Camino de Santiago Part 2: My Expectations
- cwang2384
- Dec 10, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 14, 2025
I intend to walk the Camino to help me find balance:
- a balance between the spiritual and physical,
- a balance between Eastern philosophy and Western theology,
- most importantly, a balance between devotion and joy.
I know I can’t become a monk, but I also can't—and don't want to—be a “walking dead” (行尸走肉). I want to live a life full of emotional and spiritual experiences while also enjoying worldly pleasures. Everyone can—and should—find their own balance somewhere in between, but where and how do you find yours?
I believe walking the Camino could be a way to balance the two worlds inside me. By keeping our feet firmly on the historical trail, which stirs the soul for many hours each day, we will begin to see the world through our hearts—not just our eyes—and find the balance between utopia and dystopia, the ideal world and the chaotic one.
Once our hearts are in the right place through the Camino experience, worldly pleasures will more than compensate for that effort. To quote Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, "He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast." I believe this highlights the close connection between inner happiness and material wealth.
Interestingly, a similar old Chinese saying is: “If you want to keep someone’s heart, you must first retain his stomach ( “想要留住一个人的心, 要留住一个人的胃”).
I believe this will resonate with many of us walking the Camino—satisfying the stomach's cravings for local delights and fulfilling our hearts' desires—to strive for a vital balance of nutrients for both our bodies and our souls.
I suppose that after 7 – 8 hours of trekking on the winding, hilly, rock-and-sand trail each day, anything brought to the table will taste like the best thing in the world. Besides, it won’t be just anything: it’s a unique Tapas culture that emphasizes fresh, high-quality ingredients such as olive oil, seafood, and vegetables. From my vivid memories of visiting Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville with my family a few years ago, I recall that such multi-course meals were strongly influenced by Moorish and Roman cultures… my mouth is watering as I write this. I’m sure my stomach will appreciate my decision to do the Camino.
However, when it comes to what the heart desires, that's an entirely different matter. It’s more like going on a blind date: a mix of excitement and nervousness before meeting someone you've never met. The worst part might be hoping for the best outcome from the blind date, as another Chinese saying goes: “Things always go against your wishes.”
Would this be the right mindset for going on a pilgrimage: to open all our senses to receive any insights and revelations that may arise? Might this, in the end, allow unexpected connections to be forged? I feel that someone I have never met is my inner child, waiting to be born. I have no idea what it would be like… But I can’t wait to see.
What’s more, especially for me, it could also be a kind of Tandem Exchange, but much more than just two people with different native languages helping each other learn and improve (even though I need that all the time). It would be an opportunity to exchange Eastern and Western ways of life, thereby deepening our understanding of them—culturally, historically, and most importantly, spiritually.
However, everyone can interpret the meaning of pilgrimage and solitude in their own way and at their own pace, and there is no universal answer: just like in life. Even my own expectations might not match what actually happens; they may “go against my wishes,” which remains to be seen.
So, stay tuned to see what my first pilgrimage will mean to me (and, hopefully, to you, so you can share similar experiences with us) as my journey continues…
(More can be read from the links below:)
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