YOU on the Camino de Santiago

SHARING MY BIG VISION! Today I have some updates on the pilgrim registration requirements and for the Francés route:  >> updates to the luggage transport services  >> new places to buy gear, and  >> where to find the best pizza And then my favorite topic:  >> How do we deal with the hardest part of the entire Camino experience?  >> How do we fill our lives with what I call Camino-grade experiences? To jump ahead to this part of the episode, when I talk about bringing home the Camino experience, go to the 14:20 minute mark. Here are the places mentioned in this episode:  >> Caminoteca pilgrim shop: https://caminoteca.com/  >> Rock N Roll Pizza: https://rockandrollpizza.es/  >> Jacotrans, use discount code DAG: https://www.jacotrans.es/en/ GET REGISTERED BEFORE YOU GO In 2025 and beyond, accommodation hosts are required to collect additional data on their guests. For a list of albergues currently using the Pilgrim Pass system, go here: https://pilgrim-pass.web.app/#/lodgings If you would like to get this taken care of before go, here is the website: https://cms-pilgrim-pass.web.app/preregistration TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT! If you have walked at least two Caminos, I would love to have you as a guest on the podcast to answer this question: What has been the secret of your success in bringing home your pilgrimage? Or maybe you haven't been all that successful. Let's talk about that too! You can let me know you're interested in being a guest here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/podcast-guest-request-form/   #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

LET'S CLEAR UP A FEW THINGS! In this episode I am going to answer a handful of first-time pilgrim questions that are showing up nonstop on social media. Questions like: How hard is it, really? Do you have to train? What’s the weather going to be like? Do I need a sleeping bag? Do I need to reserve a bed or room in advance? READY TO TELL YOUR STORY? I would love to help you do that! If your pilgrimage had an "alternative ending," meaning you didn't finish in Santiago, I would love to have you as a guest on the podcast. You can email me directly at nancy@thecaminoexperience.com or complete this form to let me know you are interested.   #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

MAKING MEMORIES, LIVING HIS DREAMS My guest in this episode said yes to walking the Camino before he even knew what that really meant. Is it a leap of faith or simply saying yes to life? Either way, Ron shows us that now is the time to say take on those big dreams and goals. After losing nearly 80 lbs by eating less and moving more, Ron is ready to take on the physical, mental, and spiritual challenge of walking the Camino. Wondering about the "marvelous resource" Ron refers to during our conversation? That's the Camino Planning Kit, available at https://thecaminoexperience.com/kit/ It will take you from where you are now - wherever you are in the research and planning process - all the way to taking your first steps on the Camino Francés and beyond.   #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

SAY YES. YES, THIS IS POSSIBLE. What happens when you sense a loud, clear calling to walk the Camino de Santiago? Well, you do it. You put some dates on the calendar and you plan this thing. That’s what my guest today, Noel, did. The calling was mysterious yet unmistakable, so who was she to refuse it? And the timing coincides perfectly with a big milestone birthday, so this is the perfect time to take this journey.   DON'T MISS ANYTHING! Everything I offer to the pilgrim community is announced first on to my email list. You can join that list and also pick up your free copy of my Camino Planning Roadmap here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/roadmap/   FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA Looking for some Camino tips, wisdom, and inspiration? It's all here: https://www.facebook.com/TheCaminoExperience https://www.instagram.com/thecaminoexperience/   #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

WHEN HEALING TAKES PLACE ON THE PILGRIMAGE TRAIL I hope you are ready to be inpsired, because today I have the compelling after-the-Camino story of US veteran Paul who walked the Camino last October with the life-changing program offered by Warriors on the Way. (https://warriorsontheway.org/) Warriors on the Way is a pilgrimage on the Camino De Santiago that is designed to facilitate a combat veteran’s healing from PTSD and Moral Injury. This program works to reduce PTSD and Moral Injury symptoms, which in turn improves quality of life and helps in the effort to reduce the veteran suicide rate. The pilgrimage is led by Fr Steven Rindahl (US Army, Retired), who is an experienced pilgrim. Fr Steve has designed this pilgrimage based on his own pilgrimage experiences and supported by his doctorate in responding to combat trauma and through the US Army Chaplaincy course he developed and taught on how to provide a Ministerial Response to Moral Injury.   JOIN ME ON THE PODCAST? Do you have a story to tell? Of course you do! Let me know you are interested in being a guest on the podcast here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/podcast-guest-request-form/   FOLLOW ME ON THE CAMINO FRANCÉS During the month of May I will be posting tips and tricks right from the trail. Follow me here: https://www.facebook.com/TheCaminoExperience https://www.instagram.com/thecaminoexperience/ Or better yet, meet me out there somewhere!   #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, AND HOW OF IT Diana will be walking the Camino Portuguese with her daughter, and in this episode she reminds us that it is as important to plan the journey home from the Camino as it is to think about and plan the actual walking part. I won’t spoil the surprise; instead, I will invite you to open your mind and heart to new ways of doing things. In all, this is a story of getting the most out of the pilgrimage experience, and noticing before you go that reaching Santiago de Compostela isn’t the end of the journey. This is a story of love and the relationship between a mother and daughter, who are each finding their own reasons for making this pilgrimage, and for making it together. I also sneak in some thoughts on how to plan your return home from the Camino, in case you would like to make that transition go a little bit more smoothly.   LAST DAY TO TAKE 20% OFF THE CAMINO PLANNING KIT! Get your hands on all the instructions - all the how-tos – for how to plan your pilgrimage on the Camino Francés. But it has to be today if you want 20% off! Here's where to find it: https://thecaminoexperience.com/kit/   DON'T MISS ANYTHING! Everything I offer to the pilgrim community is announced first on to my email list. You can join that list and also pick up your free copy of my Camino Planning Roadmap here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/roadmap/   FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM I will be posting right from the Camino trail throughout most of May as I make my way from Logroño to Burgos and then from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Pamplona. (I know, it's a bit out of order. Crazy pilgrim that I am.) https://www.facebook.com/TheCaminoExperience https://www.instagram.com/thecaminoexperience/ Hope to see you out there!   #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

