Welcome to ‘Camino de Amtrak,’ a blog about my month-long tour of the United States by train, which I completed in the fall of 2021.

The blog takes its name from the Camino de Santiago, or ‘Way of St. James’, the famous religious pilgrimage in Spain. This journey is my own version of such a pilgrimage, except instead of walking long stretches between monasteries, I will be sitting in coach class on Amtrak trains, looking out the window. 


How is your trip anything like the Camino de Santiago?


It’s not, really. I’m not Christian (or particularly religious), but I’m hankering for some of the same things as travelers of that holy trail. I’m currently on an extended break between jobs, and have been yearning to do something from my bucket list, with an eye toward the epic, transcendent, and uplifting. Walking the Camino de Santiago would have been great, but when I was considering potential trips to take, I wasn’t sure when I would receive my US passport (according to my passport officer, even as an Australian-US dual citizen, I am not able to leave the country as a US citizen without a US passport). Also, the evolution of the global COVID-19 pandemic created more uncertainty regarding international travel.  


I will be doing very little of this, as I'm not actually walking the Camino de Santiago. Image Source: Caminofacil

As a domestic alternative, I had also been considering hiking some of the Appalachian Trail, a popular US pilgrimage that could serve a similar purpose. While lacking the historical and spiritual grandeur of the Santiago Way, I liked the idea of doing something physically and mentally demanding, iconic, and well-suited to receiving inspiration and insight. I saw some pictures that a friend who was hiking the AT posted to Facebook, and sadly, rather than inspiring me to follow in her footsteps, the pictures reminded me of several inconvenient truths:


“That looks so sweaty,” was my initial reaction. “It’s so humid this time of year, and I hate being hot and sweaty.”


“Also, I don’t care for camping and really enjoy sleeping in beds.”


“Also, I don’t like to suffer.”


Around the same time, a friend informed me about a sale on Amtrak’s ‘USA Rail Pass.’ And just like that, my version of a spiritual pilgrimage had been decided.


Now this is more like it! My kind of spiritual sojourn. Image Source: Amtrak via Timeout

Why aren’t you working?


I am 37. Most people my age are not taking month-long train tours. They have responsibilities. They are busy working. They are busy parenting children. Many are doing both.  


I’m currently on a planned six-month break (I call it a ‘sabbatical’) between ending my last job and beginning to look for another one. I was burned out from my last job and seeking some time to rest, rejuvenate and approach the next stage of my life with more energy and intentionality.


I am looking for a radically different set of activities from my prior daily routine. I’m seeking opportunities for reflection, reconnection, and hopefully, greater clarity regarding who I am, what I want, and how to get there. Taking long train rides across the country seems like a good enough way to do some of those things, on the cheap.


I plan to spend most of my time sitting on various Amtrak trains, reading, writing, chatting with strangers, and, of course, staring out the window. I’m looking forward to lots of random thoughts passing through my mind as I pass through America. In between rides, I’ll be catching up with friends in some of my favorite American cities: Washington D.C., Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle, and visiting a national park called Glacier. And thankfully, to make it more fun, I’ll be accompanied on different parts of my tour by my brother and my wife.