Summer 2024: Lightening Your Load
Letter from Our Editor
Fellow Pilgrims,
My local chapter recently held its annual two-day hike with an overnight stay at an albergue-style bunkhouse. A popular activity in our post-hike afternoon lazing is to do a “backpack shakedown” for anyone looking to shed unnecessary weight from their packs. Even those who don’t offer up their packs for scrutiny seem to take away some useful tips. This event, like so many programs our chapters offer, also helps to alleviate an invisible weight for would-be pilgrims: Worry over what it means to be a pilgrim. Fear of the unknown. Fretting over details.
One pilgrim in our chapter recently emphasized a suggestion I had imparted before her first Camino: “Don’t carry too many expectations with you.” She said she didn’t fully grasp this before she left, but once on Camino she understood. This philosophy is less about winging it on Camino, and certainly isn’t suggesting one set out on pilgrimage without setting an intention. Rather, it suggests that when we embark on a journey with more flexibility and less rigidity, we make space to experience things different and greater than we might have imagined. Admittedly, this tidbit I offer to fellow pilgrims was a hard-learned lesson myself, one that requires constant practice yet one that allows for a more carefree Camino.
This La Concha issue explores the theme LIGHTENING YOUR LOAD. We have reviews of Camino books including one discovered unexpectedly, a memoir in which a husband and wife balance their storytelling load, a novel about a scarf passed from one pilgrim to another, and a movie about an estranged father and daughter who let go of resentments and find healing on their shared journey. Poetry about the things we lose along the way and canceling plans to make way for the Camino we were meant to have. We have essays from those who carried the weight of deep loss; some whose physical suffering helped release emotional pain; and others who shed “what if” fears, stressful jobs, and even body weight to embark on Camino. We also learn how simple acts—from listening to someone share their sorrows or joys, leading others in song, or picking up a piece of trash—can lighten our collective Camino experience. Enjoy this exploration of the ways we strip away the unessential and lay down our burdens to make way for magic and experience the Camino’s primal simplicity.
May your journey be sacred,
Amy
Summer 2024 La Concha Content
American Pilgrims News
- Letter from the Chair – Autumn 2024
Autumn 2024 letter from American Pilgrims on the Camino Board Chair Joe Curro. - Save the Date: 2025 Gathering of Pilgrims
Preparations are well underway for the 2025 Gathering of Pilgrims planned for May 15-18, 2025, on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. - Board Report – July 2024
A report of the July 2024 meeting of the American Pilgrims Board of Directors. - Chapter Happenings – Autumn 2024
An Autumn 2024 compilation of American Pilgrims on the Camino chapter happenings.
Camino News
- St. Martin Loop
A 77-year-old woman is inspired to walk a lesser-known network of marked pilgrims trails leading to the basilica dedicated to St. Martin in Tours, France. When the weight of her pack became too much to bear, she found a creative way to carry on. - What Does It Mean to Walk as a Pilgrim?
The Canadian Company of Pilgrims has launched a Mindful Pilgrim initiative focused around the themes of kindness, respect, openness, and curiosity, and meant to encourage people to consider with intention what it means to walk as a pilgrim.
Hospitalero Corner
- Serving Pilgrims in Astorga
An hospitalera recounts her experience of serving at Albergue de Peregrinos Siervas de María in Astorga, Spain, in August 2024. - Lightening the Camino with Song
When the road gets weary, songleader Tom Friesen finds there’s nothing like belting out a good tune to lift your spirits and lighten your load. And nothing creates Camino community quite like an albergue singalong. - Listening Is an Act of Lightening
A Pilgrim’s Reception Office volunteer finds that in listening to pilgrims unburden their sorrows and lift up their joys, his own emotional load is also lightened.
Pilgrims Way – Reflections on the Theme “Lightening Your Load”
- Trust Your Intuition
A pilgrim’s intuition tells him to go down one path, but he ignores the urging and follows what turns out to be the wrong path. A bit further down the trail, a close encounter of a slithering kind reminds him to trust the intuition he carries inside himself. - The Tangible Items I Carry
The tangible items a pilgrim carries on his Caminos are a scallop shell with lanyard, 10 clothes pins, a Tau cross, and a compass. These items each weigh 1.5 ounces, but he finds the memories of how they came to him weigh nothing and are always uplifting. - Carrying Home Camino Lessons
Fresh off the airplane returning home from Spain, a man catches himself instantly slipping back into an old patterned response. He pauses and reconsiders, recalling lessons he carried home from his Camino. - Soundscapes
Anxious and weary from a deluge of phone notifications from friends, news outlets, marketers, and work, a woman decides to silence the noise and go on Camino. In the quietude, she discovers an appreciation for an entirely new soundscape—an appreciation that she’s carried back into her daily life and that enhances her wellbeing. - Sonder on the Camino
On the Camino Portugués, a pilgrim experiences a sense of sonder, the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as her own. Everyone on the Camino is on their own journey, experiencing elation, contemplation, fatigue, suffering, and hope. And while our journeys are each our own, the Camino experience allows us to more wholly relate to the humanness of our fellow pilgrims. A lesson we’d all do well to carry with us in daily life. - Recuerdos in the Heart
As he packs for a move, a pilgrim discovers a yellowed sheet of paper listing names from his Camino. These were people he met and prayed for—a daily Camino practice that indebly recorded them in his memories. A quarter century on, he still carries them in his heart. - Empowered by Patches