WHAT CHALLENGES DO COUPLES FACE ON THE CAMINO? Claire and Richard walked the Camino Francés in 2023 and had the time of their lives. While they walked the same trail, the same day-to-day stages, and they stayed in the same places every night, they still had their own unique experiences. What is it like to walk the Camino with a partner? Well, it's time to find out. The book we talked about is called In Movement There is Peace: Stumbling 500 Miles Along the Way to the Spirit, by Elaine Orabona Foster and Joseph Wilbred Foster III.   NOW THROUGH MAY 6 - 20% OFF THE CAMINO PLANNING KIT! Imagine a box delivered to your doorstep with everything you need – all the instructions, all the how-tos – for how to plan your pilgrimage on the Camino Francés. Imagine that rather than searching high and low on the internet to find the answers you need, you have it all in one place, at your fingertips, on one website or on in one app. That is the Camino Planning Kit, and now through May 6, 2025, you can take 20% off and get started right away with putting together your pilgrimage plan. Here's where to find it: https://thecaminoexperience.com/kit/   FOLLOW ME ON THE CAMINO FRANCÉS During the month of May I will be posting tips and tricks right from the trail. Follow me here: https://www.facebook.com/TheCaminoExperience https://www.instagram.com/thecaminoexperience/ Or better yet, meet me out there somewhere!   #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

6 FRIENDS MAKE THE JOURNEY TO SANTIAGO Kimberly shows us the value of making this pilgrimage with friends, with "your people." Any way you do it is valid, and I believe that each person ultimately chooses the way that is best for them, but there is definitely something to be said for sharing this journey with people who know you well, who know you at your best and at your worst and who love you anyway. Did someone say cheesecake?!? Yes! Here is where you find the best cheesecake in Santiago de Compolstela: Airas Nunes Café (easy to find with Google maps or similar)   GET YOUR CAMINO PLAN TOGETHER - 20 % OFF! The promotion on the Camino Planning Kit starts on Friday, April 25, here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/kit/   FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM I will be posting right from the Camino trail as I make my way from Logroño to Burgos and then from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Pamplona. (I know, it's a bit out of order. Crazy pilgrim that I am.) https://www.facebook.com/TheCaminoExperience https://www.instagram.com/thecaminoexperience/ Hope to see you out there!   #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

READY FOR A WHOLE BUNCH OF PILGRIM WISDOM? It's all here! Pilgrim Sandra is taking a thoughtful and well thought out approach to her Camino experience. There's gold in here! Here is the pilgrim planning resource in Porto (Nicoletta) that Sandra used: https://your-camino.com/  WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED? If you have already walked one of the Camino routes, I would love to hear from you about what challenges you faced in returning home from the Camino. You can take the survey here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/aftersurvey/ BE ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO GET THE NEWLY REMODELED "CAMINO PLANNING KIT"! Promotion coming the last weekend in April. Let me know you are interested here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/promo/   #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

WHAT IF YOU ONLY HAVE 21 DAYS? How do you break up the Camino Francés route if you have only 21 days for your pilgrimage? Jarrett and Amy tackled that challenge and came up with a plan that suits them perfectly. Find out how they did that, using this podcast and my Camino Francés Getting Started Audio Guide. Be the first to know when the audio guide gets its remodel and goes on sale at the end of April 2025. Go to https://thecaminoexperience.com/promo/ Here is the planning tool we talk about: https://godesalco.com/plan Full instructions for using the Godesalco tool and for how to plan your entire Camino journey are in the audio guide!   #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast