The Camino de Santiago: A walk through the fragrance of God’s presence

Tan Lay Leng // July 16, 2025, 6:31 pm

Walking the Camino in seven days was more than a journey for the author, Tan Lay Leng – it was a sacred pilgrimage with the Lord into the deep recesses of heart and soul. All photos courtesy of Tan Lay Leng.

Each year, nearly half a million people embark on the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of Saint James. The Camino is a network of routes that run through Spain, France and Portugal, each culminating at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where the body of St James the Greater, one of the original 12 disciples, is believed to rest.

For over 1,000 years, the Camino has been the most beloved and significant Christian pilgrimage. Christians of various denominations and even those yet to believe embark on this journey, which ranges from 100 kilometres to 1,000 kilometres, depending on where one starts, and which invites sojourners to go on a parallel inner journey as they walk.

This past April, our contributor walked the final stretch of the Via de la Plata, journeying over 120 km in seven days to reach the Cathedral. She shares the significance of her Camino trek with Salt&Light.

While the King is at His table, my spikenard sends forth its fragrance. Song of Solomon 1:12

While journaling, I heard His voice, that my Camino would be a walk through the fragrance of His presence.

My Camino journey truly began within my heart, sparked by a beautiful sense of readiness to embark on this pilgrimage from April 24 to 30, 2025. This readiness was not marked by excitement or anxiety but by a serene, settled feeling – a quiet peace that reassured me from within.

Reflecting on the last trip I took to Europe, which was a whole decade ago, I anticipated apprehension over enduring the long flight. Strangely, I felt none. Despite a bustling travel schedule leading up to this journey – which meant fewer regular walks than I had hoped –for to build my stamina, a calm assurance remained.

Walking the Camino can be a difficult physical test for some as routes vary from 100km to 1,000km.

I could also have been anxious about my physical endurance on the Camino, but instead, a deep peace steadfastly guarded my heart, anchoring me amidst uncertainties.

On the Camino de Santiago, the Way of Saint James, together with fellow walking buddies embarking on a spiritual journey, we covered more than 120 kilometres over seven days.

The journey presented its delights from the very start. Amazingly, my body felt strong throughout. There was no moment of fatigue or exhaustion.

One could not take for granted the physical strain of long distances. It tested the endurance of one of my fellow pilgrims, whose blisters caused her to abort the walk past the half-way mark.

The route was challenging at parts, and blisters rendered one pilgrim unable to finish her journey.

The shifting weather, from chilly mornings to scorching afternoons, demanded resilience and adaptability. Thankfully, it did not weigh on my body and spirit at all. I found myself delighting in every step of my walk as I breathed in the fresh air and scenic views.

Profound insights emerged as I took every step of opportunity to reflect deeply, letting the inner still small voice reveal discoveries of how the Camino parallels life.

The quiet stretches of the trail allowed space for introspection with newfound courage and clarity, where inner healing took place.

The companionship of fellow pilgrims provided emotional support and reminders of our shared purpose. Simple conversations, shared meals and silent solidarity created connections beyond words, reinforcing the beauty of human connection.

The author benefitted not only form he transformative power of reflection but also the support of her community of walking partners.

Reaching Santiago de Compostela marked not just the end of our physical journey but the beginning of a deeper understanding.

The Camino brought me much joy and delight, reinforcing the importance of community and the transformative power of faith and reflection. I am aware that the discoveries I made on this journey will continue to guide me, long after the final step was taken.

“You need to know what you need to know when you need to know it”

During the first three days, the markers on the Camino provided us directions and much assurance.

On Day Four, there were junctures between two Camino markers when I wondered if I was on the right track. I could not see the next marker after a seemingly long walk, and along the way, there was another trail I could choose to walk on.

When I decided to carry on walking without being “distracted” or “misdirected” into another pathway, the next Camino marker appeared.

As in life, the markers on the Camino (such as this one the author spotted) may not reveal themselves early on. The question then is: Do we trust God and continue in the path He has led us?

