Letter from Our Editor
by Amy Horton
Fellow Pilgrims,
As I contemplated this issue’s letter, I received an update from Michael, who I know through my local American Pilgrims chapter. He’d arrived in Santiago de Compostela the day before and was continuing on the Camino Finisterre. With Micheal’s permission, I share his anecdote, which fittingly reflects and connects this issue’s theme:
Michael had misassumed his albergue check-in time and, upon arrival, faced a two-and-a-half hour wait until it opened. He chided himself, now a seasoned Camino pilgrim with 800+ kilometers underfoot, for making such a seemingly rookie mistake. With nothing to do but wait, he headed to a local café-bar for coffee and lunch. As he was finishing his food, Ollie, who he’d only met a few days prior but is “one of those people you feel you’ve known a lifetime,” arrived with two Irish friends, Harry and Diane. They sat a spell with Michael, sharing stories, burdens, tears, and a few beers. Sitting in company with his fellow pilgrims, Michael noticed a complete change in his emotional dynamic—from feeling that he’d made a mistake by arriving too early to feeling that he’d arrived at exactly the right time.
“Call it Divine Intervention, the Camino Provides, coincidences of like people called to a common Journey, or any other way you might want to frame it,” Michael wrote, “for me the Camino has been a reminder of the Spiritual Connection of all things. My, our, responsibility is to remain receptive to that.”
This La Concha issue makes space for the CONNECTION & REFLECTION that germinates as we journey as pilgrim travelers. We have several book reviews, including memoirs and an essay collection that deliver wit alongside wisdom; an exploratory work that is part memoir, part spiritual guide, part travelogue; and a resource guide for integrating Camino lessons back home. We also see how American Pilgrims is helping foster connections in local chapters, with other Camino organizations; and at a St. James Celebration held in July in South Bend, IN. Plus, we get a preview of the Annual Gathering of Pilgrims planned for April in Hunt, TX.
We have essays on pilgrimage as metaphor for life, a man who reconnects with his inner child on Camino, and a grieving woman surprised and comforted to sense her late friend’s presence as she walks. One essay examines the pilgrim journey through the lens of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Another pays homage to the little-regarded vestibular system—essential for human balance and bipedal walking, and thus essential to our Caminos. This issue contains a multitude of personal accounts and poetry on Camino takeaways, including how disrupted plans lead to unexpected connections; how we thrive and experience the Divine in relationship with others and with nature; and how a linear journey brings us full circle.
Join us here in La Concha as we ponder the link between our outer, physical journeys and our inward, introspective pilgrimages.
May your journey be sacred,
Amy
Autumn 2025 La Concha Content
American Pilgrims News
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Letter From the Chair – Autumn 2025
Autumn 2025 letter from American Pilgrims on the Camino Board Chair Joe Curro plus a summary of the July 2025 meeting of the American Pilgrims Board of Directors. -
Chapter Happenings – Autumn 2025
An Autumn 2025 compilation of American Pilgrims on the Camino chapter happenings. -
2026 Gathering of Pilgrims Preview: Echoes From the Camino
Preparations are well underway for the 2026 Gathering of Pilgrims planned for April 9-12, 2026, at Mo-Ranch in Hunt, TX. -
2025 St. James Celebration: Journey of the Heart
Highlights, reflections, and board chair’s welcome address from the regional American Pilgrims St. James Celebration held July 24-27 in South Bend, IN.
Camino News
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When in Paris, Consider a Stop at La Tour Saint-Jacques
Whether you are starting a pilgrimage in Paris or just find yourself in the City of Light, consider a stop at the Tour Saint-Jacques, a stunning Camino-related monument now recognized as a starting point for the Camino de Santiago in France. -
Lay Your Burdens at the Camino de California Cruz de Ferro
As part of its mission to promote spiritual pilgrimage along California’s Mission Trail, the nonprofit Camino de California organization has dedicated a Cruz de Ferro at the historic Mission San Miguel Arcángel in San Luis Obispo County. This replica of the iconic iron cross, located at the highest point on the Camino Francés, offers a symbolic place for reflection and unburdening to those traversing the re-established Camino Real route.
