Autumn 2024: Adding to Your Pack
Letter from Our Editor
Fellow Pilgrims,
What’s worth the weight to carry on Camino?
Toward the end of my first Camino, I developed Achilles tendonitis in my right heel. It took months to heal, and plantar fasciitis persists. On my second Camino, I carried a lacrosse ball that I rolled under my feet to help with recovery after each day’s walk. I could also stand with it against a wall and roll out any tension in the “angel wing” areas of my back. It was divine. Slightly smaller than a baseball and weighing about 5 ounces, it was also hefty. For my third Camino, I took instead a slighter spiky massage ball gifted to me by a friend in my local American Pilgrims chapter. It performed in equal measure, but absent it, I would have still carried the lacrosse ball.
My pilgrim friend Anne told me about the charm she carries, a whimsical caricature of St. James. She brought 15 of the tiny saints on her Camino last winter to give to friends in Santiago and the people who looked after her at accommodations.
I think, too, of my fellow chapter coordinator Joette. On her last pilgrimage, she stepped off route to help a member of her Camino family whose husband had died in his pilgrim slumber. Joette, fluent in Spanish, helped translate with local authorities and to make arrangements with the crematorium. She was also a warm and caring presence to her friend, carrying some of the burden on that unimaginable journey.
This La Concha issue explores the theme ADDING TO YOUR PACK. We highlight several compact guides (and one heftier tome available for e-readers) for the Camino Francés and routes less traveled, and we review a coffee table book to enjoy a bit of the Camino back home. We have an ode to the pilgrim shell, a backpack song parody, and poetry on the luminous afterglow pilgrims wear home. We have a lovesong for sellos, and a story of a peregrina empowered by backpack patches. We hear from a pilgrim who meticulously chose the items she’d carry, and by journey’s end discovered their real measure. And we have reflections on how specific objects (a necklace with a religious medal, a blue and yellow ribbon bracelet, clothespins, a hand charm, three little stones, a pocketknife, a yellowed list of names) or shifting outlooks (a sense of sonder, participating in the boundless interchange of Camino magic, silencing noise to hear new sounds) help us carry on as pilgrims. Join us as we unpack and consider the things we carry on Camino—the cherished trinkets and talismans, the tangible and metaphorical, the necessities and souvenirs.
May your journey be sacred,
Amy
Autumn 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.
Pilgrims Way – Reflections on the Theme “Adding to Your Pack
- 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.
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. - Afterglow
In this poem, CW Johnson describes a certain something pilgrims seem to pick up on Camino and carry home.
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.
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.
Check out the American Pilgrims Gear Store
If you’d like some American Pilgrims-themed swag, the organization’s gear store offers some great options, including a variety of mugs, hats, t-shirts, and distance magnets. Proceeds benefit American Pilgrims programs including hospitalero training, Ribadiso Welcome Service, local chapters, and grants. Check out the American Pilgrims gear store page to discover everything available.
Submissions to the Winter 2025 Issue Close December 28
The Winter 2025 theme is KEEPING TIME. Returning home, what rhythm and tempo did you set? In this issue, we explore the ways we bring the rhythms of pilgrim life and daily life into syncopation. How did you cope with the post-Camino blues? How did you recalibrate your back-home routine to keep your pilgrim heart beating? Did you make radical changes or more subtle shifts? How are you keeping your connections to the Camino vibrant back home?
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 – Autumn 2024 Volunteers
- Amy Horton, Editor-in-Chief
- Carol Guttery, Web Designer
- Francine Mastini, Creative Director
- Copy Editors & Proofreaders: Julie Gianelloni Connor, Anna Harris, Stacey Karpp, Pruitt Layton, Jeanette Mills, Gigi Oyog, Sasha Reber, and Thom Ryng
Communications Chair
- Tom Coleman
Archives: Explore our archive of back issues of La Concha in PDF format (through Winter 2024) or find fresh content on our 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.