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Former Ashlander Lydia Smith has waited a long time for the big break on her documentary about the 500-mile pilgrimage on Spain’s Camino de Santiago. And five years later, the moment she has waited for has arrived with a nationwide showing on PBS. A pensive, captivating and highly watchable film, “Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago” made its world premier — sold out for five showings — at Ashland Independent Film Festival in 2013, then went on to a non-festival run of six weeks at Varsity Theatre. It was rated the No. 12 doc in the U.S. in 2014 and carries a high 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. “It means so much,” says Smith of the 1,000 PBS showings scheduled during the last two weeks of December. “It’s the fulfillment of the dream and vision I had years ago. And I feel it’s a great opportunity to share the magic of the Camino with people all over the U.S. who may never go to Spain to experience it first hand.” The film’s website, caminodocumentary.org describes the challenging trek: “Bunk-beds. Blisters. Stunning landscapes. World-class snorers. Hot searing sun, freezing cold rain. Kindness from strangers. Debilitating injury. Unexpected romance. No toilet paper when you really need it ...” While shooting the film in 2009, Smith focused on a half-dozen pilgrims, detailing their quests and questions. A brother wants to party hard while his sister, with an infant son, seeks maturity. In time, they move beyond their roles and find ways to care for each other. “If you have questions, you will find what you are looking for,” says a church father along the way. “It’s a hardship that opens you to “transcendent experience.” Spiritual travelers are searching for answers, hoping to get closer to God. “When you are walking, more and more, you love God,” a woman says. So-called “hospitaleros,” including many Americans, provide hospitality in little towns and one notes, “We want you to feel you’re at your own homeWe feel the Camino is an internal Camino, something you do with your heart.” Smith calls her own journey transformational. “It’s a unique experience where you simplify life to eating, sleeping, walking,” she says. “The intent was a mini-Camino in your life to inspire whatever you were meant to do, whether start a homeless shelter or to garden with your grandchildren. No one outside of us can tell us that.” Ashland author Reg Spittle calls the Camino “life changing” and just published a book, “Camino Sunrise: Walking My Shadows,” about his pilgrimage, The walk is an amazing bonding exercise,” he says. “She did a wonderful job depicting it, so moving. She focuses on people from all ages and walks of life, all coming for different reasons, all overcoming hardships, living the simple life, sleeping and eating next to each other, helping each other patch their feet.” The tradition of walking “The Way of St. James,” as it’s also called, is that you report back to your community about what you did and what the message is, says Smith — and such is the purpose of her 83-minute film. The apostle James is said to have been buried in the cathedral of Santiago de Compestela, at the end of the walk. Smith says she is hosting a party for its premier on Oregon Public Broadcasting. It airs on Southern Oregon Public Television om Dec. 19, 22 and 23. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected] .