To walk the Camino is to walk towards yourself. The Camino has a romantic mythology around it and, honestly, I think it deserves to. It should be romanticised. It is transformative in the truest sense of the word. At least, it was for me. As long as you understand that the romance also involves handwashing your socks in a sink every evening and hanging your underwear off your backpack to dry, you will absolutely find it romantic.

The mornings always began early on the Camino. Up at dawn, usually before the sun had fully risen, quietly packing our bags in semi-darkness before slipping back onto the trail. Leaving Viladesuso that morning, from the guesthouse overlooking the ocean where we had spent the night, the route began with a familiar kind of comfort.