually, after weeks of walking, the first ten miles of the day became a breeze, when once they had been brutally impossible.

This experience has taught me that life is not a race. We all move forward at our own pace, and there is no point in comparing our paths to those of others. The Camino, like life, is a personal journey for each individual.

Learning to move in sync with others, rather than in competition, has brought me peace and helped me accept my current stage of life (thirties) in a more graceful way. It has also allowed me to appreciate my own milestones without comparing them to the successes of others.

The most important thing is that we are all united by one common goal: to reach Santiago.

Achieving a goal takes time

I admit. I am a perfectionist. When I fail, I fail hard. I get so defeated that I never want to try anything again.

Walking the Camino showed me that goals are achieved through a million milestones along the way.

Day by day I moved further towards my goal: reaching Santiago de Compostela. I didn’t stop when the going got tough. I didn’t give up when it felt like I had already failed.

Yes, I stayed when I needed to. On the days I got sick, I took the bus and my feet couldn’t handle the pain anymore.

But that’s not giving up.

The journey has solidified the idea that perfection is not the goal. Progress is the goal.

Every step took me forward. Big goals are achieved through small victories.

Real strength isn’t about how far you can run in one day. It’s about your perseverance and adaptability, regardless of the number of kilometers.

You learn to listen to your body

I took the bus if I really had to. I didn’t walk every kilometer of the Camino Frances, and that disappointed me at the time. But now I realize that knowing your body’s limits is a sign of strength.

Recognizing when to push and when to pause is a form of wisdom.

On the Camino I learned to tune into what my body was telling me. The occasional long silence as I walked alone also helped me listen to my thoughts better.

Balancing ambition and self-care is still a challenge for me. In everyday life, it is easy to overlook our boundaries to meet the expectations of ourselves or others. On the Camino I learned to value self-awareness and the courage it takes to meet my needs.

Sadness arises when someone leaves us

On the Camino you may happen to walk with the same group of people. Pilgrims call this your “Camino family.” Some people walk with the same group all the way, while others split up for one reason or another.

As I walked, I found myself weaving between different groups, quickly connecting with people I had just met. But when the Camino split into two parts and my friends chose a different path, I had to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to these new friends was hard, like a small heartbreak.

I wondered if our paths would ever cross again. To me it felt no different than the sadness I felt when someone close to me had died. These moments on the Camino were a stark reminder of how quickly connections can form and how painful they can come apart, reflecting the bittersweet reality of the many relationships we have throughout our lives.

But more importantly, the divorce reminded us to live in the present. I began to appreciate the company of those I was with at the time. Grief is a natural part of the human experience.

I learned to cherish moments of connection, even if fleeting, and to make peace with the inevitability of change and loss.

Embracing the journey ahead

As I think back on my month of walking the Camino de Santiago, the reasons for my journey have become much clearer.

It’s like looking over your shoulder while walking. When you walk you are immersed in the mountains and all you see are rocks and dirt. Miles later, the full view of those mountains becomes clear.

At the time I couldn’t fathom the impact it would have on me. Looking back now, I can appreciate the importance of the lessons learned.

Distance helps you understand the immensity of what you have experienced.

And so the walk continues step by step.

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