Pilgrims Way: Reflections on the Theme “Connection & Reflection”
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Touched By God
When a man passes a small church in a mountain village, a woman beckons him to see inside. His experience leaves him feeling more connected to God, himself, and everything. -
To Be a Traveler
A pilgrim reflects on how the Camino led him to seek foreign experiences as a traveler rather than as a tourist for more enriching encounters. -
The Transformative Journey of the Camino
A pilgrim finds the construct of the Camino unfolding in three stages—physical, emotional, and spiritual—as closely mirroring Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs—physiological and safety needs, self-actualization, and transcendence. -
The Precise Moment Between Need & Surrender
A man discovers that the ethereal quality some call Camino magic is provided by fellow humans in those precise moments between a pilgrim’s need and surrender. -
The Laundromat Lady
Days into his Via de la Plata journey without encountering another pilgrim, a man yearns for meaningful human connection. Then a woman at a laundromat engages with and comes to his aid, reminding him that the formula for making genuine connections is helping others. -
The Ethereal Effect of Pilgrimage
A woman considers how meeting a fellow pilgrim can bring our Camino memories to the forefront of our hearts and minds. -
The Camino as the Circle of Life
While on the Camino last year, a man received word of his father’s stroke. Back on the Camino this year, he walked in remembrance of his dad. As he walked this linear journey, from Point A to Point B, he reflected on the circle of life. -
The Birds Their Carols Raise
A woman embarks on a Holy Week Camino longing for resurrection hope to restore her weary spirit. Through a chance encounter with a bird enthusiast along the way, she begins noticing the birdsong all around her, praying her into Easter Joy. -
Physical Challenges, Spiritual Tests & Camino Angels
Amidst physical challenges and spiritual tests, a woman experiences a sense of divine grace through the kind words and gestures of local people and fellow pilgrims, restoring her faith in humanity and carrying her safely to Santiago. -
People Are the Way
As a woman reflects on her Camino, she considers poet Antonio Machado’s lines, “Walker, there is no path. The path is made by walking.” She would take it a step further: the path is made by the people you meet along the way. -
One Clear Blue Morning
A woman feeling deep loss after a friend’s death is surprised and comforted to sense her friend’s presence as she walks, imagining what might have been points of interest on her friend’s own Camino. As the woman sits in front of the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, backlit by the loveliest blue sky, tears flow freely as she finally lets go of the painful loss, confusion, frustration, fear, and anxiety she had been carrying. -
On the Journey Back Home
At the end of his Camino journey, a man writes down the lessons he brought back from Camino. -
On the Camino, Roots Intertwine
On an Italian cammino, a woman marvels at the massive beech trees she passes. In their gnarled, interconnected roots clinging to the earth and upholding such towering giants, she is reminded of how we thrive in connection with families, companions and communities. -
Inner Child Peregrino
On Camino, a man reconnects with his inner child and learns to navigate the complexities of life with both the wisdom of age and the lighthearted joy of youth. -
Essential Walking: Celebrate Your Inner Labyrinths
Most of us likely go about our days giving little if any thought to the vestibular system, an intricate network of bodily organs and processes essential for balance. This essay reminds us of the essential role it plays in bipedal walking, and therefore something to consider and honor as an essential part of our Caminos. -
A Strange Encounter: The Mysterious Man & the Dog
A strange encounter on the Camino becomes a reminder that sometimes freedom is not defined by pressing forward at all costs, but in the humility to step back and begin again. -
A Reflection of Life
During a conversation with his daughter while on his first Camino, a man realizes the pilgrim experience is like life: with hills and valleys, at times breathtaking, and other times exhausting. -
A Camino Miracle in Madrid
A power blackout that alters a pilgrim’s travel plans leads to unexpected Camino connections.
