Perfect filters, impeccable smiles and postcard landscapes versus blisters, sweat and moments that do not appear in any photo
Perfect filters, impeccable smiles and epic sunsets… versus blisters, dubious showers and silent fights over an outlet
If the Camino de Santiago were as it appears on Instagram, we would all go with a proud face, clean clothes, a light backpack and a permanent spiritual smile. You wake up with the sun shining on your face, take an epic photo with perfectly placed fog, walk like you're floating... and end the day with a cover-worthy sunset.
Now... let's do a little exercise in pilgrim sincerity.
That lasts exactly… 7 seconds.
Just enough time to take the photo.
The Perfect Path (the Instagram one, the “look at me but I don't sweat”)
In networks everything is beautiful. The pilgrim looks like he has just come out of the shower (even though he has carried 20 km), the backpack is not heavy, the coffee is always perfect and there is never, ever mud.
The feet are intact.
The humor is constant.
And the always profound phrase: “The Camino transforms you.”
Spoiler: yes, it transforms you… but not like in the photo.
The Royal Road (the one about “why does my soul hurt?”)
The Camino truly begins when the alarm goes off at 6:30 and your body decides it doesn't agree. You get up as best you can, look for your things in silence and start the day negotiating with yourself.
At 5 km: “I'm doing well.”
At 10 km: “well… it shows.”
At 15 km: “Who told me to come here?”
And there she appears. The queen of the Camino.
The blister.
It doesn't appear on Instagram.
But it commands more than any filter.
The reality that does not fit in a story
Nobody uploads the photo of the moment you enter the hostel and it smells of accumulated humanity.
Not even the cold war for the nearest outlet.
Not even that pilgrim who snores as if he were cutting down a forest.
You will not see on networks either:
- The shower with flip flops is mandatory
- The sock that never dries out
- The moment you look at your backpack... and it seems to you that it has gained weight
But all that... IS the Way.
The posture lasts seconds… the experience stays
The pretty photo is real, yes. But it's only a moment. What is not seen is what surrounds her: fatigue, effort, doubts, absurd laughter and unexpected conversations.
And best of all: when you are in the middle of chaos, sweat and fatigue... that is when you laugh the most.
Because the Camino has something magical: it takes away the superficial and leaves you with the authentic.
Why the Camino Real is a thousand times better
Because here you can't pretend.
Because it doesn't matter what you look like.
Because everyone is just as tired as you.
In it royal road:
- you unravel your hair
- you get dirty
- You complain
- And still... you smile
And in the end, when you return home and see your photos... you realize something brutal:
The best are not the prettiest.
They are the ones that remind you of what you experienced.
The Camino de Santiago is not Instagram.
It's much better.
Because you don't live to teach it...
You live to tell it later... with laughter.
