I logged in to YouTube this morning to reply to a comment on one of my videos and realized that my Camino documentary has eclipsed the 100,000 view mark! It is also one of the top videos that show when searching for “Camino de Santiago”. This was quite a surprise for me given how everything started off. After walking ‘The Way’, and putting together a 42 minute movie, the pessimist in me figured no one on earth would ever want to watch it. I started feeling a little better about things after receiving a lot of positive feedback from friends and family, and that gave me the confidence to post it on YouTube. Since then, I’ve received almost nothing but positive feedback.
One of the coolest and least expected outcomes of posting this video to YouTube is the feedback I’ve received from former and prospective Camino pilgrims. It’s been very special for me to hear their kind words of nostalgia, appreciation, and longing. There are also many who have always wished to walk a pilgrimage, but aren’t able due to reasons of health, time, or finances. When they leave comments about how they were able to walk The Way vicariously through this video, it makes all the work it took to put it together all the more worthwhile.
It’s been three years now since I made my pilgrimage to Santiago, and rarely a week goes by that I don’t think about it. It made that much of an indelible impression. As I mentioned in the video, there comes a time when being a pilgrim isn’t just about what you do, it becomes a part of who you are. That is something that doesn’t just wash away.
I’d like to give a big thank you to anyone who has watched my Camino documentary, because in a lot of ways it was the catalyst that launched this blog. It gave me the inspiration for my Peru documentary, and has filled me with excitement about bringing the John Muir Trail to video this summer!
