Author Archives: beth jusino

Mulled Wine and Hailstorms

The 3am crack of thunder woke everyone in the room. Not that anyone said anything, of course. But I could hear the change in breath, the awareness as ten pilgrims listened to the rain outside the two single-pane windows and thought about the coming day. We were in Astorga, a city of moderate size tuckedContinue reading “Mulled Wine and Hailstorms”

Sunny Days (Camino Playlist)

Seattle has been soggy and wet for the past few weeks, with record rainfalls (and for Seattle, that’s saying a lot). As I sit inside, safe and dry, and watch the puddles spread across the whole street, and the grass turn into swamps, I’m thinking a lot about how life as a pilgrim meant beingContinue reading “Sunny Days (Camino Playlist)”

The Story of Rio Salado

“In a place called Lorca, towards the east, runs a river called Rio Salado. Beware from drinking its waters or from watering your horse in its stream, for this river is deadly. While we were proceeding towards Santiago, we found two Navarrese seated on its banks and sharpening their knives; they make a habit ofContinue reading “The Story of Rio Salado”

My Camino Packing List

What does one carry on a pilgrimage across Europe? According to a scale of questionable accuracy in Aubrac, my pack, with water, weighed about 10 kilograms, or 22 pounds. That’s way more than what most ultralight backpackers would recommend, but it was never so much that I couldn’t carry it. My luxuries were small and carefully considered.Continue reading “My Camino Packing List”

Eating Our Way Across France

This week is Thanksgiving in the U.S.—a day of family and gratitude and food. Lots and lots of food. So let’s talk about food on the Camino—and specifically this time, how we ate in France. (Our experiences in France and Spain were distinctly different. That’s cultural, somewhat, but mostly it stemmed from how many pilgrimsContinue reading “Eating Our Way Across France”