Dartmouth resident Marcia Hathaway had spent five months training before leaving on May 11 for a 500-mile pilgrimage through Europe with friend Debra Perrone. On June 22, Hathaway returned from El Camino de Santiago, which stretches from St. Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

The walk took Hathaway from rural countrysides to the Pyrenees Mountains dividing France and Spain. Dartmouth Week sat down with Hathaway to get an inside look at her six-week journey.

What inspired you to trek 500 miles through Europe?

I wrote a book of prayers [entitled “A Village Prays”]. They were all need-based prayers. After I wrote the book, I really felt I would love to be able to write some prayers that are not necessarily request-based, but just prayers I felt like writing.

I feel that my wanting to walk El Camino evolved from my having completed that book of prayers. I then felt that I was ready to be in a kind of meditative place where it wasn’t so immediate that I had to write a prayer.

What was the most astonishing part of your journey?

Seeing the Botafumeiro in the Cathedral of Santiago. It is a giant pendulum that swings in 65-foot arcs. It’s crazy! That was the most moving thing.

How was trekking through the Pyrenees?

The weather was so bad going over the Pyrenees. We had snow and crazy amounts of fog. I was very unprepared for the difficult terrain as well

Did you struggle to communicate at all along your trip?

I did not speak enough Spanish. I can assure you that that was a mistake. My best advice is to learn Spanish. It is a big advantage.

Did you come back to the States craving a Spanish dish?

In the towns, all they do is El Camino. All they do is support the pilgrims. They have these things called the pilgrim meals, and I just cannot believe they have first course, second course, dessert, and a bottle of wine with every meal, twice a day. The thing I liked the best was the spaghetti bolognese, which is not Spanish, but they had a ton of it over there.

Has the pilgrimage changed you?

I feel as if—more than change—it has fulfilled. It has reaffirmed to me that in fact there are better ways of living. People can get along. The things that divide us are so small relative to the things that unite us. When you may have preconceived notions about certain nationalities and people, literally they go by the wayside on El Camino.

I and Debbie really feel that we adopted all these—what we called—“Camino kids.” There was a guy in his 30s who was from Berlin, and then there was a girl who was from England, and then there was a girl who was from the United States, and a girl from Canada. We kept meeting these people over and over and over again, and that was really really fun. My favorite thing is that you can meet people from all over the world on El Camino.

Ask Hathaway about her pilgrimage on July 27. She will be at 59 Hidden Bay Drive for a "Camino talk" at 6:30 p.m. to talk about her experience. The evening is hosted by Ann Fournier.