For the past two weeks I have been walking through two northern regions of Spain — Asturias and Galicia. Asturias is the wilder of the two. The Camino Primitivo passes through alpine moorlands and remote villages where farming and pilgrims seem to be the only economic drivers. Wayfinding in Asturias was at times haphazard. On […]
Why?
My friend Tim Latter says walking the Camino makes you a better person. He might be right. Certainly it teaches perseverance. (You could also call this stubbornness.) But, at the risk of sounding like Pollyanna or Brené Brown, it also encourages empathy and curiosity. Meals on the Camino are a veritable mini-United Nations. At last […]
The green hills of Asturias
For the past week on the Camino Primitivo, I have been immersed in green! Even Ireland would envy these hills. The Camino Primitivo is the original Santiago pilgrimage route, established by King Alfonso II of Asturias in 824. It was Alfonso who ordered that a church be erected in what eventually became Santiago de Compostela, […]
Carved in Stone
On Sunday, I arrived in Santiago de Compostela and like hundreds of thousands of pilgrims before me, I was awed by the granite facade of the Cathedral. This is where Saint James is buried, and since 814 it has been a destination for pilgrims. The existing church was completed the 13th century. This impressive and […]
The Sacred and the Profane
Hello from day seven of the Camino Portuguese. It has taken me a little while to settle into this walk, and to find the energy to write a blog post. First off, I needed to get used to 25+-kilometre days carrying a pack. Ouch! And secondly, I needed to adjust my expectations after last year’s […]