Timothy Khoo, our spiritual guide from Desert Odyssey, shared a thought-provoking observation: “You need to know what you need to know when you need to know it.”

On the Camino de Santiago, this wisdom mirrors the journey itself. The path is marked with yellow arrows and scallop shells, guiding pilgrims step by step. These markers, painted or affixed to various surfaces, are placed approximately every 80 metres. Interestingly, as pilgrims progress and approach the 70-metre mark without spotting the next sign, a flicker of doubt often arises: Am I still on the right path?

This scenario illuminates Tim’s profound message. Life, much like the Camino, does not reveal all its signs at once. The knowledge or guidance we seek often appears precisely and only when needed. Until that moment arrives, fretting or striving prematurely serves little purpose.

The Camino invites each pilgrim into a slow, reflective sojourn with the Lord, enjoying the present and His presence.

Instead, we are invited to embrace the journey and to savour each step, each encounter, and each present moment: Trust that when the time is right, clarity will unfold. God will reveal what you need to know. Meanwhile, cherish the people and experiences in your “now.”

In the words of Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke: “Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, along some distant day into the answer.”

One pilgrim on a Camino before shared about her heart of stone towards her husband, and how she really needed God’s help to replace it with a heart of flesh. Lo! She saw this on the Camino!

One pilgrim asked the Lord to take away her heart of stone. Shortly after, she spotted this heart-shaped rock on the ground.

The way of the Camino is also the way of the heart. While climbing uphill, I found that it helped me tremendously to posture my heart for the climb instead of thinking about when the path was going to end.

There were moments when my heart cheered itself to keep going. It worked brilliantly to make the climb seem less strenuous. The quiet whisper of assurance would echo within my heart, “You can do it. Many prayers have gone up for you.”

My heartbeat synchronised with the rhythm of my footsteps, a steady reminder that God is with me. With each upward step, I could sense His presence.

Her walk “was a mirror reflecting the landscapes of my heart”, writes the author.

Standing atop each summit, I felt not just the triumph of reaching higher ground but the tender embrace of grace that carried me there. Climbing uphill on the Camino de Santiago was not just a test of physical endurance, it was a mirror reflecting the landscapes of my heart.

The uphill journey taught me that the heart’s posture defines the climb. Whenever we meet with life’s challenges, we usually want to end them. I learned to embrace those challenges by adjusting the posture of my heart. Within that lies the transformation, a sacred unveiling of strength, faith, and the quiet beauty of perseverance.

God was so present in the climb. I found that He walks slowly, as Kosuke Koyama, the late Japanese theologian wrote in his book Three Miles An Hour God:

“God walks ‘slowly’ because He is love. If He is not love, He would have gone much faster. Love has its speed. It is an inner speed. It is a spiritual speed. It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed. It is ‘slow’ yet it is lord over all other speeds since it is the speed of love. It goes on in the depth of our life, whether we notice or not, whether we are currently hit by storm or not, at three miles an hour. It is the speed we walk and therefore it is the speed the love of God walks. The people of God were taught the truth of bread and the word of God in the wilderness as they walked three miles an hour by the three mile an hour God. The Canaanite woman believed in Jesus Christ against all her own speeds by trusting the speed of the promise of God.”

Facing challenges and wishing they will end soon? His timing is not ours. He knows best. And He does all things well. Let Him lead. Walk in step with Him.

The author under an arch on the road leading to the Cathedral.

So, I completed my Camino. You would think that would be the grand finale, end of story, right? Honestly, that was just the beginning.

When I reached the southeast gate of Santiago, there was this overwhelming sense of “Wow, I did it!” But the Camino was more than just the kilometres walked; it was a lesson tucked into every step, and those lessons did not stay behind on the trail, they followed me home.

The pilgrims at the finish point of their Camino journey: The Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Hildegard of Bingen once said, “You understand so little of what is around you because you do not use what is within you.”

The Camino helped me discover what is inside, and now, it is about using that in the messiness and beauty of everyday life.

The author joined a Camino journey organised by Desert Odyssey which offers a number of Christian pilgrimages around the world. Click for more details.