Walking the Camino de Santiago with their children was a dream almost two decades in the making for Erika and Seamus Barden, who first walked the epic 780km trail from France through Spain as a newly engaged couple back in 2004.
“We talked so much about our hopes and dreams,” recalls Erika, 51.
“One was if we worked out and were lucky enough to have kids, wouldn’t it be amazing to walk it with them, and for them to grow up with that experience and the lessons you learn particularly around resilience and determination.”
Starting the pilgrimage as a family
However, when the day finally came to start the pilgrimage in 2023, this time as a married couple of 18 years with their three children Malaika, then 15, Tarquin, 13, and Braeden, 11, in tow, Erika found herself wondering what they’d signed up for.
The first day leaving from French town Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and walking through the Pyrenees mountains is notoriously challenging with an increase in elevation of 1,400m.
“We took our first ‘yay photo’ and were walking down through stunning green and lush scenery, until one of my boys said, ‘Isn’t there supposed to be lots of climbing?’” laughs Erika.
“We had gone in the wrong direction within 10 minutes of starting!”
Just hours later, she was frantically searching for her lost daughter Malaika, who had walked ahead when Erika stopped to apply more sunblock.
“We got to one peak, of which there are many in the Pyrenees. There were two ways to go down, the easy way and the dangerous but more direct route, which we had been warned off taking. We started down the easy way, but couldn’t see her.”
Desperate to find Malaika, Erika worried she had taken the more dangerous route alone, so doubled back with the boys in pursuit.
Facing a sheer challenge
“It felt like abseiling down a sheer cliff face without a rope,” says Erika.
“It was baking hot and our legs were shaking with the intense effort from our big packs and having no walking poles yet.”
To her immense relief, at the bottom of the perilous path, Malaika was safe and waiting for them having taken the recommended route after all.
“The kids were amazing – even after all of that!” she shares proudly.
“It was fairly dramatic at times, but they really enjoyed it.”
Staying connected from afar
Meanwhile back home in New Zealand, Erika’s mum Maura had just moved into a retirement village and Seamus’s father Wayne Barden, who has Parkinson’s disease, was in hospital. Leaving their loved ones behind was a really tough decision for the close-knit family, so Erika started writing a daily blog to keep in touch.
“It made Mum really feel a part of it,” reveals Erika.
“My mother-in-law Sandra would print the blog out every day and bring it to the hospital to read and show Wayne the photos.”
Erika attributes her adventurous spirit to her parents.
“Mum is phenomenal. She is 94, and the most positive and adventurous person I know. She’s always up for anything!”
From blog to book
On the blog, she detailed the highs, from meeting lovely people in incredible places to quality time with each other – and the lows, like when Braeden got sick with severe gastro or unexpected encounters with bed bugs. Now she’s immortalised the adventure in print, turning her warm and entertaining blog posts into a book titled A Kiwi Camino.
Over five weeks, they became affectionately known as “the Kiwi family with all the kids” with locals in historic villages often coming out to give the young walkers biscuits and cakes. Arriving at their final destination in Santiago de Compostela with hundreds of other pilgrims was unforgettable – “Just this festive, electric vibe” – but Erika says the real joy was in the quiet moments watching her children grow.
“Thinking back, my heart is swelling with joy and love that we had that time stepping out of our comfort zone, just talking and walking,” smiles Erika.
Lessons from the Camino
“Sometimes I’d see the kids walk three abreast and just think, ‘How cool is that?’ watching them forming this bond. “I like to think the experience will stay with them. We talk about it a lot especially when they’re having tough days like, ‘Remember on the Camino when it was really hard but you knew where you had to go and one step at a time you got there?’”
She shares they’ve already booked their next Camino for later this year, when they’ll be walking the 620km Portuguese Way, which also ends in Santiago de Compostela.
“This time we’re taking 77-year-old Sandra [Seamus’s mother] making our third Camino an adventure for three generations.”
A Kiwi Camino is available at Paper Plus, and Amazon, rrp $39.99.
