WHO ARE PILGRIMS…

Who are pilgrims? You, me, him, her, them. Pilgrims are everyone. They come from all over the world to walk Caminos in Spain. Name the country and there are probably pilgrims from there. They come from the United States, they come from Korea, Gabon, Mongolia. They come from Irak, they come from Fiji. They come from everywhere.

They are young, old, teachers, tech types, students, retirees. They are artist, farmers, the unemployed. They do the Camino on foot, on bikes, on horses. Last year ninety four people did them in wheelchairs.

Why do they walk? Many for religious reasons. Many for spiritual reasons, or in hopes  of becoming more spiritual. Some, like us, for the adventure and the challenge. Some, to finally accomplish something big in their life. Although millions have done the various Caminos, it is still a nice accomplishment for anyone. Some find they are, or have become the person that hope they could be. What is the reason one walks the Camino? For more reasons than I could ever think of.

What do pilgrims look like?

They are everyone, and I think they all believe in the goodness of the human spirit. A pilgrim lost his ID and money on the Camino and had it returned to him. Pilgrims believe one can achieve things they once thought they couldn’t. They are friendly, which is simple, but always nice. They share with each other, and they give what they have to make life easier for others on the Camino…and probably in life.

Caminos are not easy. They are designed that way perhaps to make one appreciate life. Not necessarily to suffer, but to make one aware that although life isn’t always easy, with some work we can survive. That if we learn to help each other we can all be better people.

The pilgrim walks between, maybe eight and twenty miles a day. Some less, some more. They do what they can. They walk for hours on asphalt, or through forest. They walk up and down hills. Some big, some small. They walk through big cities and little pueblos. Sometimes they even walk across golf courses. Some hop on buses or taxis. No pilgrim should be judged for the way the handle the Camino. “It’s their Camino” as they say. They will all learn something on The Way.

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