Finally, a Walk on the Camino de Santiago

This has been a long time coming.

The traditional shell is the sign of a pilgrim on the Camino. I received mine in a ceremony offered by the Inland Empire Chapter of Americans on the Camino.

At the end of September, I'll be walking the Camino Portugués for about two weeks with one of my sons, starting in Porto, Portugal and ending in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

I had initially intended to walk the Camino Frances in May of 2020, but the global pandemic put a hard stop to those plans. I even had my plane ticket, PTO approved, calendar cleared.

I didn't expect that a cancelled Camino would actually be part of what led me to my next career move.

But it did.

So in some ways both walking and not walking brought me here. My pilgrimage became more of a wandering of spirit and an exploration of what was right in front of me.

When I finally accepted that I was geniunely disappointed in not being able to go to Spain in 2020, I was able to embrace what was already here—in my region, my neighborhood, even my own block. I decided to walk the paths and streets and trails closer to home. And in doing so, I reconnected to mindful practices that have helped me reconnect to myself. I created my own DIY Pilgrimage and subsequent Wayfinding Days. I wrote a book. I became a professional coach. I started my own business. I began writing this blog.

I also continue to walk regularly with a friend in the local wilderness park. I take regular evening strolls with my husband where we share about our day. And I walk the sidewalks near my home between coaching clients to ground and reset, watching the changing of the seasons on a neighbor's peach tree. I've watched the process of finding my own way play out in real time on these walks.

And I never would have guessed this is were the Camino would lead.

It's with great curiosity that I approach my upcoming Camino experience to see what will come from my footsteps along the cobblestones of Portugal and hilly roads of Spain. I'll bring my shell, the universal sign of the pilgrim, as I find my own way with each step I take. I'll be gathering stories and reflections that will inform my upcoming journal on wayfinding, available in late fall.

If you are curious about creating your own DIY Pilgrimage or Wayfinding Days like I did, check out my book, Walking & Wayfinding: Create Your Own Mindful Practice, One Step at a Time, available at Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble and from your local library through Biblioboard.

If you wish to be notified when the journal launches, click here.

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Lea Appleton, PCC, NBC-HWC, is a Wayfinding Guide whose outdoor job is leading Wayfinding Days and Labyrinth Walks and whose indoor job is coaching, writing, and speaking. She works with people who sense the path calling and are learning to trust that it is worth following. Learn more at www.wildwayfinding.com.

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