How time flies… It’s hard to believe that it’s been 7 years since I picked up my Gregory 36L pack (fully loaded for the first time) and walked those first wobbly steps out of the cathedral in Le Puy. Down the steep cobblestone street, turn left, and put one foot in front of the other…forContinue reading “Hey, 2022, What’s New?”
Author Archives: beth jusino
Hot Meals and Coffee to Go: On Becoming a Hospitalera in My Own Backyard
For an introvert, it turns out I’m really bad at a full pandemic lockdown. I know people who haven’t left their houses or seen anyone outside their immediate family for almost half a year. Me? It only took about a month before I couldn’t do it anymore. Washington state shut down in mid-March. By mid-April,Continue reading “Hot Meals and Coffee to Go: On Becoming a Hospitalera in My Own Backyard”
Pilgrimage in a Time of Pandemic (and Hummingbirds)
This morning I spent a delightful hour talking with two authors I admire, Richard Frazer (Travels With a Stick) and Ian Smith (Stepping Out). They’ve both thought deeply about the meditative and spiritual aspects of pilgrimage, and were gracious enough to allow me to join them next week in a free, public Zoom discussion aboutContinue reading “Pilgrimage in a Time of Pandemic (and Hummingbirds)”
Conques After Dark (#CaminoTuesday)
Today’s #CaminoTuesday theme* over on Twitter is “Camino After Dark.” That struck me as a trick question at first, because Camino pilgrims rarely stay awake long enough to do much after dark. (Travel tip: Pilgrimage is not the way to experience European nightlife.) But then I remembered a night in Conques, just 10 days intoContinue reading “Conques After Dark (#CaminoTuesday)”
Santo Domingo de la Calzada and COVID-19
There’s an article in The Guardian today about how the small towns of Spain were affected by COVID-19. Specifically, the writer explores Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a name familiar to most pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago. It’s worth a read. This is the home of “the chicken church” — the cathedral knownContinue reading “Santo Domingo de la Calzada and COVID-19”
Practicing Acceptance in the Time of Covid-19
Practice acceptance, my husband would remind me when the Camino got the best of me. When the gites were full, the markets were closed, and the rain just would. not. stop. You know, all of the times when traveling through new places didn’t line up with my plans. Practice acceptance, I remind myself now,Continue reading “Practicing Acceptance in the Time of Covid-19”
Beating the Camino Bed Race
“There are no beds.” “There are too many people.” The rumors flew up the Way faster than I could walk, carried by Radio Camino. They were shared over pilgrim menus and café con leche, baguettes and French cheese plates. Even when I’m home, if I see them ripple out across the Facebook groups and discussionContinue reading “Beating the Camino Bed Race”
First Light on the Camino
“We need to be reminded sometimes that a sunrise lasts but a few minutes. But its beauty can burn in our hearts eternally.” – R. A. Salvatore Anyone who’s met me knows I am not a morning person. I don’t often see the sun rise, nor do I want to. (A more accurate quoteContinue reading “First Light on the Camino”
My Camino Family
Before we left to walk the Camino de Santiago the first time in 2015, I read everything I could, including plenty of Camino memoirs. I was desperate for practical information and advice. How would I know where to sleep? Where would I find food? What if I needed a bathroom in the middle of theContinue reading “My Camino Family”
Beautiful Bridges of the Camino de Santiago
Last week, on New Years Eve, the Twitter world had a #CaminoTuesday theme of “The Old and The New.” I didn’t have time to write up a whole blog post, but I did share this: Here are the photos bigger, in case you’re curious: And that got me thinking about bridges, and how importantContinue reading “Beautiful Bridges of the Camino de Santiago”
camino times two 