{"id":100831,"date":"2019-12-30T13:08:44","date_gmt":"2019-12-30T21:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=100831"},"modified":"2019-12-30T13:08:50","modified_gmt":"2019-12-30T21:08:50","slug":"the-camino-calls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-camino-calls\/","title":{"rendered":"The Camino Calls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

O<\/span>nce again, I’ve been noodling about going on Camino. The Camino has been calling to me. First quietly but persistently, and now louder and insistently. Previously, we’ve walked the Camino Franc\u00e9s, starting in various places: Roncesvalles in 2013 (Le\u00f3n for Francine), Saint Jean Pied de Port in 2016, and O Cebreiro in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This
The Camino Franc\u00e9s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, there are a lot of different Camino routes. In the past, we’ve talked about walking the Camino del Norte\/Primitivo or the Camino Portug\u00e9s. Indeed, the Portug\u00e9s was a strong contender for our 2018 Camino, before we ultimately decided to walk the Galician portion of the Franc\u00e9s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While I’m still drawn to both of these routes, there are two other possibilities that have been percolating in my brain recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Long Camino<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first option would probably require two solid months. It would involve flying into Paris and spending some time there before taking a local flight or train to Lourdes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a day or so at Lourdes, the walk begins. From Lourdes to Saint Jean is about seven days, walking gently up into the Pyrenees. This has the advantage over starting in Saint Jean in two ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, this means that your first day is not climbing over the pass. This is generally considered to be the most difficult single day on the Camino Franc\u00e9s, and it’s ludicrous to do it on day one. Yet, that’s what most folks who want to walk “the whole thing” do. I know we did. So instead of taking the pass on the first day, you get to spend a week working up to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, this really is the Way less traveled. There aren’t a lot of pilgrims on this trail. And while this means that there also aren’t a lot of options in terms of pilgrim accommodation, it also means that you are free from the crowds of pilgrims which seem to be everywhere these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, France!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it’s a week to Saint Jean, and roughly another five weeks to Santiago. We’d have to spend a couple of days in Santiago, of course. After that, the walk to the sea would add another three or four days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then a plane or train to Madrid, some days in Madrid, and a flight home from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another advantage of this route is friends. Numerous folks I know are interested in walking the Camino or some portion of it with us. This would give the widest possible range of options for folks joining up and dropping off. It also provides a number of solid opportunities to meet up with European friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second Camino option I’ve been noodling with is much shorter and in a different country entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Way of Saint Benedict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While there are numerous pilgrimage routes in Italy<\/a> – how could there not be? – the one that calls me is the Way of Saint Benedict<\/a>. It’s probably because Francine and I are Oblates of Saint Benedict. We are steeped in Benedictine spirituality, praying the Hours<\/a> and reading from the Holy Rule<\/a> every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It begins in Norcia, the birthplace of St. Benedict and site of a monastic community<\/a> I’ve long wanted to visit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the Way, it passes through Subiaco<\/a>, the site of one of the most important monasteries that Saint Benedict founded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The route finishes in Montecassino<\/a>, the site of another of Benedict’s monasteries, and the place where he and his sister, Saint Scholastica<\/a>, are entombed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It looks to be a beautiful walk of about 16 days or so. Given that I might not be able to drop out of the rest of my life for two months, this is a definite advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other advantage of this route is that we would almost certainly bookend this walk with visits to Rome, Florence, and possibly other cities, visiting Francine’s numerous relatives along the way. We haven’t seen them since our visit in 2005, and it would be nice to catch up and meet even more cousins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So while nothing definite is planned, I’m exploring both of these possibilities for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This post first appeared at Pilgrims on the Way<\/a> on 26 December 2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once again, I’ve been noodling about going on Camino. The Camino has been calling to me. First quietly but persistently, and now louder and insistently. Previously, we’ve walked the Camino Franc\u00e9s, starting in various places: Roncesvalles in 2013 (Le\u00f3n for Francine), Saint Jean Pied de Port in 2016, and O Cebreiro in 2018. The Camino Franc\u00e9s Obviously, there are a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40,8,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camino","category-francine-my-love","category-moments-in-time"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/100823-thumb.jpg?fit=765%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-qej","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":90009,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/galicia-in-the-autumn\/","url_meta":{"origin":100831,"position":0},"title":"Galicia in the Autumn","author":"Thom","date":"17 August 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"After walking the Camino Franc\u00e9s in 2013 from Roncesvalles and in 2016 from St Jean, Francine and I were busy planning our next Spanish adventure for 2020. The plan was that I would walk the Franc\u00e9s from St Jean (or possibly Lourdes), while she took a flat in Burgos to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/guidebooks2018.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/guidebooks2018.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/guidebooks2018.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/guidebooks2018.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/guidebooks2018.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107589,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-long-camino\/","url_meta":{"origin":100831,"position":1},"title":"The Long Camino","author":"Thom","date":"07 February 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"last year's short, sharp Camino Primitivo, we're already planning for what I am calling \"the long Camino\" in the spring of 2024. Like our original 2013 Camino, Francine is planning to only walk part of the route, most likely the first ten or so days and the last week or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/le-puy-map-intro.png?fit=1030%2C1013&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/le-puy-map-intro.png?fit=1030%2C1013&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/le-puy-map-intro.png?fit=1030%2C1013&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/le-puy-map-intro.png?fit=1030%2C1013&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":106784,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-camino-calls-and-we-answer\/","url_meta":{"origin":100831,"position":2},"title":"The Camino Calls, and We Answer","author":"Thom","date":"09 February 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"in December of 2019, I posted some noodlings about the call of the Camino and where we might walk next. While both of the options I discussed there are still very much in our future plans, a more immediate Camino adventure calls: the Camino Primitivo. Francine and I have been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/CPR-Overall-Map-1030x379-1-1024x377.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/CPR-Overall-Map-1030x379-1-1024x377.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/CPR-Overall-Map-1030x379-1-1024x377.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/CPR-Overall-Map-1030x379-1-1024x377.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":104416,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/update-on-our-camino-plans\/","url_meta":{"origin":100831,"position":3},"title":"Update on our Camino Plans","author":"Thom","date":"11 February 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, it seems opportune to post an update on our Camino plans, or lack thereof. Back in 2018, we started making plans for a 2020 Camino. The basic idea is that I would start in Saint-Jean, and Francine would rent an apartment in Burgos\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_2462-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_2462-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_2462-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_2462-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_2462-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":105641,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/still-blogging-the-camino\/","url_meta":{"origin":100831,"position":4},"title":"Still Blogging the Camino","author":"Thom","date":"06 July 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Francine and I finished our second Camino in 2016, I began a project on my Camino blog to post the best of my Camino photos, one day at a time. The \"Camino Photo of the Day\" project has been running since July 6 of 2016, so today marks its fourth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Ephemera"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Ephemera","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/blog-ephemera\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/27825974510_ffc6a7fcfe_k.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/27825974510_ffc6a7fcfe_k.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/27825974510_ffc6a7fcfe_k.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/27825974510_ffc6a7fcfe_k.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":84387,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/route-for-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":100831,"position":5},"title":"Route for 2016?","author":"Thom","date":"10 September 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Francine and I have been noodling about what our second Camino \u2013 our first full Camino together \u2013 will look like. First off, we\u2019re going to take it slow. Our initial thought is to fly out of Seattle on Easter Sunday 2016 and in to Barcelona. From there, we\u2019ll catch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Camino"","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100831"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100832,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100831\/revisions\/100832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}