The First 100 Miles of the Camino

The Camino teaches you to love mornings. Not because you have to be up early, but because the first hours on the trail — cool, golden, and quiet — become the part of the day you look forward to most.

We began where so many pilgrims do: in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, on the French side of the Pyrenees. The very first day climbs hard over the mountains, and by the time we crossed into Spain our legs already knew this would be no ordinary walk.

Over the next week and a half we covered the first hundred miles — through the foothills, past vineyards and quiet villages, and along dusty paths where the only sounds were boots and birdsong. Every morning brought a new stretch of trail and a new reason to keep going.

You walk with strangers who become friends. You share blister remedies and quiet stretches of silence. You learn to carry only what you need and to let the rest go — a lesson that tends to follow you home.

A hundred miles was always the plan for this trip — the rest of the Camino, and Santiago itself, still waiting far to the west. It was hard to stop, but we left already planning our return to walk the miles still ahead.

If the Camino has been on your list, take this as your sign. The trail is patient, it will wait for you — and the mornings are worth waking up for.