It is an honor to feature Leslie Gilmour as the first in the series of Camino love stories on this blog. Leslie has written a guidebook on the Camino Frances, he runs the Camino Adventures website, and a Camino Forum. He shares an incredible story about three unexpected ways the Camino changed him.

What the Camino Provided Me

By Leslie Gilmour

I expected nothing more than a long walk on the Camino Frances. Looking back, I was not very imaginative. The couple of years before I walked the Camino had seen some major changes in my life. I had, at long last, abandoned the career I didn’t enjoy much, and had enrolled as a mature student at university studying English Literature and Philosophy – a dream come true.

I enjoyed hill walking on the weekends, but I hadn’t undertaken a long multi-day walk for many years. Dara, a friend at university, told me that in a low period of his life he packed his rucksack and walked from Amsterdam to Santiago de Compostela over a period of three months. He talked about this experience quite a bit. I thought it was interesting but I also thought he was mad. He slept outside, in church portals, and when he arrived in Spain, in pilgrim’s hostels. Continue reading →