The Camino de Santiago is for the faithful and adventurous

When Sheila Claudio-Gomez, of Ridge, set out from Ferrol, a small Spanish town, on Oct. 5, she wasn’t seeking a vacation. She was looking to tackle a physical and spiritual journey. “I followed a cooking YouTuber who walked this trail called the Camino,” said Claudio-Gomez, 56, a physical therapy assistant at a nursing home. “It sounded like a challenge.”

For six days, Claudio-Gomez and a friend walked about 70 miles on the Camino de Santiago, a network of ancient pilgrimage routes across Spain, Portugal and France leading to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. The tradition began in the 9th century after remains believed to belong to Saint James were discovered in the area.

Today, pilgrims walk these trails for countless reasons: faith, life transitions, adventure. The 2010 film “The Way” brought the Camino to a wide American audience and helped spark a boom. In 2024, a record 446,099 people received the Compostela certificate, awarded to those who complete the journey. American pilgrims have been a big part of that growth: 39,850 completed a Camino in 2024, rising to more than 43,780 in 2025.

There are more than a dozen recognized Caminos, from short, rather flat about 62-mile options to rugged, multiweek about 621-mile treks across mountains, plains and coasts. Infrastructure is robust, with well-marked trails, GPS-based apps, cafés and lodging options every few miles.

Despite a yearlong preparation, including backpacking workouts and conversations on a Facebook group, the steep climbing and asphalt-heavy terrain still surprised Claudio-Gomez and her friend. The third day brought her biggest test: blisters and sciatica. Claudio-Gomez treated her foot, sent her pack ahead, leaned on her hiking sticks and continued. “We took our time, talked to animals and took lots of pictures,” she said. “We inhaled it all.”

For Gina Marten, who with Paul Brunn coordinates the New York City chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino, moments of injury, kindness from strangers and unexpected beauty are what make the Camino transformative. “People come out with a renewed or confirmed sense of their place in the world,” she said.