First Camino: Pilgrim Discovers Housesitting

Tiera St Claire one of our regular housesitters under took her first Camino de Santiago pilgrimage some 20 years ago. And through her first Camino adventure she discovered housesitting, and hasn’t looked back from what is now a lifestyle and a life long adventure. Discover how walking the Camino Santiago transformed a divorced woman into a world-traveling housesitter. Real stories, practical tips, and inspiration for solo female pilgrims seeking adventure and freedom through housesitting.

solo female traveller on the Camino Way — The weather in the Pyrenees can change on a dime from sunny and warm to cold rainy – be prepared!

Photo by Tiera St Claire

Tiera’s First Camino and the Start of a Lifelong Adventure

🥾 My First Camino Santiago: How a Solo Female Pilgrim Discovered Life-Changing Housesitting Adventures ✈️

In 2005, after 18 years of marriage, I found myself divorced and finally free from three years of unhappiness. Little did I know that walking my first Camino Santiago would launch me into 20 years as a professional housesitter and pet sitter, traveling the world and experiencing some of the best art and culture it has to offer.

How does someone transform from a life of seeming security—and often drudgery—to one of solo female travel adventures and uncertainty?

By being brave when things get hard. By building strength and trust in yourself, listening to your inner truth rather than everyone else’s opinions, and trusting life to provide.

What follows is the story of how walking my first Camino Santiago became the first step toward a lifestyle many only dream of—and how that pilgrimage spirit led me to discover the world of international housesitting.

tall trees along the Camino way — My first Camino was such a moving experienced I have felt the need to repeat it every year that I can

Photo by Tiera St Claire

🎯 Planning Your First Camino Santiago: London to the Pyrenees

July 2005 – From My Journals

After nine months of obsessive planning and preparation, I finally stood in that interminable RyanAir check-in line at Stansted Airport, bound for Biarritz.

The universe had already begun orchestrating the magic that would define my first Camino Santiago—and my future travels. When a French woman and her son cut in line, I felt annoyed. But at the gate, seeing her obvious discomfort with the language barrier, I decided to help. We communicated in broken Spanish, boarded together, and discovered she was being picked up by her other son.

Their offer of a ride directly to my pension was the first of many magical synchronicities that would become a major theme, not just on the Camino, but in my new life as a traveler.

👩‍🦳 Solo Female Travel on the Camino Francés: St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles

walking my first camino — Walking my first Camino was a powerful experience

Photo care of Tiera St Claire

Biarritz lived up to its elegant reputation—muscular surfers, beautiful people, and an air of relaxed sophistication. Despite my complete lack of French, kind strangers became my guardian angels: the pension owner pointing me toward the beach, two older women on the bus beckoning me to join them, speaking the international language of sincerity.

At the albergue (pilgrim hostel) in St Jean Pied de Port, I spotted a man on the top bunk petting a cat. In my naivety, I thought, “How lovely—he’s bringing his cat on the Camino!” Of course, the cat belonged to the hostel, and he was simply an animal lover. This moment of innocent assumption captures perfectly how unprepared I was for what lay ahead—and how my first Camino would teach me to see things as they truly are.

⛰️ The Pyrenees: When Life Tests Your Resolve

The 17.5-mile trek over the Pyrenees Mountains began beautifully—sun-drenched and filled with excitement after months of anticipation. I was also reveling in my newfound freedom from an 18-year marriage.

Then, five miles in, the weather turned brutal: cold, rainy, windy, and foggy. Having lost my two warm ponchos at Gatwick airport, I wrapped myself in the space blanket my friend Thomas had insisted I buy. Walking in what felt like a sheet of aluminum foil, I was basically miserable.

challenging weather on the Camino — The weather was a challenge on some days. Hard work and on occasion miserable.

Photo by Tiera St Claire

I wrote this poem during that challenging day on my first Camino:

Where is the sun they promised?
Life, have you forsaken me?
I who thrive in heat
Bright sun beating upon my back
Why this rain, this cold
Wind seeping into my bones
This majesty I am walking through
I cannot see
The fog blinds me
Step by step
As I climb
And then descend
To the fairy tale castle
In Roncesvalles

Here I was, walking through some of the most spectacular country I’d ever seen, and I just wanted it to be over. But my first Camino was teaching me its first lesson: sometimes you can only endure, one step at a time.

arch on the Camino way — Yellow arrows lead the way, crossing bridges to new beginnings

Photo by Tiera St Claire

🤝 A Lesson in Trust: How Thomas Came Into My Life

That space blanket reminded me of Thomas and our remarkable meeting—a perfect example of how trust and openness create opportunities, a lesson that would prove essential in my future housesitting adventures.

