Because the Camino is not only walked... it is also socially survived
The Camino de Santiago changes lives.
That's what everyone says.
What they don't tell you is that it also makes you a world expert on pilgrim fauna.
Because after several days walking you discover something very important:
The Camino is not just landscapes, spirituality and rural tourism.
The Camino is living for weeks with characters that seem created by Netflix.
And the best thing is that they ALL exist.
It doesn't matter if you do the French Way, the Northern Way, the Vía de la Plata or the Portuguese Way.
They always appear.
Like blisters.
Or the croquettes on the pilgrim menu.
The “ultrapro” pilgrim
This one is scary.
He leaves at 04:58 in the morning with a headlamp, titanium poles and a backpack that probably weighs less than an iPhone.
You wake up destroyed...
and he has already traveled 17 kilometers.
Typical phrases:
- “Today I did an easy stage.”
- “Only 42 kilometers.”
- “The slope was fun.”
Amused he says.
He normally eats oatmeal, nuts and emotional suffering for breakfast.
And yet he arrives fresh at the shelter while you look like a survivor of a natural disaster.
The influencer pilgrim
Very important.
This does not do the Camino.
Makes content.
He is walking with:
- drone,
- GoPro,
- stabilizer,
- tripod,
- microphone,
- and probably a Netflix documentary in production.
It takes him three hours to leave the hostel because he needs to record:
- the boots,
- the coffee,
- the backpack,
- the yellow arrow,
- and a video looking at the horizon pretending that he doesn't know that they are recording him.
Typical phrase:
— “I'm going to repeat the entrance to the town because I don't like the light.”
Brother.
We have been 28 kilometers.
ENTER NOW.
The pilgrim spiritual philosopher
It appears on the third day.
He asks you:
— “And why do you do the Camino?”
And you just wanted to eat tortilla.
But suddenly you end up talking for two hours about:
- meaning of life,
- energy,
- emotions,
- anxiety,
- traumas,
- and if the universe sends signs.
They usually carry a notebook.
And a suspicious calm.
Sometimes they seem like ancient sages.
Other times they clearly haven't slept well for three days.
The indestructible German
Absolute legend of the Camino.
He is 74 years old.
Two operated knees.
And yet he overtakes you uphill whistling.
Perfectly organized backpack.
Military time.
Socks impossible to move even a millimeter.
At 18:00 already:
- has washed clothes,
- dined,
- reserved accommodation,
- revised maps,
- and probably solved the European economy.
While you continue looking for the charger.
The pilgrim “I improvise”
Very dangerous.
He doesn't know where he sleeps.
He doesn't know how many kilometers he will travel.
He doesn't even know where he is exactly.
Typical phrases:
- “I'll see.”
- “The Way will provide.”
- "Flow."
He usually ends up sleeping in a bunk bed next to the industrial bathroom.
But hey...
happy.
The gourmet pilgrim
This one came to walk…
but also to eat as if I were recording MasterChef.
It is known:
- all the bars,
- the best tortillas,
- where they put Galician broth,
- Which town has the best octopus?
- and where they serve homemade Santiago cake.
You are suffering a deadly rise...
and he excitedly talking about a sticky rice in the next stage.
The reality:
Many of us continue walking thanks to these types of people.
The pilgrim “this cures everything for me”
The unofficial doctor of the Camino.
It has a remedy for:
- blisters,
- laces,
- chafing,
- tendonitis,
- sadness,
- stress,
- and probably marital problems.
Always carry:
- vaseline,
- plasters,
- cream,
- ibuprofen,
- needles,
- and medical knowledge clearly obtained on Google.
Typical phrase:
— “That is an overload of the tibialis.”
You don't know what the tibialis is...
but you trust completely.
The pilgrim who snores like a steamroller
The great villain of the hostel.
During the day it seems normal.
Even nice.
But the night comes...
And it is transformed into heavy industrial machinery.
There are pilgrims who have seriously thought about abandoning the Camino because of one of these.
The true spiritual experience is not arriving in Santiago.
It's getting eight hours of sleep with 30 people and a man playing sounds of a broken down tractor.
The pilgrim in love
This phenomenon appears much more than people believe.
Because of course:
- beautiful landscapes,
- intense emotions,
- came,
- shared blisters,
- deep conversations...
That unites a lot.
Suddenly you see two people who met three days ago saying:
— “Maybe I will do the Portuguese Way with you too.”
And you thinking:
“I just came to walk.”
The veteran of the Camino
This one already did:
- the French,
- the Primitive,
- the North,
- the Via de la Plata,
- and probably the Camino on Mars.
It has stories for everything.
And he always says:
— “The Camino has changed a lot.”
Phrase that can mean:
- there are too many people,
- the coffee was better before,
- or simply pilgrim nostalgia.
But the reality is that we all end up becoming this character a little.
The Camino unites completely different people
And therein lies the real magic.
On the Camino de Santiago they coincide:
- entrepreneurs,
- students,
- retirees,
- influencers,
- athletes,
- broken people,
- happy people,
- people looking for answers
- and people who simply wanted a different vacation.
All walking together.
Everyone tired.
All smelling regular from the fourth day onwards.
And still...
something connects.
Because the Camino has that strange ability to turn strangers into traveling companions.
And many times, when the pilgrimage ends, you realize something:
Perhaps the best thing about the Camino was never the kilometers…
but the people who walked with you.
