My Camino journey began back in 2009 when I was on a study tour in Israel having the most amazing experience. Three of us got on so well that we wanted to continue the friendship when we arrived back in Australia. Cathy was from Queensland a secondary school principal, Catherine from New South Wales a lecturer at Sydney University and me from Melbourne. It was suggested we do the Camino. I eagerly said yes. When I arrived home in Melbourne, I said to my husband, “What’s the Camino?” The only Comino I knew was Comino with an “o” it’s an island off Gozo and Malta and I knew it wasn’t that.
Planning began from 2010 getting all the information we could and in 2012 we 3 walked with my husband and 2 others Catherine’s sister Meg and Muriel a friend of ours. I’d invited Muriel to come to Spain. A week later she rang and asked, “Are we walking?” I’d failed to tell her that when I invited her on the trip. Our walk was from Leon in Spain to Santiago de Compostella 314km. It was amazing, tough with a few episodes but amazing.
We loved it so much that in 2016 we went back for more this time walking from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. Our walking party of 3 was my husband and Muriel who came with us on our first walk and me. When we arrived at Sarria we were met by our two children and 3 grandchildren, the youngest being 7. Another amazing experience.
2018 rolled around and we were planning a walk to Portugal in 2019 but decided to do the Aussie Camino from Portland to Penola beforehand. Friends Pina Dunn and her husband Bill had done the Aussie Camino walk before us, so we did our own Camino our way gleaning information from their experience. Phil didn’t want to walk. We still followed the Aussie Camino route with a lot of insight from Pina and her experience of the walk. I’d booked 7 nights at a place in Portland. Each day Muriel and I walked and at our day’s destination Phil would pick us up and bring us back to our accommodation where we cooked and shared stories of our day. Next day Phil would drop us off where he had picked us up the night before. That’s how it happened. I’d ring him and there he was waiting each night. Bless him. On about our 3rd day of the walk our granddaughter made her way from Torquay for Portland and joined us for the rest of the walk.
When we reached Mt Gambier, I’d booked accommodation and we stayed there for 5 days and continued walking in that same manner. Then onto Penola and stayed for 2 nights before heading back to Melbourne. No heavy backpacks to carry only what we need for a day walk.
In 2019 we were back for more walking from Lisbon to Santiago. Phil, Muriel and me and then when we got to Porto, we had arranged for two of our friends from Australia to meet us and walk from there, Clare and Joan. Joan had never walked this far before. We had an amazing time, and I can honestly say we laughed every day, ate some amazing food, met incredible people, heard their stories and shared time together.
2024 rolled around another walk planned. This one was more significant for me. Muriel and I walked from Le Puy to Saint Jean Pied de Port. Phil chose not to come. This was by far the hardest but most rewarding. So glad I walked it. Muriel was amazing. At the end we had a few rest days in Saint Jean and then a few in Bayonne. From there Muriel and I made our way to Sarria where we met Clare (who walked Portugal with us in 2019) and her sister Ann -Maree, it was her first Camino. It rained and rained. But that doesn’t always happen, however, you need to be prepared and we were. Along the way problems arise and are solved. Each day we saw the Face of God in the people we met. The kindness was amazing and I can tell many stories of things that happened.
Each day walked has adventures and incidents. Beautiful sights are seen because you are walking; flowers, trees, birds, churches, buildings, towns, villages, farms. Fields of sunflowers or tomatoes and the vineyards are sights to behold. Delicious food tasted, oh the pulpo (octopus) in Spain or the sucking pig in Portugal the delicious Pilgrims meal consisting of entree, main course, bread, dessert half a carafe of wine followed by coffee all for ten euro at the time. Then don’t forget the Sangria.
We laughed, cried, crawled into bed exhausted slept like the dead only to wake up next morning willing and ready to do it again. We walked and at times struggled tended blisters popped pills and had the most amazing massages and drank Sangria the nectar of the gods.
Our first walk in 2012 was with a tour company since then I do all the planning and booking for our walks. I read gather information from others and put it together. I’m a spread sheet junkie. In consultation with those coming with me we discuss the distance we want to walk each day. We factor in rest days and I book the accommodation. We hand wash our clothes every night on Camino but boy when we have those rest days we book somewhere really nice with the luxury of having our clothes washed in a washing machine absolute splendour.
After the Camino we go somewhere else, visit another country like a tourist. In 2012 it was Turkey, 2016 Singapore for a few days, 2019 a coach tour around Morocco and in 2024 a tour around Ireland. I only wish I had discovered the Camino earlier in my life.
Mary Thorley
3rd November 2026