Since coming home, I’ve had fun catching up with friends and family, as well as chatting on WhatsApp with my new Camino friends located all over the world. Many are now home and having various re-entry experiences. Most seem content as we try to bring our Camino peace into our everyday lives. All are exploring ways to get out there again, wherever “there” may be.
Continue reading “Camino Francés 2022 – Final thoughts, stats, and what’s up next?”Category: Camino Francés 2022
Camino Francés 2022 Days 40-46: Santiago de Compostela to Muxia
What a difference the side of a city can make! Arriving from the East showed off the bustling, industrial sector of Santiago de Compostela. Departing towards the West gave me miles and miles of beautiful rural landscapes and dense woodland trails. An even bigger difference could be felt on the Camino itself. Two days ago, entering the final destination for most peregrinos, meant hoards of people (tourists and pilgrims alike): it was very hectic. But because the Camino is a “one-way route” for 99.99% of the walkers, you very rarely see anyone walking away from Santiago. The serenity that I missed last week, in the last 100 kms after Sarria, returned ten-fold today and the clear weather made for a nearly perfect day of walking!
But first, before I share about the day, I feel compelled to share a story about “Camino magic…”
Continue reading “Camino Francés 2022 Days 40-46: Santiago de Compostela to Muxia”Camino Francés 2022 Days 31-39: Villafranca del Bierzo to Santiago de Compostela
After five weeks on the trail, I feel like I’ve been walking forever. Each week brings new terrain, new views, new weather, new friends, new experiences, and new emotions. The golden meseta is behind me now and I am faced with a lot of green – in every imaginable shade. The green, of course, comes from rain, which also means wind, and muddy trails, and swollen rivers, and rainbows. Realizing that I was entering my final week before arriving to Santiago (the ultimate destination for most of my fellow pilgrims), my mind began to dance to new tunes.
Continue reading “Camino Francés 2022 Days 31-39: Villafranca del Bierzo to Santiago de Compostela”Camino Francés 2022 Days 24-30: León to Villafranca del Bierzo
Leaving León, some say that the meseta is now behind us. But is it really? Personally, studying the map, I am not convinced. It looks to me that we will have another couple of days before we begin to see substantially different terrain. In the meantime, we all know what we need to do: just get up and walk!
Continue reading “Camino Francés 2022 Days 24-30: León to Villafranca del Bierzo”Camino Francés 2022 Days 15-23: Burgos to León
Leaving Burgos, all peregrinos had heard many stories about what lay ahead of us: the meseta! Those stories were enough to scare off some folk and motivate them to hop on buses and taxis to pass over it entirely. Most of us, however, were excited to experience this major geological feature of the Iberian peninsula. I had heard it often described as a desert, and loving the American Southwest and Namibian deserts as much as I do, I was particularly looking forward to it.
Continue reading “Camino Francés 2022 Days 15-23: Burgos to León”Camino Francés 2022 Days 9-14: Logroño to Burgos
Today was another short-distance day, after a rest day that followed a short-distance day. Can you tell that I’m not very interested in racing across Spain?
Despite the sadness at watching my fascinating newfound friends zoom ahead of me, only to be replaced by some lookalike strangers, I learned that the new folk are just as interesting as those I’ve lost forever.
Continue reading “Camino Francés 2022 Days 9-14: Logroño to Burgos”It’s not the tribe that’s important, but your relationship with each member.
This could be an old Namibian proverb.
Camino Francés 2022 Days 4-8: Pamplona to Logroño
For the most part, my rest day in Pamplona served its purpose: my energy was restored even if my feet weren’t fully recovered.
Continue reading “Camino Francés 2022 Days 4-8: Pamplona to Logroño”Camino Francés 2022 Days 0-3: Saint Jean Pied de Port to Pamplona
These next few posts are meant to share with you (and to document for posterity) my recent walk along the French Way of the Camino de Santiago across Northern Spain from mid-September to early November 2022. Even though I am publishing the posts a few weeks after my return home, I have decided to retain the present tense I used when first sharing these stories and photos, day-by-day, during the journey itself. I believe this will help retain the freshness of the experience – the highs and the lows – the surprises and the disappointments – the observations and the thoughts – just as they occurred.
Continue reading “Camino Francés 2022 Days 0-3: Saint Jean Pied de Port to Pamplona”Le Chemin de la Liberté (Pyrenees Freedom Trail) 2022
I recently finished six days in the Pyrenees Mountains, hiking from France to Spain along one of the escape routes used during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
Continue reading “Le Chemin de la Liberté (Pyrenees Freedom Trail) 2022”