THERE AND BACK AGAIN

There’s no one reason or route to walk the Camino de Santiago, which is why so many—like Barrington’s Kai Glowacki—keep returning.

Kai Glowacki is back in Barrington—at least for now. Since May 2023, he has made repeated trips to western Europe to walk the Camino de Santiago, a network of historic pilgrimage routes dating to the ninth century. For him, the Camino is a journey that never truly ends.

The Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James) began with medieval pilgrims traveling to the tomb of Saint James the Apostle at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, an autonomous community in northwest Spain. Over the centuries, multiple routes to this destination developed across Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal—each with its own spurs, traditions, and personal motivations.

Glowacki has completed two routes solo, and two of his adult children accompanied him on a third route. Modern pilgrims like Glowacki carry their own reasons for walking—and for returning. “You will never take the same hike twice. Maybe that’s why so many return to the Camino again and again.”

Following his mother’s death, Glowacki completed his first pilgrimage in November 2022. Now planning his fourth trip, he explains that while the scenery and fellow pilgrims change with each route, certain emotional experiences remain constant. “When I’m walking, I’m thinking deeply, and seeing everything around me at the same time, so it’s … more like prayer or meditation,” Glowacki explains.

On June 7, 2025, Glowacki was one of the 15,000 to 20,000 people from around the world who gathered at Paris’ Church of Saint-Sulpice, a grand historic cathedral dating to 1646, to start a pilgrimage on the Camino Francés (The French Way). His backpack was adorned with patches from previous pilgrimages, and his hand-painted banner bloomed with religious iconography—the St. James Cross and an eagle representing both strength and St. John the Evangelist.

From Paris, the pilgrims walked about 50 miles southwest toward Our Lady of Chartres Cathedral, moving together through the French countryside with a shared esprit de corps.

“There were Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, church groups, tourists, and thousands of people like me,” Glowacki says. “It’s a growing movement with the younger generation. We reached Chartres Cathedral on Pentecost Monday. There were banners waving and church bells ringing, and the smell of incense filled the air. There was a lot of joy. I felt at home.”

After reaching Chartres, Glowacki continued alone to the Normandy Coast to visit the 11th-century Romanesque abbey sitting at the pinnacle of Mont-Saint-Michel. Feeling pulled to explore further, he traveled another 90 miles to Brittany, which has its own branch of the pilgrimage route. There, he walked through the walled city of Saint-Malo and visited the Saint-Vincent-de-Saragosse Cathedral. “I didn’t originally plan Saint-Malo at all,” Glowacki says. “It was a spontaneous decision, and I liked it very much.”

Glowacki’s daughter Veronica, 29, says the Camino brought her father’s passions—walking, nature, and faith—into powerful alignment. “I’m so proud of him. When he came back from that first trip, he was still my same dad, but he returned very happy and feeling accomplished.”

In September 2024, Veronica and her brother, Anthony, 37, joined their father for a 10-day, 150-mile walk from Portugal into Spain. “This was very much outside my comfort zone,” Veronica says. “But I knew I’d regret not doing this with my father. It was so meaningful to him.”

Anthony adds, “Every day you wake up and walk for eight to 10 hours. It tests you mentally and physically because you just have to keep moving.”

“You absolutely must take care of your feet and break in your shoes long before you begin,” Anthony says, recalling an early and common setback. “You’re accountable to yourself, but if you can’t make it, that becomes a crisis on the trail. It definitely surprised me because I hadn’t understood the magnitude of what he did.”

“The beginning was hard,” Veronica says. “My dad was knowledgeable, and that gave me comfort. As it went along, it became calm. The eucalyptus trees smelled so wonderful. The scenery became magical—ancient Roman roads, old bridges. It felt meditative.”

Glowacki, who had endured his own challenges on earlier trips, knew the Camino’s unspoken covenant: pilgrims look after one another. His experiences also taught him to look for other possibilities. “There are so many different routes,” he says. “I wanted to take one where you have to take a boat to Padrón, in Spain, to walk the last stage toward Santiago. In the beginning, Anthony and Veronica didn’t think it made sense.”

Yet, Glowacki was eager to share the Camino’s lesson—sometimes the way that seems least logical becomes the most transformative. “Along the way, there are 12 crosses and the ruins of a castle. My son said it reminded him of The Lord of the Rings. They both thought Padrón was very significant.”

On a drizzly day, the Glowacki family reached Santiago de Compostela as bagpipers played to welcome pilgrims into the city. There were people everywhere, experiencing a range of emotions. “They were laughing at me because I was acting like a boy again,” Glowacki says, recalling the memory of his children that day. “I was so excited. And they felt it too.”

Anthony says, “There was relief and even a bit of disbelief that it was over and we’d arrived. Lessons were learned, and now, I have the experience, so I’d do it again for sure.”

“With more distance from the trip, the more I long for it,” Veronica adds. “I know it was really hard, but I’d love to do it again, maybe even by myself.”

Both siblings say their father’s perspective has broadened—and theirs along with it. “The Camino never ends,” they now say. “The Camino is a journey, like life, and it’s important to keep moving.”

For Glowacki, staying open to life’s possibilities remains a robust calling. Many Camino routes remain unexplored, and the pull is as strong as ever. The Camino keeps calling to Kai Glowacki. And soon, he will once again be there.