Today is the anniversary of the release of my most successful novel, THE CAMINO CLUB.
I was obsessed with this story when I walked the Camino de Santiago back in May of 2014. I began my pilgrimage on the Camino with the kernel of an idea. I wanted to create an homage to THE BREAKFAST CLUB, but I wanted it to be fresh. Instead of a Saturday in the school library, make it a couple of weeks walking across Spain. Instead of a fully straight white cast, make it gay and diverse. I walked with these 6 characters I created in my head, and I breathed life into them with every footstep.
It was my first time walking the Camino de Santiago. I did not know what to expect, so I went with my good friend, SUE KENNEY. She had, by then, been organizing yearly group pilgrimages on a portion of the Camino. I thought I would try it on for size…to see if the Camino was really my thing.
Sue Kenney, walking into Monte de Gozo…MOUNT OF JOY! May, 2014. Sue was my intro to the Camino de Santiago. It was the greatest gift she ever gave me.
Spoiler Alert! The Camino, as it turned out, was definitely my thing. It has since become a part of my identity. I actually dream of organizing groups of my own to do a portion of the Camino…but as a group of writers, writing and sharing our words along the way. I can envision this, but I do not, as of yet, have the bandwidth for such an endeavour. Never say never, though.
I walked that first Camino–from Ponferrada to Santiago de Compostela–with my characters in mind. I built the story up along the way. This is the first time a novel came to me in this way. I didn’t write anything down, apart from a few point form notes, but I felt like it was forming in stone with every step I took.
I finished The Camino Club circa 2017/18/19…depending on what you call finished. There were tinkerings and rewrites and edits.
It was released on this day in 2020. October 6th! By Duet Books, the YA imprint of the LGBTQ+ publisher Interlude Press. Interlude was later bought by Chicago Review Press…which is why THE CAMINO CLUB‘s home is now Chicago Review Press. It’s been on a journey.
You can pick up a copy of THE CAMINO CLUB wherever books are sold! Or give your local library a shot. At last count, it was in over 3,000 libraries across North America.
I LOVE this book! I know you’re not supposed to have favourites, but of my 9 novels this is my favourite. I think because of the way it evolved…and because of the journey I went on to research it and bring it into being. The Camino de Santiago is a magical place that I want to share with EVERYONE. That’s why I wrote about it. If ONE SINGLE PERSON reads the novel and puts the Camino on their bucketlist, that’s enough for me!
Here’s the synopsis:
THE CAMINO CLUB (Duet Books/Chicago Review Press) –After getting in trouble with the law, six wayward teens are given an ultimatum: serve time in juvenile detention for their crimes, or walk the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route across Spain over the summer holidays with a pair of court-appointed counselor guides. When it becomes clear the long walk isn’t really all that much of an option, they set out on a journey that will either make or break who they are and who they are to become.
The Camino Club was a SILVER WINNER in the Teen Fiction category of the 33rd Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Book Awards!
The time for our next adventure is FAST approaching. Michael and I are about to fly back to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago once again! This time we will be walking from LEON to SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA. It’s all time will allow us to do. So excited to get back to Spain!
I’ve been watching my countdown app for almost a year now and it finally ticked over to UNDER 30 DAYS today!
And at the same time this happened, I received a Google Alert for THE CAMINO CLUB. It is featured in a blog post on BOOKS ON THE CAMINO and I could not be more thrilled to see it in such good company!
The website is TRAVEL BOOKS AND MOVIES. I’m so glad they featured my book in this post because two of my favourite things are 1) Travel Books and 2) Travel movies. Definitely going to be scouring this site for ideas…hopefully I discover books and movies I somehow missed until now.
Here’s the direct link to the article in which THE CAMINO CLUB is mentioned:
I’ve read 12 of these titles (plus my own title a thousand times through the editing process), so I’m already excited to have discovered two new Camino titles to explore!
My novel, THE CAMINO CLUB, was a Silver Winner in the Teen Fiction category of the 2020 Benjamin Franklin Book Award.
In just 29 days we will be heading back to Spain…and a couple of days after that we will set out from Leon to walk the beautiful Camino once again. Can’t wait!
If you haven’t read THE CAMINO CLUB yet, now’s the time! Also…check out the link above to the 15 Camino books. There’s some great reads on that list!
After walking down the hill from our hotel, we found our first arrow and began day one of our rigorous ten day journey!
On Saturday, September 10th, 2022, we three (Myself, Michael, and his sister Jenifer) began our walk on the Senda Litoral Route of the Caminho Português. We would do this 280km route to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in 10 days.
Day One was to be our longest day of all! We marked it in our notes as 33.9kms, from the Camino Ninja app, knowing full well the distance is always inaccurate no matter what resource you refer to. NEVER is the KM count correct. And the actual walking distance is ALWAYS longer than the promised count in the apps and books. And, yes, this includes the sainted John Brierley and his constantly updated Camino guides. At least in my experience. Whatever route you plan, keep in mind that you may find yourself walking a KM or two more than you planned on. Our day one was Porto to Vila do Conde.
