Category: General Info

From Blogger to Camino Author

I guess it started with a little Nora Ephron movie that I watched on TV over Christmas in 2011. Julie Powell is a New York writer who started writing a cooking blog on a now-closed website called Open Salon. She caught the attention of the New York Times and collected many followers until finally her […]

So, What Does It Take? Walking, I Mean

For the past few I don’t know how many months, I have belonged to about a dozen Camino groups on Facebook, followed another dozen or so names on Twitter, and “hearted” many images from Camino folks on Instagram. I’m seeing a running thread. Am I ready to walk the Camino? In many ways, this is […]

A Thoughtful, Sacred Space

SACRED SPACE, an Encyclopedia.com definition: A sacred place is first of all a defined place, a space distinguished from other spaces. A sacred place focuses attention on the forms, objects, and actions in it and reveals them as bearers of religious meaning. Years ago, the Camino was described to me as a sacred space. A […]

Snuggling In with the Ancestors in Neda

American cemeteries are lovely. Parks with landscaping, trails, trees, paths. We tend to choose burial sites in a couple of ways – our family is there, we like the spot, there’s a nice view, maybe an old tree. In most instances, though, we are buried alone in our box. The cemetery in Neda, along the […]

Another great review!

Thank you for reading Buen Camino! I ordered this book prior to starting my second trip to Spain to walk the Camino Santiago. The book provides interesting information into the history of the way and Camino culture. The author has walked many different Camino routes and her experience and information are invaluable for those heading […]

What Is a Pilgrim?

Caught somewhere between an adventure hiker and a religious zealot lies a pilgrim. Some of us are closer to the one than to the other, some of us aspire to be both. What I have found, though, is the majority of the pilgrims I have known are simpler souls who prefer to keep their allegiance […]

How Do You Get to Oviedo?

I suppose it was meant as a test, a test of how much I really wanted to walk the Camino Primitivo; the oldest of the medieval pilgrimage roads across northern Spain. I think I passed, but maybe there’s more than a few losing elements to this story. I arrived in Madrid mid-morning on Monday, with […]

Random Tips from “Buen Camino!”

Finding your boots – once you arrive at an albergue, you will be asked to remove your boots and leave your hiking poles inside the door, not bringing them into the dormitory. I have seen the horrified look of someone who had another pilgrim mistakenly pick up her boots. It’s not something you ever want […]