The best day of my life, I limped into a church and hugged a saint.
I had arrived in Santiago de Compostela after 40 days walking across Spain. I was dusty and sweaty. I’d been living out of a backpack for over a month. At times I was limping with both legs. My calves had such a strong tan line from my capri pants that it took nearly a year to fade.
And I have never been so exhausted, so amazed at accomplishing a goal, or so grateful for my body. It was my first taste of Camino Joy.
That joy has stayed with me through the years, even through other trials and challenges. It is the same joy I feel every time I return to Santiago. I’m a three-time pilgrim now, and that feeling never fades.
In this post, I want to share what Camino Joy really means to me: how I found it on pilgrimage, how I’ve learned to carry it into my everyday life, and how you might discover it too, no matter where (or how) you’re walking right now.
What Is Camino Joy?
We often equate joy with happiness, but that’s a mistake. Happiness is fleeting, a feeling that comes and goes. Joy, on the other hand, is something deeper. It’s rooted in presence, persistence, and faith. It abides deep within us. It can be accessed even on hard days.
Camino Joy is:
- The joy of forward motion, even when the path is uncertain
- The joy of having a destination to orient your steps
- The joy of the everyday – a warm cafe con leche, a cool breeze, a yellow arrow
- The overwhelming joy of arrival, especially when the journey has been long
- A joy built not on perfection, but on persistence through injury, rain, and loneliness
Moments of Joy on the Camino
My first experience of joy on the Camino came on day three. I was walking alone, in between new friends I had met. The weather was beautiful. I heard the crunch of my steps and the distant clanging of cowbells. I felt deeply alive in the moment. And I started to cry.
I was actually doing it! This girl from the flat midwest who spoke no Spanish was actually on this trip I had dreamed about for more than a year. And in the middle of that quiet morning, I felt such peace and simplicity. I was crying for joy at carrying a backpack and walking along a dirt road. It reminded me how little we truly need to access the joy that God plants in our hearts.
Joy in Direction and the Present Moment
Part of what made that joy possible was having a clear destination. I knew where I was ultimately headed, but I also knew I wouldn’t get there in a day. That gave me the freedom to focus on where I was. I could live in the moment, because I wasn’t anxious about the end.
There were signposts. There were fellow pilgrims. And there was sun, and sometimes rain. But there was also trust. And I was ever-joyful.
Blisters, Buses, and the God Who Cares
Joy didn’t mean every day was easy. There were blisters and shin splints. Rainy mornings and bird droppings. Slippery showers and sore feet. But there were also friends and laughter. Kindness and helping hands. My joy remained.
Even when I had to stop walking and take a bus due to injury, joy was not gone. God was speaking, asking me to walk at His pace, not mine. And I listened. That, too, was joy – knowing that God loved me enough to get through my stubbornness with a blister!
Camino Joy as a Taste of Heaven
Arriving in Santiago was the culmination, not the beginning, of Camino Joy. That arrival reminded me of what we’re promised at the end of our earthly pilgrimage. We may show up weary, limping, and battered, but what joy it will be to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
I have never seen such pure joy on people’s faces as when pilgrims arrive at the cathedral in Santiago. Sitting the plaza watching pilgrims arrive is truly a glimpse of heaven, and my favorite place to be. Camino Joy keeps that heavenly view ever in my sight.
Living Like a Pilgrim at Home
After I returned home from my first Camino, I began to notice small moments of Camino Joy. I kept up my daily walks. I began to simplify my apartment, as I was clearer on what I really needed to live a life of peace and calm. And I cared less about what I was “supposed” to do and more about where I could see yellow arrows guiding my path.
As a single Catholic woman, the Camino gave me a powerful metaphor for how to live. I’ve always longed for a flashing neon sign from God to tell me what to do next. And I struggled with my life not looking the way I assumed it would. But what I’ve learned is to watch for small signs, the yellow arrows that point us in the right direction. My daily faithfulness to taking small steps towards my ultimate destination is what brings me Camino Joy.
One step after another can take you across a country. And that same steady rhythm can carry us closer to God, even when we don’t see the full path ahead.
From Grief to Coaching
A few years after my second Camino, I found Catholic mindset coaching while trying to process the grief of my mother’s death. As I began learning about myself – my gifts, my motivations, and the life I was made for – I kept returning to my Camino experiences. They shaped how I wanted to help others.
That’s when the idea of Camino Joy was born.
You Don’t Have to Walk to Santiago to Find Camino Joy
Camino Joy is a gift from God, freely available in every season of life. You don’t have to be walking across Spain to receive it. You just have to take the next step.
My goal is to help you tap into that joy — to find solace on your path, whatever it looks like. To live fully in the present moment. To take simple, consistent steps toward your purpose and peace.
💛 Want to take a small step toward your own Camino Joy?
Book a free discovery call with me, and let’s talk about your path forward—whether it’s a challenge you’re facing, a goal you’re longing to reach, or simply a desire to live with more peace and joy.