Weeks before departure, my planned English hosts canceled, leaving me with 12 days in London and no accommodation budget. After days of panic, I realized I could only trust the process and trust life.

When I mentioned my predicament to an acquaintance, she connected me with an Australian friend, G.D., who had walked the Camino two years earlier. He called to wish me “Buen Camino” and, when I asked if he knew anyone in London, connected me with Thomas—who became one of my dearest friends and hosted me in London for the 12 days.

This experience of trusting life to provide would become the cornerstone of my housesitting philosophy.

🌤️ Finding My Rhythm: The Art of Solitary Travel

From My Journals – Cizur Menor:

I can’t believe it. ALL the books talk about the unbearable heat of the Camino. I want unbearable heat! There are dark clouds on the horizon. This is not fair. I don’t want to walk in the rain. I am afraid of those dark clouds.

Later that day: I walked for hours focusing on the possibility of rain, spoiling perfectly good weather with fear of dark clouds in my future. How often do I do this—sabotage my present moment with worries about what might come?

A few days later: It never rained. It has not rained since.

This awareness of how fear can rob us of present joy became crucial as I later navigated the uncertainties of housesitting—moving from one assignment to another, always trusting that the next opportunity would appear.

🧘‍♀️ Discovering Who I Am: Solo in Grañon

From My Journals:

I’m lying on my pallet (no beds here). People are gathering downstairs for the communal meal. I feel shy and uncomfortable. I don’t like social gatherings. I feel awkward with small talk and pressured to prove something. I think I’ll see if I can help in the kitchen.

Later: I cut bread, set tables, and served the pilgrims. Once again, I felt connected to the Camino and its people.

Without a husband or child to care for, no daily job to report to, I was discovering who I am when I’m just myself. This self-awareness sustains me as I travel from one housesit to another—understanding my rhythms, my needs, and how I connect with others.

stunning scenery on the Camino way — Above Castrojeriz one of my favourite towns on the Meseta

Photo by Tiera St Claire

🏊‍♀️ The Magic of Unexpected Oasis

From My Journals – Boadilla del Camino:

I think I’ve stepped into a mirage. I was heading to meet Camino friends in Frómista, but walking through a small town, I looked up and saw a gate. Beyond it: a swimming pool, green grass, and flowers.

My feet simply walked through that gate. I took off my pack, lay on the grass for a minute… and fell completely asleep.

I awoke disoriented, thinking I’d fallen asleep in someone’s yard! Then realized I was in an albergue. No way am I leaving this pool, this grass, these flowers.

The handsome hospitalero who gave me a toothbrush when I’d lost mine days earlier made me think I was in love. But really, I was falling in love with this way of traveling—trusting that exactly what I need will appear when I need it.

This became my housesitting philosophy: trust whatever the journey brings, even when confused or uncertain, knowing that life is providing perfectly.

Tiera at the oasis, lying by the swimming pool — This is where I rested at my oasis on my first Camino

Photo by Tiera St Claire

🌲 The Cathedral Forest and Santiago

The night before reaching Santiago de Compostela, my pilgrim friends and I decided to sleep outdoors. We found a field and circled together as pilgrims have done for centuries, sharing stories and wine, talking about what we’d learned.

Tiera with Pilgrim friends — Pilgrims enjoying a moment’s respite

Photo thanks to Tiera St Claire

I awoke before the others and decided to walk all 45 kilometers to Santiago that day. The first hours took me through a eucalyptus forest—nature’s cathedral with its majestic beauty and incredible scent.

I met up with a woman I’d encountered on my first day in St Jean Pied de Port, and we walked into Santiago together. She invited me to share her room in a five-star hotel.

a metal bull sign along the Camino way — There were all kinds of markers that I noticed along my first Camino Way

Photo by Tiera St Claire

My “Pretty Woman” Moment:

Arriving as a sweaty, dirty, ragged pilgrim, I was invisible to the hotel concierge. After buying a pretty skirt, shirt, and sandals, his look changed to one of male appreciation. I felt pretty and sexy—a reminder that we can transform ourselves anywhere, anytime.

