Camino stories: Kindness at every turn

Hannah on walking the Portuguese route and the kindness of strangers

Camino de Santiago, May 2022, by Louise Stevenson

“A lady came over and offered us Calippo ice lollies … this little act summed up the whole experience for us; two weeks of endless gifts, kindness and boundless joy”

Welcome to the seventh of our Camino Stories, a series exploring the Camino de Santiago from different perspectives (read the most recent post here). Every fortnight or thereabouts we’ve been meeting up with a different guest to explore their personal journey along the Camino de Santiago and find out what they learnt from their experience.

It’s my hope that these posts provide nostalgia and reminiscence for those of you who have walked this path and inspiration to those of you who are tempted by it.

Today we’re walking with Hannah, a graphic designer and illustrator based in the South West of England. She walked the Camino Portuguese in Spring 2025 with a friend, raising money for The Women’s Centre Cornwall.

Over to you, Hannah. 👣

Camino de Santiago, courtesy of Hannah

Thank you for being here Hannah! First of all, what inspired you to walk the Camino de Santiago, which route did you take and how did you decide on your route?

I have always had a passion for travel and adventure as far back as I remember. However I remember watching the first series of the show ‘The Pilgrimage’ on BBC Two back in 2018 where they followed celebrities walking the Camino Frances (having not heard of it before) and thinking ‘I would love to do that one day!’. The dream has always stayed in the back of my mind and in 2024 I decided that 2025 was the year I would do it, as a 25th birthday gift to myself whilst simultaneously raising some money for the Women’s Centre Cornwall. I had seen a few women walk the Camino Portuguese from Porto and I thought it looked so beautiful and the two week timeline worked well as a first-time experience. My brother’s girlfriend happened to also want to do the walk at the time, and so we decided to do it together. I always liked the idea of walking along the coast and then cutting inland to join the Central route as many people recommended, so we ended up doing that at Caminha (on the border with Spain) and we are so glad we did.

What was the most unexpected challenge you faced along the way, and how did you overcome it?

I wasn’t sure how I would get on physically as I had done a good amount of walking so I didn’t really know what to expect. I was lucky enough not to get any blisters but a few days in on our first (very hilly) 26km day, I really hurt my knees and had to wear knee braces for the majority of the rest of the walk (I think my bank account hurt more though paying for the braces the next day - the route from Esposende to Vila Do Conde is no joke!). I had to wear the knee braces for the majority of the rest of the walk, and sometimes inclines and declines were tough. Aside from that, I thought that the social side would come easier to me on the Camino. I have always suffered with social anxiety and initially starting conversations were just as hard for me as at home. However by the end, with a little help from my friend, my confidence had grown and I felt it was easier to talk and open up. Also, everyone we met was beyond lovely, it made it so much easier - It just goes to show that if there is anywhere to stretch out of your comfort zone it is the Camino!

Camino de Santiago, courtesy of Hannah

Was there a specific moment on the Camino that changed your perspective or left a lasting impression on you?

I think what was so special about the Camino for me, was that there wasn’t one specific moment but many. The first couple of days I was anxious that it wasn’t going to live up to my expectations and that I wasn’t going to have those ‘life changing’ thoughts and perspectives that I had heard people have. It wasn’t until the second week that I looked back and really realised how far we had come and how much the Camino had changed me. Whether it was the little things fellow pilgrims said that made me think, the heartwarming community spirit, the amazing places we had the pleasure of walking through and the simple joy of being in nature and putting one foot in front of the other, it all contributed to the feeling I had at the end that this is how life should be.

I remember on the first night we sat at the beach with takeaway pizza (Zogo Pizza in Labruge - the best!) watching the sun going down over the waves and I felt so happy - it had really sunk in that this was what I was doing and it was the beginning of something great. There were so many great moments in between, too many to count, but of course the feeling of coming into Santiago really did live up to the hype. As soon as we sat down in the square with the brilliant blue sky as the backdrop to the cathedral, a lady came over and offered us Calippo ice lollies - we both agreed that this little act summed up the whole experience for us, two weeks of endless gifts, kindness and boundless joy.

Camino de Santiago, courtesy of Hannah

What was the most surprising or memorable encounter you had with another pilgrim or local during your journey?

On our first night in a little place called Labruge on the Portuguese coast we booked a guesthouse as there was limited accommodation. We briefly met a Dutch man at breakfast and over the next few days we always spotted him walking ahead of us etc. A few days in we properly introduced ourselves and ended up walking with him that day. We ended up stopping at a (very random but memorable!) Che Guevara themed cafe in the mid morning and after starting out a bit more reserved he really opened up to us and by the end of the day we were laughing together and helping each other get through a physically tough day. Despite not finding out his name, we really made a friend in him and we were sad we wouldn’t see him again.

