Camino Playlist
Many who’ve walked the Camino de Santiago, or plan to walk the Camino, create a playlist for their wander. I was no different. I created a playlist before I started my solo wander in 2018. (I still have it to this day.)
Why I made a playlist
I wasn’t sure if I would use the playlist while I was walking, but I wanted inspirational music for those days that would be more challenging. In ‘training’ for the Camino, I often found tackling hills made me want to quit. Music helped with that. It kept me distracted. In fact, Justin Timberlake’s ‘Sexy Back’ has managed to get my ass up a number of hills. And if there is a stretch of nothingness, I tend to get bored quickly, so music helps there too.
Did I listen to the playlist?
Funnily enough, I listened to my playlist once. Yep, once.
I used it on a day when I was walking alone. It was hot. I still had eight kilometres to go before I reached my destination and I would have quit earlier, but my backpack had been sent forward that day. I had to walk the extra miles. I needed inspiration. So, I pulled out my phone with my Camino Playlist and hit shuffle. One song came on and it was enough to get me walking. Of all the songs on that playlist, it was the one I needed to hear that day. Maybe it was the Universe telling me something. But I listened to that one song and then turned off the music. Since no one was around, I sang that song at the top of my lungs and not only did my pace improve, but so did my attitude.
What song inspired me most?
What was the song? Bon Jovi’s ‘It’s My Life’. It continues to be a song that kicks me in the ass when I need the nudge.
When I was writing The Decisions We Make, I decided that the two main characters needed to be massive Bon Jovi fans (enough to get an album tattoo for their thirtieth birthdays), and this song in particular needed to be an inspirational nudge for one of them.
Want to see the playlist?
Click here for the download.
What song resonates with you, if you walked 800 kilometres? Or, what would you add to the playlist?