Walking the Camino de Santiago
Thoughts about the spiritual aspects of the Camino.
One year ago today, I buried the love of my life in the cold earth of a priest’s grave. It’s an impossible thing. My heart aches even to think about it. Since I have returned from the Camino, the largest presence in Pistachio House is Francine’s absence. Today is also the feast of Saint Benedict, and Francine and I are […]
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This morning, I was out of the albergue before 6:30 in an effort to beat today’s expected heat. Katie gave me a hug and left just a little bit before me. The morning air was humid. For the second day in a row, I didn’t even bother putting my fleece on. At this time of the morning, breakfast was out […]
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Despite best efforts, I didn’t make it out of the albergue much before 7 AM. A chunk of Melide’s old city has its streets torn up for what appears to be water or sewage work. Finding the Camino actually proved to be quite challenging. The first church I passed on the way out of town was locked, and there was […]
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I left my little monastery hostel room this morning at about 6:30. Nothing in the immediate neighborhood was open for breakfast, so I took one final tour around the monastery building to get to the Camino. I was definitely slow in getting out of town – today is meant to be a short day in preparation of the big days […]
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Yesterday I joined the monks of Rabanal in chanting Vespers for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. This was in Latin in Gregorian chant, but using the modern Liturgy of the Hours with just a few additions in the monastic tradition. It was absolutely sublime. Compline followed after dinner. This morning, breakfast was at 6:30, and I […]
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While I was definitely feeling better this morning, out of an abundance of caution I elected not to walk with my backpack today. I’ve never used a baggage forwarding service on Camino before, but Herve took the lead, and the kind lady working the breakfast counter at the albergue walked us through it and assured us that everything would be […]
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Breakfast didn’t start until 7:30, so it was almost 8:15 before we were out the door. Herve and I were joined at breakfast by Appalachia John, who had stayed in San Nicolas last night. The morning was overcast and cold. Cold enough I put my gloves on. After the last house in the village, the Camino proceeded on a brand […]
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Breakfast was at 6 AM, and I was walking by 6:50, which was rather later than I had hoped. The morning was cool, and the forecast called for perfect hiking weather. Once I was out of the village, the road was dirt and covered in stones. Life is full of firsts. And lasts. There was a first time I walked […]
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Tom left first, at 6:05 AM. Herve and I were just a few minutes behind him. Of course, half the albergue had emptied out before then. It was cool in the dimly-lit streets of Estella, but the forecast called for the heat wave to continue at least through the end of the week. We soon passed through the gate out […]
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Today is halfway day. Not in terms of distance – that probably happened several days ago. No, this is the halfway point in days walking on this pilgrimage. It is also an extremely short day – the book says 16.2 km. I’ve done several days with double that length, so this is practically a rest day. Tomorrow, of course, will […]
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