Dawn breaks over Grace Bay, and I shoulder my pack in the gentle breeze and rising sun, a God perfect Caribbean morning. The pristine beach stretches before me asking “How does one prepare for a sacred pilgrimage in a place of such physical beauty?”
My route takes me from Somerset to Pelican Beach, deliberately avoiding the manicured resort paths. The sand shifts beneath my feet, creating resistance that builds endurance. Each step requires more effort than the Portuguese Camino’s firm paths will demand, but that’s precisely the point. I walk, pack weighted with water, clothing and supplies, training not just my body but my spirit as well.
I trek through Leeward Beach and Blue Haven Marina searching for a cool breeze. Heat and humidity are building, sweat dampens my clothing. This too is preparation – learning to embrace discomfort as a teacher. We become what we take into our soul, and today I choose to absorb resilience, simplicity, focus.
The local construction workers offer knowing smiles after a strong “good morning.” They understand something about simplicity, about finding richness in the essential. Their dusty clothes, hard hats, and weathered hands speak of a life measured not in possessions but experiences.
Why seek the beautiful? Here, natural beauty surrounds me – crystalline waters, pristine beaches, palm trees everywhere. Yet the true beauty I’m training for lies not only in scenery but in transformation. Each training walk strips away another layer of attachment to comfort, to convenience, to the material. Don’t settle for the common experience, I remind myself.
The true preparation for the Camino, I realize, isn’t just in the miles walked or the muscles strengthened. It’s in the heart slowly opening to divine love, in the spirit learning to find home in movement rather than possession.
As I complete the loop back to Somerset, my clothes sweat and salt-stained and muscles aching, I understand: journey endurance comes when seeking divine love, whether on an ancient pilgrimage route or a Caribbean beach. The key is not where you walk, but how you walk – with what intention, with what openness to transformation.
Tomorrow, I rest playing 18-holes of Turks golf with friends. But, the following day another Turks Camino practice. Because each step here, under the Caribbean sun, prepares me not just for the physical demands of the Portuguese Camino, but for its deeper invitation – to walk away from the common substitutes for God and toward something far more precious – love.
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