Tag: travel

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 […]

Buen Camino! Tips from an American Pilgrim

New BOOK Notice! Not a guidebook, no maps, no long-winded legends or history – just lots of stories and helpful suggestions to anyone planning their first Camino or just waiting to go back. Geared toward American Pilgrims, this book is a must-have, must-read. It’s the perfect companion to your standard guidebooks, like John Brierley, the […]

What is Breakfast Like on the Way to The Abbey?

I am spending a week volunteering at the restoration of a 12th century fortress on the Camino de Santiago just outside Pamplona in the magnificent countryside of Navarre. I greet passing pilgrims who walk by while the new owner of the property works on the project. They are on their way to Santiago de Compostela […]