“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”
Category Archives: Frequently Asked Camino Questions
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”
Pilgrim or Tourist (#CaminoTuesday)
The first time I came across a church along the Chemin du Puy that charged admission*, I laughed and walked out. I was a pilgrim, not a tourist. I would swallow those words later, like so many of my early attitudes on the Camino de Santiago, when I started to understand that France’s nationalized churchesContinue reading “Pilgrim or Tourist (#CaminoTuesday)”
Camino Foot Care (#CaminoTuesday)
“It is a monastic life. You wake up, you walk. When you arrive, you take care of your feet, you take care of your basic needs, and you eat. Do it day after day, and it becomes a meditation.” These were the words of a wise gite host, Sylvain, in Saint-Come-d’Olt, just seven days intoContinue reading “Camino Foot Care (#CaminoTuesday)”
My 5 Favorite Albergues on the Camino del Norte (that aren’t Güemes)
My Instagram feed is full of people on the Camino del Norte (check out Nadine Walks and Ben Camino and OTCamino), and I am filled with both memories and a little jealousy. I want to be walking on cliffs overlooking moody oceans! (Oh, wait, I live in the Pacific Northwest, and I spent last weekendContinue reading “My 5 Favorite Albergues on the Camino del Norte (that aren’t Güemes)”
Why Your Friends at Home Don’t Care About Your Camino
When I came back from my first long hike on the Camino de Santiago, friends and family would politely ask, “how was your trip?” If you, too, have walked part of the Camino or come home from some other big adventure, you understand the dilemma. I could give a short, trite, insufficient answer. It wasContinue reading “Why Your Friends at Home Don’t Care About Your Camino”
The Importance of Rest Days
When we first set out to walk the Way of St James from Le Puy, France, all the way to Santiago and then on to Finisterre, I knew in theory we would need rest days along the way. I understood that a person can’t—well, shouldn’t—walk a thousand miles without stopping to re-fuel now and then.Continue reading “The Importance of Rest Days”
Making Reservations on the Chemin du Puy (the Le Puy Camino)
I started to suspect that I’d been misinformed before we even started walking. At the Pilgrim’s Welcome Gathering in Le Puy-en-Velay, Eric and I struck up a conversation with a friendly French woman who asked how far we would walk the next day. I told her the name of the town where we thought weContinue reading “Making Reservations on the Chemin du Puy (the Le Puy Camino)”
Why I Walked the Camino de Santiago
I’ve written about a lot of things on this blog over the past three years, but I’m not sure I’ve ever gone back to the basics and explained how I got here in the first place. (Or if I did, it was so long ago and is so buried in the archives that it’s worthContinue reading “Why I Walked the Camino de Santiago”
Walking the Camino as a Couple
The idea that Eric and I spent 79 days together, 24/7, walking across two countries, fascinates people. (It fascinated people we met on the Camino, too. I can’t count how often someone would ask “you’re walking all this way together…and you’re still married?”)
camino times two 