The best bit of advice for anyone undertaking any camino is to be a pilgrim. By simply going on this journey you have already declared yourself a pilgrim.  So what difference does this make? How does a pilgrim differ from a tourist?

A  pilgrim expects uncertainties and even more so looks for meaning in uncertainties. For the pilgrim it is the journey not the destination.  By declaring oneself a pilgrim it means one is still asking the important existential questions and recognises that others on their way are doing the same. A pilgrim leaves space in  his or her life for chance – be it happenstance, fate, serendipity or divine intervention. Not everything will go to plan – sore feet, a blister, a lumpy bed, loud snoring, annoying habits of other pilgrims or a cold shower could dampen one’s spirit,  but a pilgrim will pass this up as a small sacrifice. On the Aussie Camino we are reminded by Mary MacKillop’s wondrous deeds, more than anything she was one with tremendous persistence. This could be seen equally as a human quality and a spiritual one. For the pilgrim the camino is not necessarily a spiritual journey – it is a human journey by spiritual people.

¡Buen camino!