The Camino de Santiago is not just a journey. It is an experience that transforms. Carla Panadero tells us how, step by step, the young people of the EDUCAR Network are learning to live with what is essential and to walk in community.
Yesterday we lived one of those stages that you will never forget. We walked the 22 kilometers that separate Sarria from Portomarín. But what we did was not just walking. It was walking together.
And that changes everything.
During the route we laughed, chatted, shared stories. We stopped at a beautiful place for breakfast, one of those places where time seems to stand still. Little things that make the Camino make sense. Because the important thing is not only getting there, but how you get there and with whom.
The symbolic object of the day was the backpack. And boy, did it make us think. The backpack represents the desire to carry only what is essential, to let go of what is excess and to move forward with humility. Sometimes we carry so much… ideas, worries, masks. But on the Camino, less is more. We learned that it is necessary to lighten the soul in order to move forward.
In the afternoon, we took a nice dip in the pool. We had earned it. Afterwards, a beautiful mass invited us to stop, look inside and give thanks. The day ended with a group dynamic where we were able to express how we had felt. Listening to others is also a way of walking together.
At night, the 97 of the group slept in the same hostel. Laughter, tiredness, backpacks on the floor. But above all, full hearts.
Today a new stage awaits us. But yesterday’s experiences will not be erased. It is part of this journey. Because when you walk with others, you also walk towards yourself. And that, deep down, is what we need most.
By Carla Panadero – Colegio Santo Tomás de Villanueva (Granada, Spain)