She walked the Camino de Santiago with Parkinson's

After Jane Pope Rigot, W’73, received her Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2020, her first web search was: “Can I still go on the Camino de Santiago with Parkinson’s?”

The answer was yes — and that’s all she needed.

Rigot first walked this major Christian pilgrimage route in Spain in 2013. She’s now completed it four times, three since her diagnosis.

“The Camino is a metaphor for life,” Rigot says. “You don’t focus on the destination — you focus on the journey.” That philosophy has proven essential as she navigates Parkinson’s, a progressive neurological disease affecting movement and balance.

Each pilgrimage has grown more challenging for her physically, but Rigot approaches the trail with characteristic stubbornness and grace. She’s learned to accept help when needed. “I had to get my mind around that because I felt I was failing myself,” she admits. “But then I realized I just had to continue to the best of my ability.”

Her Richmond education as a Spanish major laid the foundation for these adventures. A summer abroad with a family in Aranjuez, Spain, sparked her love of travel and cross-cultural connection — skills she honed further during 20 years as a Navy wife and travel agent.

Today, Rigot channels that same energy into her Asheville, North Carolina, Parkinson’s support group as its newsletter editor, inspiring nearly 200 members to stay active. This past September, when the state encouraged people to track their steps to raise awareness about fall prevention, her group recorded a collective 4 million.

“Just because you have a diagnosis doesn’t mean you shut up shop,” she says. Between boxing classes, tai chi, being a Master Gardener, and learning to play the hammered dulcimer, Rigot proves that the most important journey isn’t measured in miles, but in the refusal to stop exploring.