Baseline intake
Trailside logs
Arrival debrief
Return follow-up
Participants complete standardized self-assessment scales measuring cognitive fatigue, vocational stress, and social identity markers before beginning their initial stage.
Walkers submit voice memos and brief field logs at designated communal shelters across Navarra, the Meseta high plateau, and rural Galicia.
Upon reaching the plaza in Santiago de Compostela, pilgrims complete qualitative interviews assessing somatic awareness and shifts in interpersonal friction.
A secondary evaluation six months post-walk tracks sustained behavioral modifications, re-entry friction, and long-term values persistence in everyday routines.
Physical exhaustion dismantles defensive posturing far quicker than clinical interviews ever could.
Carrying ten kilograms across twenty-five kilometers daily strips modern distraction down to blisters, bread, and plain speech between strangers.
By the third week, walkers enter the dining hall differently. Their shoulders sit lower, their speech slows down, and they listen without waiting to correct each other.
Mateo S., hospitalero in Hospital de Órbigo
Download our complete survey instrumentation, interview prompts, and ethical consent protocols free of academic paywalls.