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”
Tag Archives: pilgrimage
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)”
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”
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”
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)”
The Day I Almost Quit the Camino (#CaminoTuesday)
“The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.” – Hellen Keller Walking through L’Aubrac was like walking through the legends and stories Eric read as a kid. Five days after leaving Le Puy, we reached the true highlands of the Massif Central, irregular rolling hills of open,Continue reading “The Day I Almost Quit the Camino (#CaminoTuesday)”
The Worn Stones of a Timeless Camino (#CaminoTuesday)
It’s always the stone that reminds me. The almost concave steps in the abbey at Conques and the bridge in Cahors. The deep dip in the sill of the doorway of the tiny Eglise de Sensaq. The cobblestones worn to a slippery shine at the edge of the Monasterio de Zenarruza. Stone is supposed toContinue reading “The Worn Stones of a Timeless Camino (#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)”
camino times two 