A photo and video selection that considers this issue’s theme, “Adding to Your Pack,” from various perspectives. What did some pilgrims deem worth the weight? Art supplies for capturing the Camino en plein air. A stop at the Irache fountain to take one for the road. Provisions for a simple pilgrim feast. An instrument to create “Amazing Grace.” A crocheted bunny that serves as a whimsical pack companion.
Marty Murphy carried art supplies with him on his Camino. Here, he makes a watercolor painting while sitting atop one of Pamplona’s historic city walls on September 1, 2023. Photo by Jane Murphy.
With the guidebook warning there’d be no food services at the campground lodging three kilometers ahead, this pilgrim and her companion picked up picnic provisions along the way. Besides the visible loaf of bread, she also carries two bottles of vino tinto in her pack’s side pockets where her water bottles would typically rest. Her companion carried a tin of olives, a block of cheese, and a few links of chorizo. Together, they had the makings for a simple meal they would share that evening with the only other pilgrim who would lodge there that night. Near Mougás, Spain, on the Camino Portugués, August 2018. Photo by Benjamin Voss.
Becky Rush-Peet performs the hymn “Amazing Grace” on her recorder on April 13, 2024, in the restored monastery of Santa Maria de Irache at Ayegui, located just past the iconic wine fountain. Becky carried the recorder with her on an abbreviated walk between Pamplona and Logroño. Becky and her traveling companion Francine Mastini walked this stretch of the Camino Francés just prior to serving a quincena as hospitaleras at the donativo albergue Betania in Pamplona. They wanted to be able to offer the pilgrims they would serve recent insights about the road ahead. Video by Francine Mastini. Becky and Francine have also served in Lograño; you can read about their experience here.
Strolling past that famous Irache wine fountain at 8:30 in the morning, it was a bit early for this pilgrim to imbibe vino tinto, so she put a few ounces into a small water bottle, tucked it into her pack, and enjoyed the wine after a long day’s walk on the Camino Francés, 2019. Photo by Carol Guttery.
A pilgrim’s pack pal adorns a backpack resting in the donativo albergue Betania in Pamplona, Spain, April 2024. Photo by Francine Mastini.