💔 The Hardest Part: When Adventure Ends

From My Journals:

I feel totally lost and starting to panic. I don’t know what to do or where to go now that the Camino is complete. I’ve never felt so connected and purposeful, and now it’s over. I can feel myself sinking into a quagmire.

I don’t want to leave my friends or return to the States. My old patterns of isolation are creeping back in. On the Camino, I felt included, like an integral contributor to something meaningful. I experienced being openly received, welcomed, and liked.

Now I feel outcast again. Help.

🐕 How Housesitting Saved Me

Help arrived in an email. A friend in Hawaii asked me to care for her three dogs and two cats for six weeks. Just like that, my life as a housesitter began.

🏠➡️🥾 From First Camino Pilgrim to Housesitter: Making the Connection

What I discovered was that housesitting carries the same spirit as the Camino—trust, openness to new experiences, self-reliance, and faith that life will provide what you need. Each housesitting assignment becomes a mini-pilgrimage, complete with its own lessons, challenges, and rewards.

Key similarities between my first Camino pilgrimage and the housesitting life:

🤝 Learning to trust strangers and new situations
🏠 Adapting to different environments and routines
👫 Finding community with fellow travelers/housesitters
🎢 Embracing uncertainty as part of the adventure
✨ Discovering that life provides exactly what you need

Over 20 years of international housesitting, I’ve cared for pets in over 30 countries, from Australian cattle dogs to Italian olive grove cats, each assignment teaching me something new about myself and the world.

The Fullness of Time

Peace descends
With a rainbow sigh of acceptance
I can only be who I am in this moment
And this moment
Indeed forms me
I can only trust myself
And Life
If I trust this moment
And all that has brought me here
I am in the fullness of time
And time
Is only
Now

🌟 Start Your Solo Travel Adventure: From First Camino to Housesitting

20 years later, I’m still housesitting, still traveling, still trusting life to provide the next adventure. My first Camino Santiago taught me that when we move through uncertainty with courage and openness, magic happens.

an uneven path on the Camino — On my first Camino I found some of the walking on uneven surfaces challenging at first. You get used to it.

Photo by Tiera St Claire

Essential tips for transitioning from first Camino pilgrim to housesitter:

🎯 Trust your instincts – Just like choosing the right albergue, trust your gut when selecting housesitting opportunities
🔄 Embrace flexibility – Weather changes on the Camino, plans change in housesitting
👥 Build community – Connect with other housesitters like you would with fellow pilgrims
🎒 Pack light, live simply – The minimalist Camino mindset serves housesitters perfectly
🧘‍♀️ Stay present – Each day brings new experiences, whether walking ancient paths or caring for someone’s beloved pets

Are you ready to begin your own journey of freedom and adventure? Whether you’re dreaming of walking ancient pilgrim paths or caring for pets in exotic locations, the first step is always the same: trust yourself and take that first step.

For more inspiration, read about other Camino routes like the Portuguese Camino or Via Francigena.

🏡 Why Choose HousesitMatch for Your Travel Adventures?

🚀 Ready to start your housesitting adventure? Join HousesitMatch today and discover how homeowners and housesitters connect for perfectly matched adventures around the world. With verified profiles, secure messaging, and global opportunities, HousesitMatch makes it safe and easy to find your next adventure.

🌍 Popular housesitting destinations for Camino lovers:

🇪🇸 Spain (continue exploring after your pilgrimage)
🇵🇹 Portugal (extend your Iberian adventure)
🇫🇷 France (discover the French Camino routes)
🇮🇹 Italy (Via Francigena pilgrimage opportunities)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom (coastal walks and countryside retreats)

🥾 My first Camino Santiago taught me to trust the journey. ✈️ International housesitting has been my way of living that lesson every day.

👩‍💼 About the Author Tiera St Claire: After completing her first Camino de Santiago in 2005,Tiera has spent 20 years as a housesitter, caring for pets and properties across 30+ countries. Her journey proves that midlife can be the beginning of your greatest adventure. Follow Tiera’s ongoing travels and housesitting tips at HouseSit Match.

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