Happy first day of summer! Two months from today, if all goes according to plan, Laurel and I will be walking from Santo Domingo de Calzada (the chicken church!) to Belorado, where it’s 91 degrees (32 Celsius) and sunny. But here in Seattle, we’re still in the depths of “Juneuary,” and summer seems a longContinue reading “The Grey Day in Condom”
Tag Archives: travel
The Camino Credential
It’s here! A week ago I went to the American Pilgrims of the Camino website and requested a new credential for my upcoming mini-Camino. (I’ve started to call it Camino 1.3, because I’ll walk about a third of the Camino Frances.) And now here it is, all crisp and blank and pretty. In less thanContinue reading “The Camino Credential”
The Old Couple in Burgos
The first time I went to Burgos (I can say “first” now, since I’m officially planning the second trip), we arrived early in the day and had all afternoon to poke around. I loved the city, with its broad plazas and crooked streets. And mostly, I loved the modern, realistic statues scattered in the unexpectedContinue reading “The Old Couple in Burgos”
A TEDTalk About the Camino de Santiago
I’ve long been a fan of TEDTalks, the annual conference full of “ideas worth sharing,” presented by some of the most interesting people in the world on every imaginable topic. So I’m not sure how it’s taken me a whole month to discover that in TED2017, one of the speakers offered an ode to the CaminoContinue reading “A TEDTalk About the Camino de Santiago”
Invincible Nature (Almost Wordless Wednesday)
“Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad, whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts.” — John Muir, John of the Mountains Photo taken just outside Fineroyls, France, in the remote high plains of L’Aubrac. This wasContinue reading “Invincible Nature (Almost Wordless Wednesday)”
“No Problem!” On the Generosity of Camino Strangers (and a Wild Ride to Logroño)
One of the best parts about planning this summer’s mini-Camino is that it gives me the chance to go back and walk the 40 kilometers of “missing link” in my last Camino, between Viana and Najera. There are lots of reasons why a Camino pilgrim might decide to skip ahead on the trail via bus,Continue reading ““No Problem!” On the Generosity of Camino Strangers (and a Wild Ride to Logroño)”
It’s official! Camino 2.0: My Surprise Return to Spain
A few days after Eric and I started walking from Le Puy, with 10 weeks of walking still ahead of us, we were already talking about how to come back and do more of this. After all, “the Camino” isn’t a single trail, but a web of paths that criss-cross Europe, branching back as farContinue reading “It’s official! Camino 2.0: My Surprise Return to Spain”
Scuba Diving the Lot River?
About a week after leaving Le Puy, it starts to feel almost routine. You follow the red and white stripes of the Chemin de Saint Jacques (the Way of Saint James) along shaded paths, crumbling castles towering above. You enter a village, another one of France’s most beautiful. In this case, you’ve come to Espalion. YouContinue reading “Scuba Diving the Lot River?”
Storks in Strange Places
It was a warm, sunny day in May when we walked into Puente La Reina. As we approached the town, something caught my attention. “What is that on top of the chimney tower? It looks like a…nest? But that would be huge!” It was a nest, and it was huge. And if I looked really,Continue reading “Storks in Strange Places”
The Morning We Became Pilgrims of Le Puy
(An excerpt from the book in progress, describing the morning of April 8, 2015.) Despite the wine and the jet lag, I slept fitfully in Le Puy, waking every hour to stare into the darkness and listen to pilgrims breathing in the cubicles around me. We were so close to beginning this thing. When myContinue reading “The Morning We Became Pilgrims of Le Puy”
camino times two 