I call this one our LITTLE DID THEY KNOW selfies. We were fresh and new and unaware of the arduous day ahead of us.
Before setting out, I had heard so many people suggest taking public transportation to the outskirts of Porto. But I couldn’t fathom NOT walking out of the city. We were going to begin in the hub, by the Luís I Bridge, and we were going to see every inch of the river as it made its way to the Atlantic.
Streetcars passed us by as we made our way along the river, excited for it to meet up with the ocean. Sure enough, the streetcars carried backpacked pilgrims choosing to transit out of Porto and begin their walks further along where the river met with the Atlantic.
Let me add here that there is no shame in beginning the journey after taking transit out of the city. I’m glad we walked the stretch, as it was beautiful, but I could definitely see the advantage of starting further along.
The last of the 6 bridges in the Porto 6 Bridges Boat Tour – We passed under it on our walk out of Porto.
There was certainly a lot to see on our way out of Porto. It really is a beautiful walk. Depending on where your first day’s rest stop is, it’s definitely worth the walk. But, if like us, your first day ends in Vila do Conde, it really does add a lot of extra steps to an already long day.
Just before reaching the ocean, we came upon this statue. A patron saint wishing us well on our journey? Bom Caminho, they seemed to whisper, hand on heart, as the sun warmed his angel wings. A blessing? We’ll take it…
In no time, we reached the YouTube famous lighthouse!
It was really something to see how powerful the waves were as they crashed in and hit the rocks beneath the tiny lighthouse as we reached the ocean. There are two side by side lighthouses here. It was well worth taking a break to walk out on the catwalk of the first and bigger lighthouse and view the second (smaller and prettier) lighthouse beside it.
We were soon in Matosinhos, which, if I remember correctly, is sort of still considered Porto. Or, rather, Porto District. I’ve yet to come to terms with the way cities and districts and towns are divided in Europe. At any rate, Matosinhos is listed in Wikipedia as “a city and a municipality located in the northern Porto District of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto.” Sounds confusing, right?
Since deciding to do the Portugal route, I’ve been excited to see this little building with the cool Camino wrap! It’s a bit Instagram famous…
There were some really great views on our first day. Back home in Toronto, we’re pretty far from any ocean. It was pretty amazing to walk beside one for most of the day. Just to hear the constant breathing of its shoreline as we made our way along it was quite spectacular.
At one point we met up with a mother/daughter pilgrim duo and we exchanged the courtesies of capturing the moment on film for each other!Our DAY ONE happy faces of our 2nd Camino together (Frances, 2019)! We were, by this point, already feeling the tingling hints of what was to come of our impending foot troubles.
Day One out of Porto and into Vila do Conde was a mix of terrain. There was boardwalk and cobbles and sidewalks and sand. Nothing too rigorous. But too much of anything takes its toll. We gave ourselves a super long day and it was to set the pace for our overly-exuberant 10 day schedule. It wasn’t impossible… because, in the end, we did it. But I wouldn’t suggest doing the Senda Litoral route in any less than 12 days.
Just one of the many terrains found on the first day of the Senda Litoral route. Cobbles would eventually pose a problem as we were able to feel every edge and bump as the blisters began to take hold…
There was definitely no end to the ocean’s beauty on that first day. The boardwalk was gorgeous and offered such incredible views, while giving us such ease of walking. Navigating this path on sand alone would have been a little bit of a nightmare.
Mimi on the beach… (excuse the 80s Jane Siberry reference, but I will always be an 80s music person. And that person in the surf is forever Mimi in my memory, whether it’s their real name or not.
It was a LONG first day. I don’t know if I actually said this enough times. PORTO to VILA DO CONDE is a LONG HAUL day, especially if you choose NOT to take public transport out of the city centre. Here’s the step-counter from hotel to alburgue…
You will notice the difference in KM from the projected to the actual. And this is something that happens every day on the Camino. No matter what Camino you are on.
We saw some pretty things along the way.
Day One ended at HI Vila do Conde – Pousada de Juventude. The link is directly to the accommodation, but we booked everything through booking dot com. If you’re looking for your accommodation in Vila do Conde, you can’t go wrong with this place. It was clean and pretty. And it offered a free breakfast.
HI Vila do Conde – Pousada de Juventude
Breakfast in Vila do Conde.First day stamps, from our Hotel to our hostel…
If you’ve found this series on our Camino Portuguese helpful and would like to support this page, you can do so by buying me a coffee!KevinCraig-BuyMeACoffee
I’m also an author. One of my novels, a young adult story, is set on the Camino Frances route of the Camino de Santiago. THE CAMINO CLUB. It follows six teens on their journey from Ponferrada to Santiago de Compostela. The teens walk with court appointed counselors in a juvenile delinquent program that will see them free of their records once they make the journey to Santiago…a clean slate. Think of a more diverse The Breakfast Club, but on the Camino de Santiago over two weeks instead of in a school library on a Saturday. Give it a look! It’s available wherever books are sold. Here’s the Amazon USA link.
