I’ve been back in Pennsylvania for several months now. It’s been great to hang out with family and keep my clothes in a drawer instead of a backpack. But as the days pass, it’s getting harder to remember that I’ve even traveled at all. Days spent hiking in the Brazilian rainforest or riding camels through the Sahara have a gauzy, faraway quality. Did we really walk almost 500 miles across Spain? The answer: Yes. And I have pictures to prove it.

We decided to walk the Camino de Santiago—a pilgrimage that starts at the border of France and Spain and runs nearly 500 miles before reaching its terminus in front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela—while in Ireland. Thousands of pilgrims make the journey every year, and last September we decided to join them. After a few weeks planning, and mailing a hefty box of gear home to lighten our packs, we said goodbye to the Emerald Isle and flew to Spain to start walking. I was unprepared physically, mentally and emotionally. It turned out to be one of the most significant things I’ve ever done.

I learned a lot while walking in Spain—about myself, the power of the mind, the importance of a personal journey, and perhaps most of all, that nothing is impossible, if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I’ve been meaning to write more about the Camino. Sometimes I stay up at night, thinking about it, how to write about what happened over the 30 days we hiked through Spain. But I’m still working to organize my thoughts, to find the words to properly express everything that happened. For now, I’ll leave you with a few pictures.