Bon Camino: Where the Way Begins…
A pilgrim’s beginning from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, walking the Camino de Santiago.
I met my fellow travellers in Biarritz, France, and together we drove to the beautiful old town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, nestled at the foot of the Pyrenees. It is here that we begin our Camino pilgrimage journey.
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is a gorgeous, cobbled-stone medieval village cradled in the lush Basque country, where thousands of pilgrims have started their Camino before me — energised, hopeful, perhaps a little nervous, ready or not — for the long road ahead.
If life wills it, I plan to walk the full 800km to Santiago. But I am not attached to any particular outcome. If plans shift along the way, so be it — after all, much of this journey is about the sacred art of letting go…
“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears” — Rumi
For centuries, Saint-Jean has marked the traditional starting point of the Camino Francés, the most popular of all the Camino routes. Its name, “foot of the pass,” reminds us that every path begins with ascent. Historically a key gathering place for pilgrims crossing from France into Spain, Saint-Jean became a hub along the Way of St James (Camino de Santiago) — the ancient network of pilgrimage routes leading to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, where the remains of the apostle St James are said to be buried.
The Camino’s origins are steeped in legend and devotion, stretching back over a thousand years. In medieval times, it was one of the most significant Christian pilgrimages, alongside Jerusalem and Rome. But over time, the Camino has evolved. Today, while many still walk in faith, others come seeking healing, clarity, transformation, or simply a return to simplicity and rhythm — a remembering of what it means to be human.
For me, this walk is not only a physical challenge — it is a pilgrimage of soul, a journey within.
I am setting off with a 35-litre backpack full of only the recommended essentials… and yet I also carry years of questions, cycles of grief and growth, and the quiet whispers of something new emerging. This Camino is an opportunity to step out of the day-to-day demands of regular life, to step into nature, and to listen deeply to the call of the soul — between one life chapter and the next. It is an invitation to trust life again more fully, to recalibrate my pace, and to honour what has been while making space for what longs to take root.
I am deeply grateful to have five fellow ‘soul kin’ travellers to walk along side with over these next 5 days, as a part of a ‘Retreats In Motion’ guided by our steady rock Peter, who first walked the Camino in 2010 and then wrote a book about it.
“You will not walk every step with ease. But you will walk every step with meaning.” — Peter Nathaniel Lee (Author of ‘Walk with Me, When Grief Passes Love Remains’ and Founder of ‘Retreats In Motion’).
There are no shortcuts. No clear map beyond the yellow arrows and iconic scallop shells that appear as markers along the Way. But there is rhythm. There is my breath. There is our One Great Mother Earth beneath my feet and the Father Sky above… and within me, there is an abundance of love and a quiet belief in the power of kindness.
My intentions are simple:
To slow down and connect — with myself, fellow pilgrims, and the natural world
To release the need to perform or be perfect, and allow life to unfold in the way it wills (after all, The Way knows the Way)
To witness the Land and be witnessed by it
To listen to the quiet voice within and reweave the threads of past, present, and future
As I leave Saint-Jean, I do so with reverence, curiosity, and a heart open to whatever this ancient path may teach.
I am reminded of the words of Paulo Coelho in his book The Pilgrimage…
“When you walk, the journey itself becomes a prayer.” — Paulo Coelho
These are the first steps of that prayer.
To be continued…
Onwards, forever onwards fellow travellers with the sun!
Bon Camino.
With love,
Haylo xx