Poetry
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Walking My Way Through Divorce
When her marriage unravels, Katherine January steps out on Camino, tucking into her backpack a small bundle of nylon cord her ex-husband kept stashed around the house. As she walks, she considers the ways she might use that string to solve problems on Camino, just as she, no longer tethered, must now improvise a new life. -
To Estella
In this poem, Rebecca Ring writes about escaping on pilgrimage upon retirement from a career as an elementary classroom teacher, only to find herself surrounded by a group of Spanish students on a field trip day on Camino, and a connection she made in one brief exchange with one of the students. -
The Tale of Billy Pilgrim
Bill Artz shares his poem about being inspired to cycle the Camino after surgery had improved his eyesight, and another kind of sight he gained on pilgrimage. -
I Am a Pilgrim Who Lost Homeland
In this poem, Cong Do pays tribute to Portomarín, a town on the Camino Francés, whose residents in the 1960s were forced to abandon the original site of their hometown and rebuild on higher land. -
Fresh Eyes
In this poem, Luci Kegley considers how a pilgrim journey fosters a new way of seeing oneself and way of life. -
Blessing on All Walkers
In the natural sights and sounds she observes while walking, poet Suzanne Doerge discovers a benediction for all who walk the pilgrim’s path. -
A Shared Journey
These song lyrics by Robert Bain, set to the tune of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A,” honor those who walked beside him on the Camino Portugués in May 2024 when he journeyed to remember his late mother. -
A Pilgrim’s Life For Me!
In these song lyrics set to the tune of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me),” Evan Massaro playfully highlights the simple, recognizable routine that connects pilgrims across routes and across time.
Book & Film Reviews
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Book Review: The Traveler’s Path
A review of The Traveler’s Path by Douglas J. Brouwer, which explores a question common among pilgrims: “Why are you doing this?” Brouwer extends that question beyond pilgrimage, and applies it to the whole scope of human movement. -
Book Review: Tales from the Trail
A review of Jackie Saxon’s Tales from the Trail, a humor-infused collection of 53 short essays that offer both pilgrim wisdom and disenchantments, along with a glimpse into the unique challenges the author faced as an African American woman walking the Camino. -
Book Review: Stones on the Camino
A review of Lilly de Holanda’s Stones on the Camino. This memoir includes daily accounts on Camino, each complemented with post-Camino reflections that demonstrate the author’s insights and growth as she revisits and considers her experiences. -
Book Review: Restoring Joy
A review of Colleen O’Toole’s Camino memoir Restoring Joy. Reviewer Joe Curro calls this deeply spiritual and at times humorous account “magical, hopeful, uplifting.” -
Book Review: Bringing the Camino Home
A review of Lisa Swallow’s Bringing the Camino Home, a resource guide for integrating Camino lessons back home and approaching daily life as a pilgrim. -
Book Review: A Funny Thing Happened Walking Lost on the Camino de Santiago
A review of Gary Tutty’s A Funny Thing Happened Walking Lost on the Camino de Santiago, a deeply reflective, yet humor-laced account of Tutty’s 2023 journey on the Camino Francés.
Submissions to the Winter 2026 Issue Close December 20
The Winter 2026 theme is SUPPORT & SOLIDARITY. A line from the pilgrim’s blessing adapted from text in the Codex Calixtinus, the oldest known guide for pilgrims on the Way of St. James, requests: “May you remember that a step backward to help another is more important than a hundred steps forward without awareness of those at your side.” How did you step back to help a fellow pilgrim in need? How did a villager, hospitalero, or fellow pilgrim assist you in your time of need? How do you experience a sense of mutual support through your local pilgrim chapter or through an online Camino community or social media group? In this issue, we’ll highlight the ways we, as pilgrims, foster a sense of mutual support, just as bridges uphold those who cross them.
We invite American Pilgrims members to share their pilgrim experiences and insights on this theme. Watch your email for our La Concha call for submissions as the Winter 2026 deadline approaches. If you would like to submit materials and are not yet an American Pilgrims member, learn more at americanpilgrims.org/membership.
Your contributions can take the form of:
- Original personal reflections, essays, or poems that tie to the issue’s theme (limit 400 words)
- Original photography
- Original artwork
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 2025 Volunteers
- Amy Horton, Editor-in-Chief
- Carol Guttery, Web Designer
- Copy Editors & Proofreaders: Rebecca Balcárcel, Kelly Bates, Deborah Reyes Haggart, Pruitt Layton, Jeanette Mills, Gigi Oyog, and Thom Ryng
- Julianna Goodman, Social Media Manager
Communications Co-Chairs
- Tom Coleman
- Corinne Dougherty
Archives: Explore our archive of back issues of La Concha in PDF format (through Winter 2024) and find more recent 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.