The Camino Memoirs

During the summer of 2014, I walked El Camino de Santiago.  The pilgrimage, dating back several hundred years, is a journey to the tomb of St. James.  As part of his mission to follow Christ's command to preach the Gospel "to the ends of the earth," St. James traveled to the known limits of the world--Galicia, Spain.  While he seemed initially to be unsuccessful, it would later lead to the country of Spain becoming a great Catholic nation.  There are several routes one could take to Santiago but the most common is the Camino Frances, beginning just inside of France at St. Jean-Pied-de-Port.  From there, one crosses the Pyrenees into Spain and winds along the northern part of Spain, walking westward towards the ocean.  This journey is nearly five hundred miles and includes an assortment of terrain, passing through large cities (like Pamplona and Leon) and small hamlets boasting less than a dozen residents.

The "Camino Memoirs" (as I've dubbed this body of writing) are my reflections on the Camino.  A few of the posts may reflect on my pilgrimages to Lourdes and Fatima (the Marian bookends of my Camino), but most will center on the trek across Spain.  The Camino still remains a source of reflection, encouragement, and guidance even as time passes.

Without further ado, I present to you The Camino Memoirs.

• Pre-Camino Memoirs Writing
• The perennial question--Why are you walking the Camino?
• An inspirational priest in Santo Domingo de la Calzada
• Old married love in Leon, Spain
• Automatic Lights in Spain
• Favorite Camino priest: Fr. Javier
• A reflection on authenticity from Paris
• Communal meals in the donativo albergues
• The American hospitalero, David, who surprised us all
• Longing for the simple life
• Beautiful music by the wonderful Fr. Javier
• Two Camino quests of the heart