YOUR WAY
SHARE YOUR STORY
Why did you decide to walk to Santiago?
What was happening in your life before the journey?
What are you hoping to leave behind — and find ahead?
What has the Camino already taught you?
What are your hopes for your life after the journey?
YOUR WAY
Use the questions above as a guiding thread — or simply tell your story in your own way.
PEOPLE ON THE WAY
THE INVISIBLE BACKPACK
— We are close friends since we are twelve. A few years ago, both of our husbands died within a few months. Different illnesses, different stories, but suddenly we were both alone after very long marriages. The first year after that was mostly paperwork, family, organising things and trying to continue normally.
Then one summer, we decided to walk a part of the Camino together. Not for religious reasons. And not really to “find ourselves”. We simply needed something that was ours.
Since then, we walk twelve days every year. We are slower now than we used to be. Sometimes our knees hurt. Sometimes we book a hotel instead of staying in pilgrim places. What we like most is the rhythm of the days. Walking in the morning. Coffee or icecream somewhere. Talking. Being quiet sometimes.
The Camino gives grief another space. At home, people often expect you to move on after a certain time. On the road, nobody asks you to be this or that. We would like to continue as long as our bodies allow it.
Karin & Christa | 70 | Freiburg i. B., Germany
April 2026
— I work in a management position for a large company. Last year, my marriage ended after many difficult months. Around the same time, my employer offered me a sabbatical.
At first I planned to travel somewhere far away, but then I decided to walk part of the Camino instead.
I started my journey in Lausanne without really knowing what I was expecting. The first days were hard. Not physically, but mentally. I kept thinking about work, about my divorce, about everything that had happened during the last two years.
After a while, walking becomes natural. One foot after the other. You wake up, walk, eat, sleep. You stop checking your phone all the time. You notice small things again.
I still do not know about what comes next in my life. But I feel less stuck than before I started.
Martin | 38 | St. Gallen, Switzerland
May 2026
— We both retired last autumn. For years, our lives were organised around work, schedules and family. Then suddenly, from one month to the next, everything became much quieter.
One day, our daughter told us that she is expecting a baby. We are very happy about becoming grandparents. But it also made us realise that, before family life becomes busy again, we wanted to do something just for ourselves.
So we started on the Camino. Not all at once. A few weeks at a time. Walking is simple. You carry only what you need. And you communicate differently when you walk side by side. Sometimes, we argue about the route, though.
People often imagine retirement as freedom, but it is also a profound transition. You spend decades working, raising children, solving practical problems. Then suddenly there is space again, and you have to learn how to live differently, especially together as a couple.
We also realised that you do not always need to fill the silence. That was one of the nicest surprises. We do not know what the next years will look like. But we would like them to feel lighter than before.
Frédéric & Simone | 64 & 62 | Lyon, France
May 2026