As a woman prepares for her Camino, a nagging fear persists that she won’t be able to finish the walk. Inspired by Tina Fey and empowered by a cheering squad of friends and family and a backpack adorned with the fun, encouraging, and weird patches they sent her, she carries on. And in so doing, she discovers in herself the belief that she can finish. - My Weightless Pack
A pilgrim packs a lot on her Camino: hopes without expectation, an open mind and heart, burdens to lay down. Along the way, she is filled with an appreciation for beauty found in challenges, inspiration from others, and a profound knowledge of the gifts the Camino shares. - Little Stones
On the Camino and in daily life, an agate, a bloodstone, and a small pressed glass Camino shell carried in his pocket help remind a man to stay grounded, to be present, to be grateful, and to go forward as a pilgrim. - A Boundless Interchange of Help
Through a boundless interchange of help that a husband and wife experience on their pilgrimage, they come to know Camino magic. - Guided & Graced
Wearing a blue and yellow ribbon bracelet imprinted with an intercession to St. James and a daily practice of reciting the Pilgrims Prayer at the first church she passed each day, a peregrina discovers a sense of pilgrim belonging and divine guidance. - A Pocket Knife, Some Betadine & a Minor Miracle
When an abscess infection in his heel threatens to end his journey prematurely, a pilgrim uses the pocket knife and first aid supplies he carries to perform a field-expedient lancing, alleviating the pain and ultimately saving his Camino. - A Lovesong for Sellos
While some are daunted by the requirement to obtain two sellos per day in the final stages of the Camino to qualify for a Compostela, at least one pilgrim relishes capturing a sello at every stop. For him, there is no better souvenir of the pilgrimage. - A Gesture of Friendship
When it came to his backpack, one pilgrim set a rule: “Add nothing.” But during a chance connection with a grandfather and granddaughter on her first Camino, the girl presented him with a small blue plastic hand to adorn his backpack. In making an exception to his rule for this gesture of friendship, both his backpack and his spirit felt lighter. - A Pilgrim’s Pack
A pilgrim meticulously choses the items she would carry and the pack in which she would transport them, balancing need against weight. Along the way, she discovers that the real measure of these carefully selected items went beyond the practical—they were talismans for her journey, tokens of comfort and resilience. - A Necklace from a Camino Angel
At the start of their journey, a Camino angel bestows upon a woman and others in her group each a necklace of religious medals. A year and a half on, she still wears this necklace often as a reminder of her Camino days, when she learned to be present and savor this moment. - What I Left Behind
Carrying an immense load of grief and anger after her mother’s death, a pilgrim walks the Camino with a 1.6-pound rock painted by her niece in memory of her mother. When she finds the perfect spot to finally set down the rock, she feels lighter than she has in months.
Poetry
- The Iron Cross
In this poem, Lawrence Jones reflects on the moment in which he placed two rounded stones at Cruz de Ferro in honor of the staff, volunteers, board, and patients of the Open Door Clinic, for which he walked the Camino. - Tapestry of Luminosity
In this poem, Suzanne Doerge describes a radiance that enshrouds one who has made pilgrimage, to carry home as their own sacred truth. - It’s So Much More
Mary Baldree offers her ode to the pilgrim shell. It’s more than just a scallop shell hanging on a backpack. It’s so much more. - Backpack Memories
In this song parody, Robert Bain reminisces about the joys and annoyances a pilgrim experiences in relationship with their trusty backpack.
Book & Film Reviews
- Book Reviews: A Handful of Camino Guides
Jerald Stroebele highlights some handy guidebooks for the Camino Francés, plus some helpful resources and guides for routes less traveled. - Book Review: A Journey Between Heaven and Earth
Carol Guttery offers both a designer’s eye and a pilgrim’s perception to this review of A Journey Between Heaven and Earth (Un Viaje Entre el Cielo y la Tierra), a Camino coffee table book featuring stunning photography by Jesús Tejel and the lyrical musings of Reyes Lambea. - Film Review: Camino
Hany Farag reviews “Camino,” a Danish film about an estranged father and daughter on pilgrimage together to fulfill the dying wish of their wife and mother. - Book Review: The Camigas Scarf
Amy Horton reviews Alder Allensworth’s “The Camigas Scarf: Mother” the first novel in a three-part series inspired by an actual scarf that has created a special connection among women across many Caminos.
Gallery
- Adding to Your Pack: A Photo & Video Collection
A collection of photos and a video that consider this issue’s theme, “Adding to Your Pack,” from various perspectives.
Submissions to the Autumn 2024 Issue Close September 21
The Autumn 2024 theme is ADDING TO YOUR PACK. We invite you to share your stories, reflections, poetry, photography, artwork, or other original creative works that consider what’s worth the weight.
What did you pick up and carry on your journey? In this issue, we consider the tangible and metaphorical souvenirs we collect on Camino. Is there a cherished trinket you acquired along the way or a talisman that helps you sustain your pilgrim spirit. What lessons did you bring home from your journey and how do you apply them in daily life? What Camino experiences indelibly stamped and changed you?
Access the LA CONCHA SUBMISSION FORM for complete submission guidelines and to submit your creative work. We include as many submissions as possible in each issue. We may defer some items to future issues.
Team La Concha – Summer 2024 Volunteers
- Amy Horton, Editor-in-Chief
- Carol Guttery, Web Designer
- Francine Mastini, Creative Director
- Copy Editors & Proofreaders: Kelly Bates, Julie Gianelloni Connor, Stacey Karpp, Pruitt Layton, Jeanette Mills, Gigi Oyog, Sasha Reber, Thom Ryng, and Lise Yale
Communications Co-Chairs
- Eryn-Ashlei Bailey
- Martin Peña
Archives
Explore our archive of back issues of La Concha in PDF format (through Winter 2024) or find fresh content on our new La Concha homepage.
Thoughts and opinions expressed by La Concha contributors are those of the individual and do not necessarily represent the views of American Pilgrims on the Camino.