The Camino de Santiago was the most incredible experience I’ve had in my 36 years of life. I walked the Camino Frances<\/a><\/strong> between August and September 2024, in 29 days, alone. The Camino was magical and special; it gave me the experience of being in motion, of feeling my body and mind adjust to the rhythm of the journey, and of understanding that, in the end, the real Camino wasn’t just ahead of me, but within me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I came from very far away, from southern Brazil, to experience it. The Camino gradually became a sequence of small encounters with the world and with myself, ceasing to be just a list of kilometres to cover. It let me walk without rushing, to live and pay attention to every detail, every sensation \u2014 things we tend not to notice in our day-to-day routine. Each stage brought its own challenges and discoveries, moments of physical effort, of inner silence, of unexpected encounters and reflections that built up step by step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were many people, many conversations, many lessons, many kilometres covered through nature, but also many hours of silence and reflection. Everything on the Camino had a purpose. It transformed the way I think, the way I see, the way I feel free. I walked the entire Camino Frances alone. Many days I started walking before dawn, in the dark, sometimes with someone nearby, sometimes with no one \u2014 just me, God and the Camino. And, incredible as it may seem, I never felt afraid, not once. There, I felt at home and protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I left Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port<\/a><\/strong>, I took the wrong route. I got it wrong on the first day… THE FIRST DAY! I was in such a mix of excitement, anxiety and so many feelings that I simply kept walking without noticing I was supposed to keep to the right. When I noticed there was no one around anymore, I checked the apps and saw I’d gone the wrong way. But it’s fine, that’s what happens when you’re living your dreams! The route, though, was beautiful \u2014 extremely beautiful! I had longed for it deeply, especially crossing the Pyrenees, the mountain range in the south of France. The sunrise was a spectacle all its own, indescribable. Enchanting, breathtaking landscapes, sheep, horses, many climbs with no shade and then very steep descents. The backpack weighed quite a lot, my shoulders ached, but it was the first day of adjustment… for me, for my body, for it \u2014 the backpack. From then on, we would be one, for many days to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On day 19 of the Camino, on the Mesetas, I turned 35 and spent the night in Astorga<\/a><\/strong>, a beautiful city surrounded by walls. That day I stayed at a Brazilian hostel (Albergue S\u00f3 Por Hoje Astorga<\/a><\/strong>) and got to relive the taste of my country’s food. Even with the homesickness, I felt I was exactly where I was meant to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the big day arrived, the day I had already lived a million times in my mind, it dawned raining. Then came the fog. At Monte do Gozo<\/a><\/strong>, the spot from which you can already see the city and the Cathedral’s towers, nothing was visible. I started to get anxious because I didn’t want to arrive without being able to see. But as I got closer, the sky cleared and I could already make out the towers in the distance. Just before reaching the Plaza del Obradoiro, in Santiago de Compostela<\/a><\/strong>, emotion overwhelmed me. A man was playing the medieval tune “Dum Pater Familias”, also known as “Canto de Ultreya” or the “Song of the Flemish Pilgrims”. This melody, one of the oldest referring to the cult of Saint James, accompanies pilgrims as they arrive at the square and the Cathedral. I had already seen several videos of that moment. But being there, feeling it, living it, being moved by it\u2026 was inexplicable. And guess what? Even the sun came out to welcome me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n