A Pilgrim’s Obligation
A Pilgrim’s Obligation
by Anne Born | Niles, MI
Most pilgrims come home changed. We review all the life skills we used while walking the Camino and suddenly, we feel bigger than we had ever been. We look at our photos of the climb up to O Cebreiro or the scary descent into Molinaseca and we feel proud, we feel accomplished. We had left a meaningful little rock at an iron cross. Feeling brave, we tried pulpo (octopus), and we spent every day with strangers from everywhere in the world. What could be farther from my life growing up in Michigan?
When I returned from walking the Camino Francés in January 2011, a priest in New York told me that pilgrims have only one obligation once they come home: pilgrims must talk about their pilgrimage, to share the experience. As a natural born storyteller, I took the priest’s words to heart and told everyone about this amazing thing I did, about the medieval churches along the way, about the rain, about St. James, and about how pilgrims share meals and sleep all together in one big room.
The standard reaction from my friends was, “Weren’t you afraid?” I had left all fear at the door of the hotel where I stayed in Sarria the day I started walking.
I was packed and ready to go at 7:45 a.m., but the front desk lady stopped me. “It’s dark,” she said. “The sun’s not up yet.”
“I know and it’s fine. I’ll be fine, I’m OK,” I said.
“When you get out of town, it will be very dark.”
I took a couple of wrong turns, but I finally found my way to that little Roman bridge. And she was right, of course.
Looking back over my shoulder at Sarria, I saw the most spectacular sunrise that I had ever seen. And it urged me on. I felt smug, fearless, bold, even looked after—and yes, accomplished. Here I was, a girl from Michigan on her way to meet the Apostle St. James. It was just the beginning of a walk that would get me to the Cathedral on New Year’s Eve. My Compostela reads “Año Santo 2010.”
I wonder if that priest in New York can sense that after all these years and so many pilgrimages since, I am still talking about my Camino.
Editor’s note: Find reviews of Anne Born’s books in past La Concha issues:
- Autumn 2023 (page 12): Buen Camino! Tips From a WINTER Pilgrim (The Backpack Press, 2022)
- Summer 2022 (page 33): Buen Camino! Tips from an American Pilgrim (The Backpack Press, 2022).