However, later in the trip we met another Dutch lady (who also became a good friend on the way) who had met him and he had told her about us! We felt this was a full circle moment and it felt so rewarding knowing that he remembered us as fondly as we remembered him. Aside from that, we laughed as we had so many Camino ‘spirit’ guides on our trip - so many random people who helped us on our way, including an older Portuguese man who spotted us in Vila do Conde and ran up to us to tell us we just *had* to visit this amazing viewpoint over the town. There really is a special Camino spirit and so many lovely locals who just want to make your experience better.

Camino de Santiago, courtesy of Hannah

Tell us about one item you carried in your backpack that you couldn't have lived without on Camino?

I was really pleased that pretty much everything I bought with me was used - it’s hard to narrow it down to one! Aside from the obvious of good walking trainers and socks (Danish endurance were the best!) I would say the one thing that both my friend and I would say was the most vital, were mouldable wax earplugs. You can get them in the UK from Boots for £2.70 or different brands online and they worked so well (my friend said they worked better than her Loop earplugs!). There were nights when neither of us would’ve slept at all without them - even if you think you’ll get to sleep quickly because of all the walking, don’t underestimate the amount of snoring in public and private albergues! Aside from that, some people would say not to bring a sleeping bag liner/pillow case but I was glad I did. We mostly stayed in private albergues but we did stay in one municipal albergue and the odd private one where a top sheet/blanket wasn’t provided or only tissue paper sheets. You never know, so I would always say bring it just in case. Also a portable charger - we got caught out in the power outage in Spain and Portugal and they saved us!

Camino de Santiago, courtesy of Hannah

What advice would you give to someone considering walking the Camino for the first time?

There is so much I could say, I’ll try and not write too much but I probably will!! Firstly, I would say have a loose plan if you need it, but listen to your body and what works for you and don’t plan ahead by more than a couple of days for as long as possible. We found that there were days that were tougher than others and we were glad we had the choice to rearrange our route if needed.

No matter if you have a lot of hiking experience, I would really recommend taking it easier on the first couple of days and plan to not walk so far if you can. Whilst I had backpacked before, we both found our bodies had aches and pains from adjusting to carrying a bag and walking for hours. We met a couple of people who had gone really hard and started out around 30km on the first few days and regretted it!

I would also recommend booking your first night of accommodation - this isn’t a necessity but we are glad we did as the options in our first location were limited and it allowed us time to not rush and get into the swing of the walk. Whilst I would still say not to book everything in advance, be aware that some parts of the route (like our final section from Tui to Santiago) might be really popular and in our last few days we did book our accommodation as it fills up quickly. Also, always have some sort of snacks on you, i.e. cereal bars especially if you are veggie like me, it helped many times when breakfast was hard to get in the early hours!

In terms of accommodation, be aware if you like changing in privacy to bring a bigger microfibre towel that can cover you - I made the mistake of bringing a small towel and a few of the albergues had showers that were trickier to change in. Also it kind of goes without saying but please be considerate of others! The hostels tend to get quiet from around 9:30pm so plan to sort your things out if needed before this. Bring your backpack out to the common area in the morning if you get up and it’s still quiet. Packing cubes are also a travel staple for me and great for minimising rearranging.

Lastly, I found this out after I got my knee braces, it is a bit cheeky but if you can get to a hospital rather than a pharmacy if you are injured, do it, as you may avoid the heavier price tag or paying anything altogether for bandages etc!

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

If anyone would ask me if it was worth doing a Camino, I would 100% say yes. I loved it so much and I know I want to be back doing the Frances in years to come! Also, be open-minded and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to ‘feel’ a certain way. The lessons you think you’ll learn and the answers you want to get, might not be what you will get. Just be open to the experience and just be present, enjoy whatever each day brings! Finally, be kind to yourself and your body, do what feels right. Before I left a lady gave me some advice ‘the Camino is meant to be enjoyed not endured’. No matter how you do your walk, you will realise at the end how far you have come, physically and metaphorically. You are so much stronger and more capable than you think! Buen Camino and thank you so much for reading!

Camino de Santiago, courtesy of Hannah

Thanks again for sharing your story Hannah! You can follow Hannah on instagram @hannahoakes_design and please do also consider a donation to Hannah’s Just Giving Page for The Women’s Centre Cornwall.

PS If you’d like to share your story of the Camino as part of this series, send me a message and let’s chat!

See you next time,

Louise x